Pat Metheny - Travels
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Artist: Pat MethenyBrand: METHENY,PAT
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Live
CD Release Date: 2000-02-29
Music Label: Polygram Label Group
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Are You Going With Me?
- Fields, The Sky, The
- Goodbye
- Phase Dance
- Straight On Red
- Farmer's Trust
- Extradition
- Goin' Ahead / As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
- Travels
- Song For Bilbao
- San Lorenzo
Music reviews of Travels
Music Review: This is America...This is the Best
Rating: 5 Stars
I'm such a lover of the Pat Metheny Group, it's amazing that I haven't proposed marriage to them yet. After listening to most of their albums, I've had the privilege to realize that they are one of, if not THE most, versatile, creative, exciting, accessible, experimental, challenging, and all-around best bands in the last two decades. However, I started to get a little tired with the same amazing textures, supple synths, rhapsodic improvs, air-tight technique, and sophisticated polyphonies that have characterized the last three of their albums. "The Way Up" was an amazing achievement, but I wanted to get back to their roots, how they've grown as a band, and why people dug their stuff. The PMG of the early '80s had a much grittier sound than today, but their combination of youthful charm and musical maturity was endearing, as evidenced on albums like "American Garage" and "Offramp". As with all great bands, the PMG kept climbing higher and higher as those ethereal said albums were labeled classics. After "Offramp", it seemed things couldn't get any better, but boy, did they ever, as the Pat Metheny Group scraped the sky with the unlikeliest of all things: a road trip.
"Travels" not only captures the brilliance of the band's songcraft and musicianship, it captures the illuminating spirit of their true home: live performances. They get the ball rolling no problem with a predictably incredible but nonetheless intoxicating rendition of "Are You Going With Me?", foreshadowing that song as a concert favorite. Of course, a lot of great covers are here, from the torrid "Goin Ahead-AFWSFWF" to a non-nonchalant "Phase Dance" (I prefer this one over the original), but it's the concert originals that are worth noting. I've never heard so many different styles of music all rolled into one with "The Fields, the Sky". Strumming folk, complex Latin percussion, roots rock, and of course, jazz, fit together like all the best sweets in one cookie. It does sound a little bit like a remixed "Ozark" from the Metheny-Mays duet "AFWSFWF", but it doesn't matter. You're so caught up in the beauty of it all that you refuse to draw any comparison, that is, until you're done listening. "Goodbye" is a bittersweet ballad in the spirit of "Mas Alla", which it obviously influenced, and it sometimes makes me wonder why percussionist/vocalist Nana Vasconcelos ever left the band in the first place. His idiosyncratic, almost Egyptian/calypso voice is a departure from Pedro Aznar and might make you feel awkward at first, but weirdness has beauty, too.
Speaking of which, the Brazilian stuff transitioned quite well from "Offramp" to this, as I found myself dancing about like a raving lunatic at the spectacular "Straight on Red". Lyle gives a solo for the ages on that one, as do Dan Gottlieb and Nana. Eat your hearts out, American high school marching bands! "Farmer's Trust" ends the first disc on a high note, as the chirping bird effect basically states, "Yes, guys. We know you're awesome."
One of the things I love most about this album is its ability to appeal to just about everyone, like the rockers with "Extradition". Pat's use of the synth guitar at this point was still relatively new, but he used to a more constructive effect back in the day, rather than today. Today, he solos on an electric guitar, has a little transition, then busts out with a synth guitar solo. Here, if he uses it, he uses it for the entire song, which is refreshing to me. The title track is an amazingly beautiful folkie ballad, and the torrid Brazilian cha-cha-cha "Song For Bilbao" just wrecks the joint. This was my first full exposure to the fan favorite "San Lorenzo", but I have heard bits and pieces of the original. I didn't hear many differences, and Lyle's piano solo dwindles a bit at the beginning, but gradually gathers steam. The transition from the opening melodies to the grooving "Red Baron"-sounding bassline will have you clicking your heels in blissful excitement. It definitely deserves to be called one of PMG's best. Oh, and the crowd...the crowd...wouldn't I have loved to be a part of that.
All in all, this one of PMG's classic albums, which is definitely saying something, and is a fitting farewell to drummer Dan Gottlieb and Nana. For all y'all newcomers, get this and "The Road to You". You'll be turned on just like I was. Thank you, PMG, for making music for the world.
n3ur010g1c gives PMG's "Travels" a 10...out of 10.
Description of Travels
No Description Available.Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 29-FEB-2000
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