Letter from Home Pat Metheny Group

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CD

  • Release Date: 08/06/2003
  • Original Release: 1989
  • Sales Rank: 182,876
  • Label: MCA JAPAN
  • UPC: 4988067000583

Listener Rating: (2 ratings)

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CD - Remastered$11.99

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  • Overview
  • Tracks
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
Click on LISTEN or link to hear an audio clip.
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Letter from Home

1LISTENHave You Heard 6:25
2LISTENEvery Summer Night 7:13
3LISTENBetter Days Ahead 3:03
4LISTENSpring Ain't Here 6:55
5LISTEN45/8 0:57
6LISTEN5-5-7 7:54
7LISTENBeat 70 4:55
8LISTENDream of the Return 5:26
9LISTENAre We There Yet 7:55
10LISTENVidala 3:03
11LISTENSlip Away 5:25
12LISTENLetter from Home 2:33

Editorial Reviews

Picking up where Still Life (Talking) leaves off (instead of throwing listeners a curve ball like Song X), the equally triumphant Letter from Home stresses Brazilian elements with superb results. While a number of these treasures -- including "Beat 70," "Have You Heard," and "Every Summer Night" -- are light and accessible enough to have enjoyed exposure on some smooth jazz stations, Letter contains the type of depth and honesty that's sorely lacking in most smooth jazz. Metheny has always known the difference between light and lightweight, and even at his most delicate, he avoids entering "Muzak" territory. True to form, the improviser doesn't shy away from making extensive use of technology, but is insightful enough to do so in a very warm and soulful fashion. Like Still Life, Letter from Home is a fine example of a CD that is both a commercial and an artistic success. Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

  • Listener Rating:
  • Ratings: 2Reviews: 2

PMG at their most commercially appealingby Anonymous

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October 08, 2007: Pat Metheny has been described (or maybe accused)as being the most lyrical of the fusion guitarists that arose in the '70's, and this CD represents his most appealing and melodic performance ever. Teaming with his longtime collaborator, keyboardist extraordinaire Lyle Mays, the compostitions are first-rate, emphasizing the melodic accessability that Metheny and Mays were obsessed with at this time (late '80's). If your are new to the genre, this is a perfect album to get to "know" this great fusion group's work. I dare anyone to listen to "Slip Away" for the first time and not immediately put it back on again. I saw PMG on their 1990 Letter from Home tour--an unbelievable live band with Steve Rodby killing on bass and the great Paul Wertico (no longer with the group) doing unparalleled drumming and cymbals work (his signature). "Have You Heard" was a concert highlight with Pedro nailing that last, now famous note. The studio cut on this album is nearly as exciting. What really stands out on the CD is Pat's incredible, unmatched soloing (though Mays nearly matches him) and the superior Mays/Metheny compositions, among the most commercially appealing in their catalog--and that's meant to be a compliment. Definitely a landmark jazz-fusion classic that any serious music collector has got to have.

This review was written about the CD edition.

The Very Best From PMGby Anonymous

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April 01, 2006: This represents the "ne plus ultra" from what is arguably is the best jazz fusion group ever -- and if Pat himself dislikes the term (or the corollary "Smooth Jazz") however you want to categorize this work, the PMG recordings are nearly always several platitudes higher than anything else like it. All the technical magnificence is there in Letter From Home -- amazing guitar, piano, bass, drum and percussion solos and textures, incredibly exotic rhythms and visionary electronics -- all this even is on a lower plane. This was the era when songwriters Pat Metheney and Lyle Mays really focused on SONGS, their impact as self-contained works where, I feel, harmony most often plays the defining magical role. The combination of all the careful writing and musical imagery and emotional impact -- all this makes Letter From Home the best Jazz CD -- or any CD, rather -- in my collection. I’ve listened to these songs literally hundreds of times, and yet they still have not lost their joyous value. Letter From Home is a "must have."

This review was written about the CD Remastered edition.