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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. The Sound of Silence |
| 2. Cherish |
| 3. Alfie |
| 4. Pipeline |
| 5. Garota de Ipanema |
| 6. Rainy Days and Mondays |
| 7. That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be |
| 8. Slow Hot Wind |
| 9. Betcha by Golly, Wow |
| 10. And I Love Her |
Product Description
Review
Guitarist Pat Metheny is probably about as successful as a jazz musician gets to be these days. The winner of multiple Grammy Awards, with scores of recordings under his belt, he’s amassed a huge following for his brand of highly-polished, richly melodic fusion-lite. Ever easy on the ear, his is a kind of adult-oriented jazz, engineered to go down smooth.
This album is unlikely to ruffle any feathers – it’s as daintily crafted as anything he’s ever released – but, rather than the air-brushed electric jazz he’s famous for making with his eponymous group, What’s It All About is a solo acoustic guitar record. This thematic follow-up to the Grammy-winning 2003 solo release One Quiet Night contains 10 tracks drawn from pop and jazz, some very well known, and all chosen for their inherent melodic and harmonic properties. As Metheney puts it, "Every one of these tunes has something going on that is just hip on a musical level, no matter how you cut it."
The majority of the tracks are performed on a specially tuned baritone guitar, which provides a sumptuous setting – as on the diaphanous and delicately deconstructed take on Girl From Ipanema. Indeed, the heart of this album is a string of intimate, unhurried tracks (recorded late at night in Metheny’s New York apartment) – ranging from Bacharach and David’s Alfie to The Stylistics’ Betcha By Golly, Wow – which Metheny gently nudges into subtly melodic extemporisations via small detours from the tune. Throughout, he seems supremely comfortable with the songs, trusting in their logic and form, allowing them to suggest their own stories.
There are, however, a few tracks that depart from this template. Paul Simon’s The Sound of Silence is interpreted using a 42-string guitar (essentially a portable harp), dripping with dreamy cascades and flourishes. And surf classic Pipeline gets a grittier treatment on the six-string guitar, goaded along with urgent strumming and a Morricone-style Iberian lilt.
But these flashes of stylistic innovation are rare. For the most part, it’s all supremely controlled, sweetly inoffensive and velvety smooth. Metheny’s many fans are 100% guaranteed to love every moment.
--Daniel Spicer
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
Subtle 2011 covers album! Solo acoustic reinterpretions of songs by Paul Simon ; The Beatles ; Burt Bacharach ; Antonio Carlos Jobim ; The Carpenters and others.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Following last year's unique solo date which saw him playing an ensemble of instruments from his guitar via the Orchestrion, Pat Metheny returns here to the musical ground he explored on 2003's One Quiet Night: solo acoustic guitar, no overdubs, recorded late at night in his home studio. Given his reputation as a prolific and skilled composer, some listeners were surprised to find a few covers (including, somewhat incongruously, "Ferry Cross The Mersey") in that set. Well, they'll be astonished at the tracklist for this record which, for the first time in his thirty-five year career, contains no original material at all.
Instead, Metheny tackles pop songs that, he says, he was enjoying before he ever wrote anything (or even, in a few cases, picked up an instrument). These include such oft-recorded chestnuts as "And I Love Her", "The Sound Of Silence" and "Alfie" (whose opening line gives the record its title). But Metheny brings his considerable talents to bear on his interpretations of these pieces, carefully drawing out the melodies and adding new harmonies in a loving homage to these timelessly memorable tunes. This is a worthy companion set to "One Quiet Night": exuding the same intimate, thoughtful atmosphere, whilst probably being more accessible, given the initial familiarity of the setlist.
Instead, Metheny tackles pop songs that, he says, he was enjoying before he ever wrote anything (or even, in a few cases, picked up an instrument). These include such oft-recorded chestnuts as "And I Love Her", "The Sound Of Silence" and "Alfie" (whose opening line gives the record its title). But Metheny brings his considerable talents to bear on his interpretations of these pieces, carefully drawing out the melodies and adding new harmonies in a loving homage to these timelessly memorable tunes. This is a worthy companion set to "One Quiet Night": exuding the same intimate, thoughtful atmosphere, whilst probably being more accessible, given the initial familiarity of the setlist.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If all you knew about Pat Metheny's music hinged on the perfunctory details of its genre (jazz, for the most part) and the artist's instrument of choice (guitar, for the most part), listening to his latest offering, "What's It All About" provides fundamental context to his craftsmanship if not a sweeping representation of his craft.
