PAT METHENY — New Chautauqua (review)

PAT METHENY — New Chautauqua album cover Album · 1979 · Post-Fusion Contemporary Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
EatThatPhonebook
7/10

"New Chautauqua" is one of Metheny's most solitary and melancholy albums.

Pat Metheny is a man who loves to travel. We can say this not only because he does about a billion concerts every year, but his main themes in his music are about the road, exploring the urban world, but also more isolated places. I feel that with "New Chautauqua" Metheny is in one of these places. This LP is once again a nice and enjoyable gem of Jazz music, something to not underrate and to listen to with care.

As someone who listened to Pat Metheny should know, this music is completely guitar based, whether it's electric or acoustic. As a matter of fact, they barely are any other instruments besides the acoustic and electric guitar. It is indeed a solitaire album, full of melancholy and sadness. But there is also joy and hope, as well as haunting beauty. An album with many faces, played basically with only one instrument, which is amazing to me. The production of the album is also very enchanting and gives the music that magical touch it needs. Many have called this Fusion, but I don't see why honestly, it is definitely not in the traditional sense of the genre, because this music in the end of the day is pretty minimalistic, and, even though virtuous, not so complex and just very far away from bands like Return Of Forever, or even Al Dimeola.

Some very delightful and pleasure-filled moments are here, the best one being the ten minute "Falling Star", in my opinion the "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" of the artist. A crushingly beautiful guitar soaked in reverb and chorus, it just makes it so haunting sounding, from beginning to end. For a lighter mood, there is the joyful title track, that also opens the album. The exotic "Sueno Con Mexico" has some Latin influences as the title implies, and "Hermitage" a delicate little song that often is forgotten by fans of Metheny.

"New Chautauqua" is a very delightful experience, just like many of Pat's albums. I would call it an essential release for whoever loves the work of this amazingly talented and very rightfully praised man.
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