New Chautauqua
For this 1979 recording, Pat Metheny tried something very different: a solo CD with extensive overdubs that put the emphasis on his acoustic guitar playing. It's in an idiom all its own, mixing the open harmonies of country music with some flamenco phrases, resulting in the melodic inventiveness of jazz with the acoustic virtuosity ofJohn Fahey. At times, the music has the feel of a universal campfire, with phrases that can bend from Appalachian folk picking to the music of India, with gently amplified leads over acoustic rhythm and subdued electric bass. The overall effect of this consort of one may be merely soothing, but like all of Metheny's work, the details are there to keep the interest level high.--Stuart Broomer