Pat Metheny Fans, Great Suggestions Please ??

as a sideman with Kenny Garrett, marvelous!
listen here;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vGYPTNhzb8

I have and love Imaginary Day and Letters from Home... but I think Still Life (talking) is his best. Get it! You'll love it! 

All excellent suggestions. Happy Listening!

As a sideman with Kenny Garrett; the Music of John Coltrane;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vGYPTNhzb8

highly recommended.

Imaginary Day
The Way Up

these are "bookend" recordings and are my favorite two 

There are no bad PM discs. Enjoy them all!
Happy Listening!

I like the CD with Jim Hall.  Some of the tracks are live.  I consider it hit-and-miss, but it's always interesting with two talents of that caliber.

Nobody mentioned "The Falcon and the Snowman" in this thread. Just tried this one and the music is superb!

Secret Story and We Live Here are both Geffen releases. All of the ECM CDs have pretty good sound. Since none have been remastered except on the Rarum Selected Works disc, I suspect the Vinyl is better.

Tvad - I agree with your assessment of ECM vinyl. That label is a credit to the recording industry. You don't have to spend mega-bucks for 180g vinyl or a hot stamper to hear good sound.

short answer - yes, ECM has historically released very good quality vinyl.

I would appreciate some advice. I need to know whether the LP version of Pat Metheny's music would be an improvement to the CD version in the ECM era. I am particularly interested in Secret Story, We Live Here and Offramp. If yes, I would be getting my first turntable very soon. Thanks in advance.

By the way I have always found Offramp to be an excellent sounding CD. As far as I know there is only one CD version of it and I don't really have any complaints about it. I think it holds up to audiophile scrutiny, as do most of the ECM recordings.

There is an album called PAT METHENY
Selected Recordings: rarum IX which contains bona fide remastered tracks of selected cuts from his ECM catalog. The sound is better, but not much better, which I think speaks to how good the original CD versions are.

The new Secret Story sounds good but it is sort of a hard sounding recording. It has a edginess or shrillness to it. It might just be the sounds he is working with. It is an amazing album but from an audiohpile standpoint I find that it can be a bit unpleasant. I have a lot of fond memories of that album though.

Still Life Talking has the best sound of the Geffen recordings, in my opinion. Still Life is lush and smooth sounding. The sound on Letter from Home is just a travesty and although the remaster is a bit better, it is still pretty thin sounding.

Letter from Home, coincidentally was at least for a while Metheny's most commercially successful recording

Blackstone,
I purchased a remastered Secret Story by Nonesuch Records and it does sound better than my original Geffen that got traded in.

I'm glad his music is being recognized.

By the way, there are remastered versions of Secret Story, Still Life Talking, and The Road to You on the Geffen Label but there are no remastered recordings of the ECM recordings that I am aware of.

To Original Poster:

Actually, that is not a lot to ask from Metheny. There is something to like about all of Metheny's work, but the following albums are in my opinion is finest works. You need to hear all of these albums in their entirety to even begin to understand how talented Metheny is. You really don't want to miss any of these but if you have to, I would prioritize your purchases in this order:

1. Pat Metheny Group (ECM)
2. Offramp (ECM)
3. As Falls Wichita, So Wichita Falls (ECM)
4. Still Life (Talking)
5. First Circle (ECM)
6. Bright Size Life (ECM)
7. Letter from Home
8. Secret Story
9. Watercolors (ECM)
10.The Road to You

I think those are his most significant works. A lot of his other stuff post 1993 is just not in the same tier, in my opinion.

Also note that the ECM recordings represent his first phase, while the later Geffen recordings have a totally different, more commercial sound. It is not uncommon to hear Letter from Home, for example, playing in airports and shopping malls, ect. The ECM stuff is the stuff that has the most staying power as "jazz" or fusion in my opinion. All of the ECM recordings also have very good sound.

