Customer Reviews

American Garage

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I spent some time in a particular record shop in L.A. as a twenty-something. In 1984, I kept examining a 2-disc live Jazz set called, 'TRAVELS' because something about the cover intrigued me. Finally, one day I broke down and purchased it even though I'd never heard of THE PAT METHENY GROUP. Every once in awhile you roll the dice and win big. Since then, Pat Metheny has enriched my life like no other musician!

It wasn't long before I discovered that some purely magical quality about his compositions (The tempo? No. The rhythms? Hmmm...) made them conducive to stress-free driving and seemingly transformed life seen through the windshield into some kind of imaginary movie. Oddly, everything one sees seems to be the ideal visual accompaniment to the music that is playing at all times. (I'll never forget listening to 'TRAVELS' through headphones while traveling by locomotive through the deep woods between Fort Bragg and Willits, California. It was a nearly mystical experience!)

After awhile I acquired other P.M.G. recordings like his elaborately textured, Brazilian-accented sets, 'THE FIRST CIRCLE', 'STILL LIFE (TALKING)', and 'LETTER FROM HOME' (my favorites) and found that I could put any one of them into my car player and let it repeat for - LITERALLY - a month or more without tiring of it.

Because Metheny's sound DID gain a deeper and richer resonance over the years and because I never owned 'AMERICAN GARAGE' on lp, I didn't realize that this disc was poorly mastered, as several other reviewers have pointed out. But it's true : the sound has a pronounced high-end jangling to it, and while it won't entirely infringe on your listening pleasure, it does leave something to be desired. (Like a little bass perhaps!)

The first two tracks, (CROSS THE) HEARTLAND and AIRSTREAM are great open road pieces, evoking images of corn and wheat fields seen flashing by at 65 miles an hour from the interstate, and the titles indicate that early on, Metheny realized that his music inherently expresses a sense of motion. THE SEARCH features some very delicate and pretty piano work from Metheny's longtime musical collaborator, Lyle Mays. The title track, AMERICAN GARAGE, shows the Group in a revved up mood and employing some distinct Gospel inflections. This is closer to Rock than Jazz. And although I do enjoy THE EPIC - aptly titled at 13 minutes - it tends to meander just a bit. The whole album times out at just under 36 minutes - about half of the musical content found on most of his later releases.

'AMERICAN GARAGE' would be worth having if just for that great album cover : The deep blue, cloud-kissed sky and soft Autumn light reflecting off of an Airstream dealership. (Are you old enough to remember those large silver bullets being pulled all across the heartland? And the yearning to travel the countryside that they instilled in the mind?) Even so, I would have to place 'AMERICAN GARAGE' into Metheny's Second Tier of music. In my subjective opinion, the "Metheny Must-Haves" are the aforementioned titles, plus 'SECRET STORY.' If you dig those, then you may want to explore this disc, also 'WE LIVE HERE' (his trademark guitar synthesizer finds a funky groove thang), '80/81' (for straightforward Jazz), and 'BEYOND THE MISSOURI SKY' with Charlie Haden (for those late night / early morning super mellow hours at home).

[*WARNING : Make sure you've already heard what you're buying if it is "Pat Metheny" without his "Group." I don't necessarily like every album he's produced, even with the "Group", but a few of his solo projects are nothing more than "experiments" in dissonance!]

Just as a dog has never really experienced a walk until it has ditched its leash, you, my friend, have never really experienced a "road trip" until you've traveled with the Pat Metheny Group. If Stephen T. McCarthy is driving, you can be sure that Pat is playing!

This album is a classic. Metheny has many different styles. This is a very popular style. His sound chops and heart are all in this one. I like his new stuff too but this is where it starts for me. The cd was not mixed well like others have stated. I own the cd but I also have recorded the record on to cd which sounds much better. How can anyone give this classic less than 5 stars.

