Secret Story

by

Pat Metheny

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I don't think that analogy is entirely accurate, but it's the closest one I can think of. Secret Story is an epic, a wide-reaching work of vast scope and limitless imagination. I realize I sound like some cheap PR man writing that, but I find it hard to convey the sheer magnificence of this music in simple terms. This is an album that's taken me four years to appreciate - since I'd been familiar with the more pedestrian (if such a term can even be applied to Metheny) Offramp and its like, I was unprepared for the grand symphonic bent of Secret Story. It's rooted in jazz, but just calling it jazz would be like calling Da Vinci a simple painter. Pat's keyboards and his trademark guitar tone are joined by the London Symphony and an occasional choir in a blend of styles that spans the globe. Its overall tone is almost new-agey, but it stretches so far beyond generic new age music as to make the term meaningless.

Pat's compositional skills are on display just as much as his phenomenal guitar work. "Facing West" soars above a vast landscape of lush green forests. "Finding and Believing" is Oriental funk, if such a thing even exists. A dreamy piano drifts through "The Longest Summer," painting pictures of blue cloudless skies. "See the World," the most similar to the songs on Pat's other albums, could have come straight from Offramp or Travels. I won't stretch this out by going track-by-track, but every piece here creates its own individual exotic atmosphere while contributing a vital part of the grand whole. Even 76 minutes seems like a short running time, considering just how much is packed into this little piece of plastic.

If you're not turned off by the description of new-age classical world-beat jazz (and you're prepared to give it a good while to grow on you), you'll find more feeling and depth to this album than I can sum up in words. It stands alone in the Metheny catalogue and in the world of jazz itself. This can be unassuming background wallpaper if you need to relax, or it can captivate your senses if you give it your full attention. It's sonic poetry of the highest order. Take a listen and hear what you've been missing.

The music on Pat Metheny's Secret Story is indeed rich in textures. Each song has unique stylings. Some are a little more keyboard focused, some emphasize the guitar, others are more orchestral focused. The pleasing new age feel that exists from track to track is a definite plus.

Where the above CD is quite pleasing on atmosphereics, it is slightly lacking in song structure. Nearly half the tracks excede six minutes in length and several of them just are not too memorable particularly the nearly ten minute epic Finding and Believing. The chanting vocal effect is even a bit overdone.

None the less, Facing West and Antonia are indeed two beautiful songs. Not To Be Forgotten is nice closing mood piece. And there are some pretty moments in many of the other tracks. However, the feeling here for this newbie to Pat Metheny is that there are other recordings that better represent his work.