Known primarily for his proficiency and experiments on the electric guitar, Metheny scales down to an acoustic, solo setting on this album, its title coming from the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic, "Alfie", just one of ten pop standards he interprets on this all-covers project.
The music in general assumes a rather somber, evocative dimension, which Metheny complements with intricate, often Flamenco-styled picking. Such subtlety allows him to take generous liberties along the way, magnifying familiar moments of songs (the opening notes of The Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly, Wow", the vocal progression in Carly Simon's "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be") rather than indulging more-literal translations.
Other standouts include a lovely rendering of The Beatles' "And I Love Her" and The Carpenters' "Rainy Days and Mondays", which Metheny draws out into a melancholy, near-desolate meditation.
And so if all you knew about Pat Metheny was just the basics, listening to him play on "What's It All About" affords more than enough incentive to explore his catalog further. For those already familiar with his work, though, this should come as no surprise. D. Gibson
My personal picks: "Cherish", "That's The Way I Have Always Herd It Should Be", "And I Love Her", "Betcha by Golly, Wow".
Known primarily for his proficiency and experiments on the electric guitar, Metheny scales down to an acoustic, solo setting on this album, its title coming from the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic, "Alfie", just one of ten pop standards he interprets on this all-covers project.
The music in general assumes a rather somber, evocative dimension, which Metheny complements with intricate, often Flamenco-styled picking. Such subtlety allows him to take generous liberties along the way, magnifying familiar moments of songs (the opening notes of The Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly, Wow", the vocal progression in Carly Simon's "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be") rather than indulging more-literal translations.
Other standouts include a lovely rendering of The Beatles' "And I Love Her" and The Carpenters' "Rainy Days and Mondays", which Metheny draws out into a melancholy, near-desolate meditation.
And so if all you knew about Pat Metheny was just the basics, listening to him play on "What's It All About" affords more than enough incentive to explore his catalog further. For those already familiar with his work, though, this should come as no surprise. D. Gibson
My personal picks: "Cherish", "That's The Way I Have Always Herd It Should Be", "And I Love Her", "Betcha by Golly, Wow".
Format:Audio CD
I love this tenor guitar and its wonderful warm sound. It's different. But it's sure in the hands of Pat Metheny
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
what is it all about?
As someone with dozens of Metheney's releases, some of which I'd save from a burning building, others which I just don't get, I hope I can make a useful comment. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Steven Berry
Another Quiet Night...
Since the last Pat Metheny Group album appearance in 2005, Mr Metheny has kept himself busy with various collaborative, duo and trio projects and, more recently, a couple of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by R. Muir
superb tunes excellent production
musical work of art,beautiful, with excellent sound production,unlike the Jim Hall Pat Metheny duet which also has great tunes let down by a poorly produced live recording with a... Read more
Published 8 months ago by dylan
Enjoyable
Pat Metheny recording 'Betcha by Golly, Wow'!!! Is this a wind up? No and wow how it works!!!
Excellent choice of songs and title track my fav.
Excellent choice of songs and title track my fav.
Published 9 months ago by R. Cheshire
The movable apostrophe S
I love the fact that Amazon has chosen, with a typo, to re-title this Pat Metheny acoustic album. "What it's all about" is actually quite a good title for an album of brilliant... Read more
Published 9 months ago by P. S. Guttridge
the man, alone
Much more enthralling than "one quiet night", indeed. Any Pat fan will own this already, so I just want to
confirm it's a great addition to his huge discography. Read more
confirm it's a great addition to his huge discography. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ramses
Another Quiet Night
OK, so you like "One Quiet Night", which is not the best Metheny album by miles. Here is the same evocative, sensitive stuff, mulled over and overdubbed, despite a previous... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Fortuna Smiles
METHENY'S BEAUTIFUL 2011 SOLO ACOUSTICAL GUITAR SET
Four and a half IMPRESSIVE Stars!! On his latest solo guitar CD, legendary multiple Grammy Award-winning composer, guitarist, and leader Pat Metheny takes a break from his... Read more
Published 11 months ago by RBSProds
While re-imagining familiar material, he retunrs to his roots....
For many jazz fans, listening to Pat Metheny can be both a rewarding and frustrating experience.
As a teen guitarist for legendary vibe player Gary Burton, Metheny played... Read more
As a teen guitarist for legendary vibe player Gary Burton, Metheny played... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Purple
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