07-03-2012, 06:50 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Certified H00d Classic
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Bernie Sanders's yacht
Posts: 6,129
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Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up (2005)
ARTIST BACKGROUND Perhaps the single best jazz guitarist alive on the planet today, there's nobody who isn't somebody in the world of jazz-anything who hasn't worked with or wanted to work with Pat Metheny, including the late Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius. The man has a massive discography that travels throughout every corner of the genre, including straight-ahead, Bossa Nova, Fusion and soundtrack-oriented stuff.
THE ALBUM Although every album that Pat Metheny's Group has done since forming in the early 80's is considered top notch material in the realm of modern jazz, 2005's The Way Up (the ensemble's latest record as of 2012) is particularly interesting, as its a four-part suite that attempts to bridge the gap between contemporary jazz and certain aspects of progressive rock, and from a compositional perspective it succeeds in doing exactly that. Hell, it even won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Record later that year.
WHY YOU WANT THIS From my perspective, there's actually nothing better at introducing contemporary jazz to the hardline cynic than an LP from Mr. Metheny. His fluidity from moment to moment, whether he's armed with 6-string, 12-string, or even something crazy like a 42-string, is undeniable to the point of gospel. He walks the walk, talks the talk, and then some! On top of that, his band is complimented by a variety of talents, including keyboard/programming maestro Lyle Mays and harmonica beast Grégoire Maret.
The Way Up is quite the epic really, made up of an opening number and three distinct parts that constitute the suite itself. Metheny changes guitars a couple of times throughout the movements, and various motifs intermingle and then turn on a dime into completely new progressions. There's a lot of soloing (trumpet, guitar, keyboards, etc.), but Lyle Mays never lets Metheny get too below the stratosphere, and thus despite gradual shifts in tonality and an emphasis on complex chord changes, the intensity they're going for is never lost regardless of pace or tempo. Brilliant stuff, really, and certainly worth a run through or two from those who aren't adverse to instrumental adventures.
CLOSING REMARKS Despite a distinct lack of saxophone and the predominance of lengthy "noodling", this is indeed a contemporary jazz album stylistically, and a class act at that. It's technical level is such that it demonstrates just how complex and interesting "smooth" jazz can become if the ideas are grand enough, and while Metheny never blows you out of the room like his luminiary John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra) might have done back in 1975, there is a LOT to admire here. Essentially...its essential. 
FINAL GRADE 
Other examples of his output-
Last edited by Anteater; 07-03-2012 at 09:39 PM.
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