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mugsy May 23 2014 at 5:14 PM	Hi garagers, A friend of mine (believe it or not) has never heard Pat and asked me to make him a sample playlist. I made one for him on the more conservative side - given his age and my perception of what I thought he would like. He liked most, but commented that he had "hoped the music would be a little less tame..." So, I want to put together another playlist - and am looking for suggestions. I am thinking Half Life of Absolution, Imaginary Day, etc... Any ideas of what to include? I really doubt that he will like Zero Silence - that is too out there. Thanks in advance!
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Wendy Jul 15 2014 at 10:40 AM	Story From a Stranger from the Rejoicing album is one of my favorites.
naut Jun 29 2014 at 6:34 PM	Start at the beginning. I think a listener who gets Bright Size Life will surely continue to dig what Pat & co. created through the years. Just my two cents....
mugsy Jun 25 2014 at 12:40 PM	Thanks everyone - all great suggestions. I made my friend a second playlist and included a song from Zero Silence and Sign of Four - he loved both! I told him those two CDs are my least favorite, but with Metheny there is something for everyone! He also liked Half Life of Absolution and a few others. He also said that after giving it a second (and sometimes third) listen, he actually liked most of the songs I gave him. He told me today, he is going to get tickets for the Santa Rosa Show. This is all good!
yossarian Jun 23 2014 at 10:08 AM	I would include the trio stuff. I think some people, on first hearing, find the high production values of the group records too glossy, too polished (some won’t ’get it’ until they see the band in concert). So go trio and maybe some stuff from Quartet - Montevideo, Badlands, When We Were Free.
Mave223 Jun 22 2014 at 2:16 PM	If it had been me, I would not have tempered the playlist but would’ve included not only his work with Steve Roach and pieces like "Offramp", but some of the edgier trio stuff. Mixed in would’ve been the songs you included. The contrast might’ve been more compelling to someone who might’ve been musically sequestered. I have often been surprised at some of the things that call the attention of many people on the periphery when I play my music through the speakers either at home or at work. My daughter often surprises me by what called her attention as opposed to what I would have anticipated. Pat is one of those rare artists that you can actually play a wide array of his material and find that someone new to him, is listening to several artists. Just my opinion.
bebe May 28 2014 at 6:14 PM	I also usually start with Third Wind. It has a wow to it. It doesn’t matter who listens to it.
mountain May 28 2014 at 3:44 PM	Lots of good recommendations. How about something from "Sign of 4."
hman01 May 28 2014 at 8:32 AM	I tried to make a list but it was too hard.Pat’s catalogue is so huge! My first song was "San Lorenzo",which was the first Pat Metheny song I ever heard.So it turns out that if you just wanted to simply do a sample of selections covering Pat’s career,that alone would take at least two days for a newbie to digest.I guess the only way you could do this is to tailor your selections to the taste of the listener.
tiny_tim May 28 2014 at 12:51 AM	"hoped the music would be a little less tame..." OK, a starter for 10....."Mastema".....
tomm May 27 2014 at 9:56 PM	Oops - just reread and saw foper mentioned it. Sorry about that
lorenantolik May 27 2014 at 9:33 PM	maybe give him your favorites. then you have something that you can talk about, and why you like it.
bebe May 27 2014 at 5:23 PM	I usually ask the person what type of music they like. There is a Pat for every genre. It helps if the newbie can identify a sound he likes in Pat’s music.
tomm May 27 2014 at 1:49 PM	I’m surprised no one has mentioned "The Roots Of Coincidence." Although it has never been one of my personal favorites, I recall lots of positive comments after ID came out.
mugsy May 27 2014 at 9:57 AM	Thanks everyone, Many of your suggestions were on the my first attempt to introduce my friend to Pat. I am kind of leaning toward Biken Jazz’s comment about "why bother". Now that you have all validated my ideas for a good intro to Pat playlist, I am wondering if he will like anything I make. I suppose Pat is not for everyone, sadly.
marshall May 26 2014 at 12:20 PM	Give him The Way Up (Opening), Question and Answer from Trio-->Live!, Are You Going With Me? the Upojenie version, The Heat of the Day from Imaginary Day Live, Mastema from Zorn, Signals from Unity Band, Rise Up from Kin, and a live version of First Circle (say from The Road to You, or We Live Here live). That’s a pretty good mix of songs I’d consider "exciting."
blisterfree May 26 2014 at 12:54 AM	Maybe you could just send him off to one of the Unity Group shows instead. Otherwise, the perceived tameness is of course all subtlety and dynamics that his ears may not yet be primed to decipher. You can’t rush the process, but if he’s open to receiving the message then the epiphany will surely come.
foper May 25 2014 at 8:45 AM	For me some of the Metheny songs that have good intensity are: The Way Up (all of it. I particularly like the live version), Are You Going With Me (I especially like the version with Anna Maria Jopek - Upojenie), Find and Believing (Secret Story), The Heat of the Day (Imaginary Day), The Roots of Coincidence (Imaginary Day), First Circle (First Circle), Have you Heard (The Road to You), To the End of the World (We Live Here), Minuano (Still Life), Third Wind (Still Life) – (NOTE: I particularly like the Still Life versions of these because of the way Pat recorded his guitar. He mic-ed his 175 so you can hear the presence of his pick) - A Place in the World (Speaking of Now), Towards the Light (Metheny/Mehldau), As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls (As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls), It’s for You (As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls), San Lorenzo (Pat Metheny Group), (Cross the) Heartland (American Garage), The Epic (American Garage), Song For Bilbao (I like the version on his Speaking of Now live DVD), Orchestrion (Orchestrion). That’s really just for starters. There is so much in the Metheny library.
imeubu May 25 2014 at 12:31 AM	Maybe try ’Back Arm & Blackcharge’ [Live] from Tokyo Day Trip and Question And Answer (Live) from Trio Live [ Disc 1]. Also, The Red One and Day Trip from the Day Trip CD. Depends what the person’s range is I guess. There’s just so much ’nuance’ in Pat’s playing/compositions it really is more about how much of an investment the ’listener’ is interested making to relate to what is being presented. As with any art …
Kooltrane May 24 2014 at 6:11 PM	Song X. Enough said.
Bikenjazz May 24 2014 at 9:12 AM	With all due respect, and I really hesitate to be negative and cynical.............but in some ways I say "why bother?"............It is hard to believe that after all of these years and the profound and expansive career of Mr. Metheny..........that many people do not know who he is what the music has been and continues to be...... Tame? start with the beauty of September 15th............throw in material from Still Life Talking and Letter from Home............how about the tune from Imaginary Day that won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental?........then the Way Up..............then who knows.........and that is not even considering all of the other material with other artists to numerous to mention.............
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