Ranks among Pat Metheny's very best. I would recommend AMERICAN GARAGE to almost anyone who wants to get a taste of jazz as it came out of the "lost years" of the 1970's. There are some sounds among these pieces that would become a part of the "smooth jazz" movement as it would become known in the 1990's; but there is nothing to fear about for being accused of being "light weight" or "diluted" that drew the wrath of jazz heads toward the endless parade of phonies that so many felt "stole" attention and record purchases away from real jazz.

Far from dreary, AMERICAN GARAGE sings of joy and provides much to interest upon repeated listening. Metheny would go on to be a small jazz industry in himself in succeeding years and his musical vocabulary would expand--sometimes not for the better. Nevertheless, this is the perfect marriage of electric guitar and keyboards many still seek today. Only five cuts; but pleasing and intelligent all the same.

I've listened to numerous musical recordings by the PMG from age 10 until present day. "The Search" was and still is one of my favorite recordings. A reviewer said that he likes to listen to the PMG while traveling. From his description, while listening, he's instantly transported into a movie like setting. Back in the day, circa 1978 or 80, I was really in love with life, my family, friends and the thought of just being alive. The last time I heard this song was about a year ago or so. Still to this very day, I can remember as a child, closing my eyes, listening to this particular tune, and envisioning how life should be. (And then I grew up and soon came to the realization that life most definitely is cable of throwing a couple of curve balls now and then. Seems more often that not sometimes.) Never the less, I still enjoy this song for its worth and to me, it's worth the memories that I once had and the memories that are yet to come. ( ^ _ ^ )

As one of the other reviewers mentioned, this is one of Pat's least favorite recordings. And this makes me sad, because I really think it's one of his best albums. (Of course, for all I know that quote came at a particular moment, and he doesn't feel that way anymore.) This album delivers, beautifully, the sound and the ideas that define Pat as a musician. If you love that sound, you will definitely love this album! Pat's playing from the heart, and it's real; it's happening. The compositions are inspired, and the album is totally coherent as a statement. I know a lot of people are into Pat's most recent Group albums, but I don't think they're as authentic and heartfelt as "American Garage". This is the album that got me started listening to Pat, back in '78 (I believe), and I hope people will start giving it the respect it deserves. And I include Pat himself in that! One semi-important note - the audio quality of this CD is pathetic. The original vinyl version sounded 100% better than this. Someone needs to do a quality remastering - please!

This is the album that introduced me to wizardry of Pat Metheny. The title song is a true rocker and the rest of the album shows off the rest of the band in fine form. This is my favorite album by him, along with "New Chautauqua." My review for it is posted also.

Though I've listened to Pat Metheny since before he released Bright Size Life (still his best) in 1975, I'd never owned this one until recently. I happen to own a high end sound system, so the mastering of the cd sounds ok to me. Yes, the bass is hollow and the drums too punchy. That's partly the fault of late '70s studio trends, and partly the style of Gottleib, the drummer, and Egan, the bassist, both soon gone from the group. The guitar improvs on this, though, can't be questioned. And neither can the composing and arranging. It's only 35 mins long. Obviously, it needs remastering and extra material, assuming there is any. Evidently, Metheny is on the outs with ECM, and that's why we're about 6-8 years overdue for remasters of all the great ECM albums. Still, I can recommend this one to die-hard Metheny fans who, inexplicably, didn't buy it 25 years ago, like me. It ranks maybe 15th to 18th on the list of Metheny must-have albums, however.

When you're gradually becoming a top-dog musician, you're constantly experimenting with different techniques to improve your craft so that you finally find a voice that pleases both your fans and yourself. It's not a painless process, and despite the fact that they're one of the greatest jazz bands of the modern era and it doesn't seem like they've ever encountered imperfection's ugly face, the Pat Metheny Group had to endure the same struggle.

