Pat Metheny Group
American Garage

1979 US Original, Wakefield Pressing Mastered By Bob Ludwig. Clean Glossy Vinyl, Jacket Lower VG+ With Moderate Foxing, Tiny Corner Ding, No Splits. "The Back Liner Photo Gives The Impression Of A Grungy Midwestern Garage Band, But No, That Doesn't Describe This Sophisticated Jazz-Rock Quartet, Which Was Simultaneously Breaking Into Mass-Market Acceptance And Away From The Contemplative ECM Stereotype. The Arrangements Are More Structured, The Playing Often More Intense And Searching, With A More Pronounced Rock Influence. On The Title Track, Metheny Digs In And Displays Some Authoritative Rock-Oriented Licks And Intensity, And The Rhythms On "The Search" Have A Slight, At Times Asymmetrical Latin Feeling. The Nearly 13-minute "The Epic" Finds The Metheny Group Developing Some Real Combustion In The Improvised Sections As Metheny, Keyboardist Lyle Mays, Bassist Mark Egan And Drummer Danny Gottlieb Grow Tighter As A Unit. In Hindsight, Some Of The Music Seems A Bit Too Tightly Conceived To Allow Adequate Breathing Room, But This Is Still High-Quality Jazz-Rock For Its Time." AMG - Richard S. Ginell.