I ranked the albums according to my personal taste but you could also start with Pat Metheny Group and just go chronologically through his catalog and you would be able to hear how the group progressed.

"Map of the World" is another Metheny title I've never heard. Any comments? Thanks!

Has anyone heard "Upojenie"? Pat Metheny with a Polish musician made in 2002 but only recently released in the US. Curious about this one.

Just an update. I've received the Offramp SHM CD(Made in Japan) and found no difference in sound quality compared to the ECM CD. Either my source is not capable of revealing the finer nuance and detail or I am not listening hard enough. Either way, I doubt there would be significant difference between the two format as the improvement in sound quality is barely noticeable.

*Nice to see this thread rollin along*

I will check out these SHM CDs, I bought Secret Story on a Nonesuch 2CD fold-out liner type case and thought it sounded pretty darn good, but if the SHMs are better yet, oh well.

Thanks for the suggestions from all.

I recommend 'Speaking of Now' for a contemporary PMG recording. Great combination of composition, playing and sound.

'Letter From Home' has always been one of my favorites from 1989. Amusing that it says "a digital recording" on the front cover. I think the sonics are very good.

07-12-08: Rja

My experience with the SHM CDs so far is, if the CD sounds excellent in the first place the SHM is frosting on the cake. If the CD doesn't sound

Rja, thanks for the response although this post might be coming a little late. I've just browsed through the listings on Ebay and nearly bought an over-priced Japanese pressing of "Offramp" from an international seller at close to $60. Luckily I remembered some recommendations here on an online store CDJAPAN and managed to find my favourite "Offramp" album over there. Not only it's cheaper at $25 a piece but it is a limited SHM-CD just recently released early this month, fresh off the shelves! I will be able to compare this SHM-CD quality with the ECM version that I have later and see if the hype on the "superior" version is true.

For Pat Metheny fans that would like to try out the SHM-CD's, I would recommend going to this site as there are many SHM-CD's just recently released, some on pre-order with a release date of later this month.

First Circle on vinyl.

I really Like "New Chataqua" - the last track on side b, with it's slow build up and then it's really joyous melody is magical!
B

My experience with the SHM CDs so far is, if the CD sounds excellent in the first place the SHM is frosting on the cake. If the CD doesn't sound excellent then the SHM won't save it and isn't worth the extra money. Just my 2 cents worth.

I see the ECMs are being released in Japan on SHM CD sometime in September. Could be interesting.

I would appreciate if anybody can comment on the quality of an SHM CD vs. ECMs especially on "Offramp". I have the "Offramp" ECM CD and find the sound of percussion to be rather fake and not natural on my favourite track "Au Lait". I agree that "Offramp" is excellent. It is one of my favourite album from Pat Metheny alongside "Secret Story".

As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls - just Lyle and Pat

Offramp is my favorite. Bought it in 1984 and have listened to it steadily ever since. I haven't really liked a lot of his other stuff. I bought several more of his albums and offshoot group efforts hoping to get a duplicate of Offramp. No luck at least for me. The other stuff was very well recorded but I just didn't care for the songs. But Offramp is in my top 20 or 30 albums of all time.

"The Pat Metheny Group" album is thirty years old and I still stop whenever I hear Lyle May's piano part in San Lorenzo.. Also listen a lot to "Secret Story"..

I see the ECMs are being released in Japan on SHM CD sometime in September. Could be interesting.

Parallel Realities: Live!!!

A great live fusion super group gig featuring DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny!!!

Great recording

Xiekitchen,
You are correct that I have not heard an ecm LP as I do not own a single LP. My comments are all based on CD's and that's all I have in my music collection.

Ryder
"... especially from the early 80's and 90's are lightweight in the bass.." ??? surely then you have not heard the ecm LP's, the german LP pressings are better than the u.s. pressings, but bass is exceptional (for example "Offramp" and "Wichita"; so is imaging, sense of space and detail. Perhaps something happened in the cd medium.

