Review Summary: Despite the rest of the discography, there’s no trace of world music, making the self-titled a pure masterpiece of jazz fusion.
Cleanliness and maybe even perfection. This is what I think looking at the cover of the album.
It should be this way for every album in general, but it’s interesting to notice how all the covers of this band express almost exactly what you will find inside, and this one makes no exception.
The Pat Metheny Group has released a lot of albums, each one with its own influences, ranging from fusion with distorted guitar in the style of the Mahavishnu Orchestra to world music. But the self-titled is probably the one which is actually nearer to real fusion, and stands up in the Pat Metheny Group’s discography as one of the most iconic and representative albums of the genre.
The album opens brightly with “San Lorenzo”, a very evocative track and probably the most atmospheric of the record. The track begins with five chords of clean guitar, then the piano and the drums enter, with the drums keeping the time using open hi-hat. Then the bass comes in with a relaxing line which fills the void left momentarily by the guitar and the piano. This introductory section will continue for a minute in an asymmetric way, in the sense that the instruments seem to follow an individual pattern, but the result is very harmonious and pleasant. Listening to this part the first thing that comes to mind is the image of the falling stars of the night of San Lorenzo, that’s probably what they would represent, and if so, they greatly succeed. After this, it comes a quieter part made of peaceful arpeggios and a sound carpet made of bass and synth, and then the initial chords will return flowing into the main theme.
In just three minutes, they have already proved their talent in writing interesting music with charming atmosphere. Of course “San Lorenzo” will continue, with quieter parts alternating with a rich piano solo, and with more complex melodies, but the intro offers a realistic picture of what they can do, and frames well the style of the whole album. This is one of those albums where the sound is always similar throughout the tracks, but every one of them is easily recognizable due to the complex but melodious progressions of piano chords, and obviously, to the catchy and singable phrasings by Metheny, whose playing is interesting but also accessible in melody. This is the trademark of Pat Metheny: he rarely shows all of his technicality, preferring to write well constructed melodies that are also interesting from a theoretical point of view.
Another point of strength of this work is that every instrument has its own moments, and they are all on the same level of importance. While in the next albums the guitar will be in foreground, with long solos and really singable phrasings that sometimes may distract from the backing track, here every instrument is not limited to a simple accompaniment. Dan Gottlieb (drums) doesn't do anything special regarding time signatures, but he plays in a totally creative approach, managing to make expressive even his instrument, with always different fills, playing quietly when necessary. It's the same for the bass, that does its own melodic lines, and not simple looped accompaniment lines on the current chord progression. An example is the track “Jaco”, where it seems that Mark Egan tries to imitate the sounds and style of legendary bass player Jaco Pastorius. Especially here, the bass is playing another separate melody that permeates beautifully with the guitar. The album ends in a decisive manner with “Lone Jack”, the most vigorous track of the album, half of which is made up of Metheny's soloing, proving again that he has no one to envy.
The album features a balanced track order, and the single tracks are well balanced too in their composition. Thanks to its symphonic nature, the album is also complex enough for repeated listens focused every time on a different instrument, that will always reveal something new. The accessibility, mixed to the technique, makes this album an interesting listen for every kind of ears.
Pat Metheny Group is:
-Pat Metheny (guitar)
-Lyle Mays (keyboards)
-Mark Egan (bass)
-Dan Gottlieb (drums)
Highlights:
-San Lorenzo
-Jaco
-Lone Jack
