Customer Reviews

Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have owned the cd of Imaginary Day since it was released but never had the chance to see PMG live. This seemed like my chance to put images with the music Ive been listening to. First of all, the music is amazing. I am always blown away listening to Pat Metheny because his musical ideas are always so emotional and complete. The sound quality on the DVD is also very good, you can barely tell its live and not in the studio.

I thought I was paying to see a Pat Metheny concert in my living room, instead I shelled out twenty bucks to watch Steve Rodby play with amateur video effects. It looked to me like he just got bored editing the footage so he starting playing with colors and transitions to the point I almost had to turn it off. I would have if it hadnt been that the music is so damn good. For example, it was pretty common that in the middle of someone's solo, the picture would turn into a little box in the middle of the screen and then turn blue. Then maybe it would get really fuzzy. I guess it was supposed to be visually pleasing but I just found it funny.

So in conclusion, music and concert: excellent
Production: not even close.

I've had this DVD of Imaginary Day for some time now, and since I've had it and watched it a few times I really don't like to look at the visuals anymore...The whole thing visually plays like an early-80's rock video. It kills me to think that Steve Rodby, PMG's bassist/producer, who has been in the band for 16 years at the time the film was shot would make decisions like that. It seems to me like he took the raw film and ran it through his computer and said, "Hey, I just picked up this cool video editing program and it lets you do all these neat special effects! Let's see what I can do with it..." All that's missing in the video is a cheesy star wipe. To some this might not be such a bad thing, but a lot of people (like myself) are just totally in awe of Pat's guitar technique. When we're watching him blaze through a solo like it was the easiest thing in the world, and for some reason the video switches to a camera shot behind Pat's back shown at 12 fps it's extremely frustrating. Thank goodness the effects (mostly) take a break for the ballads, otherwise I don't know what I'd do. Those effects might be plausible for an in-studio session, but I like my live DVD's to give me the "you are there watching it all happen" illusion.

Now, the sound, however, is nothing short of astonishing. I would go so far as to say that the reproduction of sound was as faithful as it could possibly be, which is a vast improvment from the "We Live Here" DVD (which was by no means bad, but the sound was a little thin at times).

If you were looking for a great concert VIDEO you may be disappointed, but the sound may be enough to justify purchansing this DVD if the Group is your cup of tea.

Not a new release [2001], but having bought it last week I just have to share what I find to be an excellent, outstanding DVD (video and audio) of a concert given by the Pat Metheny Group at a small ampitheater in the Calfornia wine country. If you aren't familiar with Pat Metheny, he is a most accomplished jazz/rock fusion guitarist, having won 14 Grammy awards in his career. "Imaginary Day" won a Grammy, a song on this CD won another Grammy, and a second song was nominated for yet another. Pat Metheny has won an unprecedented 7 Grammys for 7 consecutive album releases.

The most stunning thing about this DVD is the *sound.* It takes advantage of the Dolby/DTS 5.1 soundstage to deliver this incredibly clean, rich sound that is full of life and energy. If you want to demo your home theater system to show its music capabilities, pop in "Imaginary Day" and play "Follow Me," an optimistic toe-tapping pop-jazz number that soars and glides and builds to a great finish.

The range of styles and the range of types of guitars that Pat plays is amazing. The first cut, "Into The Dream," is an acoustic solo with Pat playing a 3-headed 40-string 'guitar.' "Minuano (Six Eight)" blends pop-jazz with Brazilian vocal stylings that build and build into a controlled fury. Despite PM's fast guitar playing each note is played cleanly and with astonishing purity; the band does get loud but never overextended. "The Roots of Coincidence" really rocks, in which PM plays over an edgy bass/rhythm guitar line that is reminiscent of Nirvana and The Cure. The drumming of Paul Wertico and the keyboards of Lyle Mays really shine along with PM. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts.

The one drawback to this DVD is the video. While it filled my 16:9 widescreen monitor without a hitch, the film transfer can be somewhat grainy at times, particularly on night shots. It looks like they pushed the film. The video production is so-so -- there are a couple of moments when you wish the producer would stop fiddling with the video effects.

Despite the mediocre video, the stunningly rich 5.1 audio and absolutely top-notch playing of the Pat Metheny Group makes the DVD a very enjoyable experience if you like jazz-rock fusion. If you have a 5-speaker plus subwoofer DTS-capable system, this DVD really is a must listen.

An excellent live concert of one of the Pat Metheny Group's best albums, Imaginary Day Live is all over the map, musically speaking and a great primer for the music fan who might not be familiar with the group. Whether you're looking for beautiful ballads (Across the Sky), straight up jazz (A Story Within The Story), pop-inspired songs (Follow Me) or thrash metal (Roots of Coincidence) the group has something for every musical category. It's also pretty amazing to see Pat switch effortlessly between different guitars (electric, classical, guitar synths, etc), often within the same song. About the only gripe I have is that it's all over too soon; it would have been nice to have even more songs on the DVD. Give this one a try, I think you'll be amazed with the quality of the playing and the range of the music.

I really wish I had bought this earlier. I was put off by the bad reviews of the visuals, and as a pro cameraman, that was enough to dissuade me ...but I had to see it for myself, as Imaginary Day is one of my 2 fave PMG albums. I'm sure Steve Rodby learned a lot from this. Now, the camerawork is perfectly adequate- despite being fairly unprofessional. There are many late adjustments, obvious zooms, and some soft shots... as though two guys were running around trying to keep ten cameras following the action. The editing- mostly the transitional effects- are also quite indulgent & amateurish... but I felt that even if this DVD offered a less polished view of the PMG, It makes up for it with the feeling that this was the band's own home movie of a day or so at work, with all the immediacy that that implies, and also gives rackspotters a bigger eyeful than usual. Interestingly, they hired Tak Watanabe to direct their next DVD (Speaking of Now), a man I got to work with in 1988...In contrast to Imaginary Day, the Speaking of Now DVD is almost flawless...That said, I'm glad they let Steve Rodby man the controls. I think this is a more intimate viewing experience, despite the flaws, and I feel we all got an interesting and different look at the band for it- after all, the director is a member of the band.... I also thought the sound, esp. the DTS surround, was fabulous. Recommended.

Turn off the TV and listen to this DVD. Image quality and composition are the worst I've ever seen on a professionally released concert. Given that bassist Rodby had full access to the band for setups and camera angles, his directorial choices seem all the more bizzare. Add to that lame video effects reminiscent of the dreaded "toaster" and you have quite a dissappointment on your hands. Stellar band peformances and audio quality make the visuals even more junior-varsity by comparison. To see beautifully shot jazz, check out the Dejohnette/Hancock/Holland/Metheny DVD as well as Keith Jarret Trio, Live at Open Theater East. Being a huge PMG fan (I've seen 4 of their live concerts over the years) I was really counting on this DVD to be a front-row seat. But given the choice between this disc and the balcony, I'll take the balcony.

Its always a treat to hear PMG and this DVD performance does not disappoint. An amazing performance. This is as good a performance I have ever seen or heard from them.

What is really kinda "sophmoric" about the DVD is the video production. The directing and editing are really poor and heavy handed. Steve Rodby (bassist for PMG) is behind the cretive on the DVD. He's an amazing bassist and musician, but as a video producer, director and editor he leaves something to be desired. Visual effects and clever edits are way over used. Even the interview with PAT is so over-produced its a bit embarrasing.

Overall, you couldn't keep me from recommending ths DVD performance based on the level of musicianship and compositions. Its excellent. PMG is and always will be one of the most creative and inspiring group of musicians around. Go out and BUY IT! (Just don't expect a really cool video presentation.) :)

I bought this video in the hopes that I would be graced by the Pat Metheny Group but instead ended up annoyed and dissappointed. The band's performance was musically great and worth hearing however, I couldn't get over how poorly this DVD was produced and directed. I assume it is because Pat let Steve Rodby, the bass player, execute his hobbyist level skills on what should be a professionally produced and directed project. The concert is full of bad camera shots where all you see is Pat's back or side during most of his improvisations and other extended portions of his performance. There are a few decent shots of Pat and Group playing but even those are obscurred by a cymbal stand or drum rack standing in the way .... I would estimate you can't see Pat playing half the time. On top of the poor camera work Steve Rodby chose to use a bunch of cheesy 80s production effects that are distracting and ruin what is left of something worth seeing. Given the credibility of a great jazz artist such as Pat it is embarrassing that these cheap effects and poor production was even used. They remind me of something you'd see in a high school talent show just to give you an idea of what they look like. ...

I saw three performances of the "Imaginary Day" tour. They were all blow away. Unfortunately, the video production on this DVD misses the mark. There were several times when I found myself wishing for a simple front shot of Pat or Lyle to see some detail. It just seemed that so much was missed. It was obvious the camera operators and/or director of the shoot were not familiar with the music. Instead of anticipating solos and having the shots ready, the cameras often pan off one thing to catch up to the soloist. The lighting was not conducive to video, the shots were often overexposed and the contrast range was too much for the video cameras to handle.

Musically, some of the performance seemed a little forced. I remember those three shows I saw being so much better. That being said, anything on video showing the mastery of Pat, Lyle and the group is money well spent. One of the highlights is "September Fifteenth," which is absolutely enchanting.

The "More Travels" video (1992) definitely spoiled me. Even with the mixture of film and video, it was complete. The video really offered the viewer many nuances that "Imaginary Day" fails to show.

After watching this DVD I am anxiously waiting for PMG's next release, tour and video. But, in the back of my mind, I'm hoping the video will be a little better.

Imaginary Day captures this edition of the PMG at the height of its powers, playing what I consider their strongest-ever material flawlessly and with complete confidence. The audio is first-rate, very well mixed for surround and sounding terrific in DTS.

Bassist Steve Rodby also directed and edited the video, and he really needs to learn some restraint. There are far too many excursions into various distracting effects, playing with screen layout, color, frame-rate and other self-indulgent experiments that are just annoying. I deduct one star for this.

The reviewer who complained about there being only one picture per song may possibly have ordered the DVD-Audio version of "Imaginary Day," rather than this DVD Video.