This joint solo effort by Metheny and regular pianist and collaborator Lyle Mays is an impressive outing.
In the process of stretching out away from the confines of the quartet setting of prior albums, Metheny and Mays presage the sleeker and more ethereal sound of the band's Geffen years on portions of the title track.
And while this side-long number has some dreamy moments, it also bogs down in a trite climax or two; one gets the sense of a jazz fusion and prog rock marriage Metheny luckily never fully explored.
Minor flaws, really, since the piece holds together in spite of the worrisome lapses of taste.
The balance of the album is just fine, with the highlight being the Bill Evans remembrance, "September Fifteenth" (the date of Evan's passing, which occurred while the album was being recorded).
Metheny and Mays appropriately opt for a serene and slightly elegiac piano and acoustic guitar duet.
The set is balanced out by the fleet Americana of "Ozark" and the streamlined swinger "It's for You." Topped off by integral and tasteful percussion by future band regular Nana Vasconcelos, this 1981 Metheny date is certainly a worthwhile disc for fans to seek out, while not being essential.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita FallsLyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Play | 20:44 | 47 MB | 108 MB |
| 2 | OzarkLyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | It's for YouLyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny | Play | 08:20 | 19 MB | 47 MB |
| 4 | September Fifteenth (Dedicated To Bill Evans) | Pat Metheny | Play | 07:45 | 17 MB | 29 MB |
| 40 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 207 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manfred Eicher | Producer |
| 2 | Klaus Frahm | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 3 | Jan Erik Kongshaug | Engineer |
| 4 | Lyle Mays | Autoharp, Composer, Keyboards, Organ, Performer, Piano, Primary Artist, Synthesizer |
| 5 | Pat Metheny | Bass, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (8 String), Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Classical), Guitar (Electric), Performer, Primary Artist |
| 6 | Rob Van Petten | Photography |
| 7 | Naná Vasconcelos | Berimbau, Drums, Drums (Snare), Guest Artist, Percussion, Vocals |
| 8 | Barbara Wojirsch | Design |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |