With this album, we have what many think of as the classic Pat Metheny Group sound, “San Lorenzo” being a perfect exemplar.
My first instinct is to say that the music has a lot of space in it, but that doesn’t quite get us there. It’s more that the musical structures are built by implication. Listen to how the changes are danced around with chiming artificial harmonics, short bass missives, attackless guitar tones, and Lyle Mays’ swipes across the autoharp. These sequences are often punctuated by a quick volume increase, accented by Dan Gottlieb’s cymbal washes. The group’s use of dynamics in this way is definitely one of their defining characteristics, with many examples to follow.
The live version actually lacks some of sonic detail of the studio track, but I just couldn’t resist the odd charm of seeing Pat playing that electric 12-string.
- How Eric Clapton’s ‘Me and Mr. Johnson’ Made the Case for British Blues - March 20, 2024
- Why Todd Rundgren’s ‘Back to the Bars’ Remains So Powerful - December 13, 2023
- Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’ - September 11, 2023
