Pat Metheny Group - American Garage

180-gram vinyl reissue

"Pat Metheny's popularity jumped to a much higher level in 1979 with his record American Garage." — The New York Times

Touchtones from ECM's 40-year history. Specially-priced and newly-packaged! The second recording of the Pat Metheny Group. Released originally in 1979 at a time when the band was headed for stardom.

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, writes AllMusic. 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.

Musicians:
Pat Metheny, 6 and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars
Lyle Mays, piano, Oberheim synthesizer, autoharp, electric organ
Mark Egan, electric bass
Dan Gottlieb, drums