Ryder,
I've been a Metheny fan for many years. Never cared for the 3 CDs you mention but hey, that's a personal thing. The Metheny discography has a lot to choose from so just about anyone should be able to find something to their liking. One thing for sure, he never does just the same old thing! Because of this there are probably very few fans that like "everything" he does.

I now have most of Metheny's albums and find three of his recordings that are exceptional in quality. They are as follows:-

1) One Quiet Night (recorded on Solo Baritone Guitar)
2) Beyond The Missouri Sky ; Haden/Metheny
3) A Map Of The World (soundtrack)

I am surprised no one mentioned the soundtrack "A map of the world" taken from the movie released in 1999 starring Sigourney Weaver. Quality of recording was excellent and the great tunes were a bonus.

The other albums especially from the early 80's and 90's are lightweight in the bass in comparison and do not possess the clarity and depth of the ones as mentioned above.

You must get the "white" album with San Lorenzo and Phase Dance. It's terrific, although due to the age of the recording can sound a bit washed out and dated. Still worth the price of admission, though.

Re Beyond the Missouri Sky recommendation whcih couples Metheny and Haden - If you like that recording a must have is Charlie Haden and Kenny Barron in Night and the City. With all respect to the Metheny/Haden coupling, this recording by Barron and Haden is equally engaging in the same manner as Missouri Sky. FWIW.

Great thread. I just received a few more Metheny's older albums and was pretty shocked on the quality of recording on these CD's. Most of the recordings that date back to the late 70's are still excellent and in good shape. The great tunes of fusion music are a bonus. So far, I liked all Metheny's albums except for one, the Trio 99>00. However, I share the same opinion as with Chaz801 in that Metheny's contemporary fusion style is one of the finest in jazz music bar none.

I apologize for repeating most that have been said but just can't resist. Charlie Haden/Pat Metheny's "Beyond the Missouri Sky" is a must have. My favourites from this album in order are "Cinema Paradiso(love theme)", "The Moon Song" and "Our Spanish Love Song". I like "James" in "American Garage" and "Farmer's Trust" in "ECM Works II". Pat Metheny Group album with Mays, Egan and Gottlieb is another must have. "Imaginary Day" is another excellent album and my favourites are "follow me" and "across the sky".

Judging from the response here and recommendations of 'must-haves', "The Way Up", "Still Life Talking" and "Letter from Home" will most likely make their way to my doorstep very soon.

I'm glad I discovered this thread.

Ryder
I agree with you about the trio. As stated in my last writing..i havent met a metheny song or cd i didnt like. I was living in Sacramento Ca 7 years ago. Pat was performing live downtown there. I had seats around the 8th row dead center. I thought i was going to hear the Pat from his contemporary sound, only to get the trio. I never knew he composed and played this type of music being a total contrast to his trademark sound. The sound did grow on me as years passed by. But i feel no doubt that his contemporary fusion sound is bar none some of the finest in jazz.

Count me in as another Pat Metheny fan. Just received Pat Metheny Trio 99>00, Imaginary Day and Missouri Sky. The Trio CD went in first and was rather disappointed with the style of music. Didn't like that too much and was little worried the others might sound more less similar. Not until I played Imaginary Day. Wow this was more like it! Great tunes, quality of recording was top notch and I was totally hooked to the music. So far I liked this CD the best. Missouri Sky by Metheny and Charlie Haden was equally good albeit with a quieter presentation.

I have more Metheny CD's on the way, namely ECM Works, Offramp, American Garage and Pat Metheny Group.

I received the "White Album" Japanese Gold CD, went to fire up the rig and one of the KT88's started poppin on the right channel, talk about luck, time to re-cap the B&K M-200's
for back up.

I don't think Ive met a Pat Metheny cd i didnt like. Even the recordings of him performing in a trio are also good. Some how one of my favorites is the classic instrumental version of David Bowie's This Is not America from Falcon and the Snowman CD. You just can't go wrong with his music.