It's not that "American Garage" is a bad album. In fact, it's quite good, and there are some tracks in its surprisingly short selection that have withstood the test of time despite the somewhat dated production. But the history behind this album is rooted in contention. Metheny has repeatedly remarked that this is his least favorite album that he's ever made with the Group: it was too commercial and the collaborative writing with his partner-in-benevolent-crime ('cause it's almost a crime that he's so good), keyboarding prodigy Lyle Mays, lacked focus and direction. Also, the lineup changes that were made shortly afterwards, such as the replacement of borderline Jaco Pastorius imitator Mark Egan, reflect perhaps a sense of falling out from within.

You can't blame them for wanting to make an effort to reach out to a mass audience, which seems to be the case judging from its heavy emphasis on rock 'n' roll. I mean, come on, their first record is a classic, and they HAD to capitalize on a follow-up. Despite Metheny's complaints, this is an album that is worth the listen. It opens up with a jazz/roots rocker "(Cross the) Heartland", a strong jazz-rocker, riddled with complex rhythms and rousing piano and synths. I'm not gonna lie, and I know that PMG is referred to as "great music to listen to while driving", but "Heartland" fits that bill quite nicely. Its follow-up "Airstream" is a favorite of Metheny's, and even though I hated it at first, it has definitely grown on me with repeated listening. It's refreshing to hear an early Mays establish a balance between left and right-hand playing (he returns to right-hand dependency on the soothing yet somewhat dwindling "The Search"), and the tune of the song almost sounds like "After the Love Has Gone" by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

The title track is a rowdy, freewheeling, almost gospel-rocker, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think I've heard the band be this loose before. You can even hear some cries of almost frat-boy delight as Metheny lets loose on the axe, and sometimes I could just picture all of them standing in front of a giant American flag. The final piece "The Epic" is certainly what it is, a 13-minute long jam that goes from atmospheric post-bop jazz to hot samba back to atmospheric post-bop jazz to pop to hot samba and then Springsteen-esque rock. It's all over the place, and while parts of it are certainly enjoyable, particularly Mays's and Metheny's smoking hot solos in the samba section, I think this and "The Search" were what Metheny was talking about when he meant a lack of focus. Nevertheless, they're still very strong tunes, and I think Metheny doesn't give himself enough credit. "American Garage" is a entertaining romp that sees the Group let their hair down a little bit, if you get my drift. I wouldn't call it essential, but I wouldn't pass it up, either. It's a bunch of virtuosos having some good fun, and that's an American way.

GRADE: B+

Oh, by the way, I'm sick of people calling the Pat Metheny Group's music "Weather Channel music". I know music is a matter of personal taste, but calling it that undermines their musical virtuosity. Muzak helped destroy the public's perception of the great American art of jazz.

GRADE FOR MUZAK: D- (salvaged from "F" because at least they recognize Kenny G as their posterboy.)

What does it sound like driving down beautiful, widing country road in a great convertible, on a sunny day? It sounds like this!
No, there are no engine sounds in here, and no bugs hitting you in the face, but this album is quite the soundtrack for a great, relaxing country drive. I personally suggest turning north off I95 on the NJ side of the Delaware River, heading north on Rt29, and popping in this CD. Keep going til you hit Frenchtown, about an hour later.

I bought American Garage shortly after it was released. At that time, I suppose few people realized the musical force Pat Metheny (and Pat Metheny / Lyle Mays) would become. Especially in comparison to Pat's later recordings, American Garage seems a bit dated and perhaps a tad too influenced by jazz/rock fusion style prevalent at that time. Still American Garage is a remains an important work for two reasons: 1) this album captures a developing Metheny/Mays signature style which would thrill audiences and critics alike for the next two decades; and 2) this album exposed a legion of pop-weary audiences (particularly young listeners) to the possibilities of Jazz. If you were fortunate enough to catch any of the Pat Metheny group concerts during this period you know exactly what I mean.

Pat Metheny has only gotten better, but if you are a serious fan, this CD is a must have.