TRAVELS (PAT METHENY GROUP)

I purchased this album in the mid eighties just to proof that what my friend told me about this labum was true. He was right, indeed, because this is a good live album. I was actually not into Pat metheny's music because I did not think that the music would be as dynamic as Chick Corea, Al Di Meola or Return To Forever. But this album opened my eyes for wider styles of music that I could enjoy. I had to be patient with the music beacuse it moves relatively slowly. But with a couple of spins, I then got used to it and I could identify the subtleties of the music. One big problem that I had was most of the music was repetitive. Fortunately, the repetition was finally overcome by enjoying the synthesizer guitar by Pat Metheny. From the opening track "Are You Going With Me?" (9:19) to the next track " The Fields, the Sky" (7:46) Pat demonstrates his virtuosity in playing guitars with soft touch. The guitar fills and solo that he delivers are excellent and very enjoyable. The epic "Going Ahead-As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" (16:22) has varied styles and moods and it demonstrates good composition and band's performance.

Overall, this is a good live album and would be acceptable for those of you who have a taste of jazz music because most of compositions are in jazz. It might not be the best album by Pat but this is a good one.

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW