Lyle Mays Music

This is just a matter of taste, but I have never quite 'got' the PMG. Mostly I find the music very simple and saccharine. I find tracks like 'Phase Dance' unbearable. But there are some excellent tracks here and there, eg. 'Are You Coming with Me?', or 'The Heat of the Day', and Metheny can produce some great soloing.

I think the title track is a very good piece of music. It starts atmospherically and has some interesting dynamics throughout. 'September 15th' is above average for PMG. The other tracks are, again, just a bit too twee for my tastes.

For those wanting longer pieces with more emotional oomph and musical interest, try Yes's 'Close to the Edge' or Allan Holdsworth's 'The Unmerry-Go-Round'.

I probably would have given this a 5-star rating if it wasn't for that pointless little 2-minute song at the end with the vocals that, like the song itself was totally unnecessary. It still confuses me why they tagged that inane little piece on the end of an otherwise supurb piece of work. The 20-minute title tune is difficult to describe.....as I said, it's fascinating, haunting and it stays with you. It's a beautiful slab of artistry that deviates not only from Metheny's norm, but ANYONE'S norm. It maintains a minimalist foundation, it builds, subsides and just continues to mesmerize. The next song "Ozark" is more of a straight jazz piece featuring Mays on the piano, and the next 2 songs are fabulous pieces that remind you more of what you expect from Metheny. The album would have been excellent and complete with those 4 songs. Despite the diversity, it is an amazingly cohesive album. Everything goes together so well!! Then, that last bit just hangs there and makes you say, "What was that for?" There is an album's worth of brilliant material here. The album is worth any cost just for the title tune, but most of the rest of the album is a tremedous supplement. Overall, this is an album you should get........most of it, you will play many times over!

If I had listened to samples before and not just read the reviews - I never would have bought it. That does not mean that you wouldn't like it.

This classic from 1981 is one of my favourites from the Metheny/Mays partnership and is a must-have for any fan of their music. It's mesmerizing stuff indeed.

The title track is very experimental even by today's standards let alone back then and as one might predict, it got (and still gets) very mixed reviews. Personally, I love it though and, according to Metheny himself in a magazine article, many of the ideas employed on the Pat Metheny Group's 2005 album The Way Up actually had their genesis on this recording 24 years earlier! I find that amazing.

The album speaks to me in so many different ways and though I've had it on vinyl since 1987 (the brilliant title track takes up the whole of side one!), I just had to get the CD because this is the kind of music I love playing in the car while driving late at night. "September Fifteenth", a dedication to Bill Evans and ""It's For You"" are also personal favourites as is the closing vocal track, "Estupenda Graça", sung by Nana Vasconcelos, whose vocals can also be heard in other places on the album. At 2mins 41secs it's much too short, though I have read somewhere that it was expanded on during a subsequent live tour that included the singer & percussionist in its lineup. Vasconcelos also plays berimbau, percussion and drums on this recording. Lyle Mays plays piano, synthesizer, organ and autoharp and Pat Metheny plays electric & acoustic 6 & 12 string guitars and bass.

These dudes are simply the best. They've had me enthralled for well over 20 years now and I applaud them for refusing to adhere to the narrow definitions of jazz that many would prefer them to.

I was fortunate enough to be music director at my college radio station when AFWFSFWF came out and we wore the grooves out on this disc. It's been 26 years since, and the music has proved to be timeless. It's also full of messages- I've heard the theme of the title track covers anything from nuclear war to Vietnam. That ability to take away different interpretations of the music is what has impressed me so much.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before here, but I was once told that all of the images on the album cover represent a song title on the album. I can understand that. It's an awesome cover, too.

This is just a matter of taste, but I have never quite 'got' the PMG. Mostly I find the music very simple and saccharine. I find tracks like 'Phase Dance' unbearable. But there are some excellent tracks here and there, eg. 'Are You Coming with Me?', or 'The Heat of the Day', and Metheny can produce some great soloing.

I think the title track is a very good piece of music. It starts atmospherically and has some interesting dynamics throughout. 'September 15th' is above average for PMG. The other tracks are, again, just a bit too twee for my tastes.

For those wanting longer pieces with more emotional oomph and musical interest, try Yes's 'Close to the Edge' or Allan Holdsworth's 'The Unmerry-Go-Round'.

I probably would have given this a 5-star rating if it wasn't for that pointless little 2-minute song at the end with the vocals that, like the song itself was totally unnecessary. It still confuses me why they tagged that inane little piece on the end of an otherwise supurb piece of work. The 20-minute title tune is difficult to describe.....as I said, it's fascinating, haunting and it stays with you. It's a beautiful slab of artistry that deviates not only from Metheny's norm, but ANYONE'S norm. It maintains a minimalist foundation, it builds, subsides and just continues to mesmerize. The next song "Ozark" is more of a straight jazz piece featuring Mays on the piano, and the next 2 songs are fabulous pieces that remind you more of what you expect from Metheny. The album would have been excellent and complete with those 4 songs. Despite the diversity, it is an amazingly cohesive album. Everything goes together so well!! Then, that last bit just hangs there and makes you say, "What was that for?" There is an album's worth of brilliant material here. The album is worth any cost just for the title tune, but most of the rest of the album is a tremedous supplement. Overall, this is an album you should get........most of it, you will play many times over!

If I had listened to samples before and not just read the reviews - I never would have bought it. That does not mean that you wouldn't like it.

This classic from 1981 is one of my favourites from the Metheny/Mays partnership and is a must-have for any fan of their music. It's mesmerizing stuff indeed.

The title track is very experimental even by today's standards let alone back then and as one might predict, it got (and still gets) very mixed reviews. Personally, I love it though and, according to Metheny himself in a magazine article, many of the ideas employed on the Pat Metheny Group's 2005 album The Way Up actually had their genesis on this recording 24 years earlier! I find that amazing.

The album speaks to me in so many different ways and though I've had it on vinyl since 1987 (the brilliant title track takes up the whole of side one!), I just had to get the CD because this is the kind of music I love playing in the car while driving late at night. "September Fifteenth", a dedication to Bill Evans and ""It's For You"" are also personal favourites as is the closing vocal track, "Estupenda Graça", sung by Nana Vasconcelos, whose vocals can also be heard in other places on the album. At 2mins 41secs it's much too short, though I have read somewhere that it was expanded on during a subsequent live tour that included the singer & percussionist in its lineup. Vasconcelos also plays berimbau, percussion and drums on this recording. Lyle Mays plays piano, synthesizer, organ and autoharp and Pat Metheny plays electric & acoustic 6 & 12 string guitars and bass.

These dudes are simply the best. They've had me enthralled for well over 20 years now and I applaud them for refusing to adhere to the narrow definitions of jazz that many would prefer them to.

I was fortunate enough to be music director at my college radio station when AFWFSFWF came out and we wore the grooves out on this disc. It's been 26 years since, and the music has proved to be timeless. It's also full of messages- I've heard the theme of the title track covers anything from nuclear war to Vietnam. That ability to take away different interpretations of the music is what has impressed me so much.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before here, but I was once told that all of the images on the album cover represent a song title on the album. I can understand that. It's an awesome cover, too.

This is just a matter of taste, but I have never quite 'got' the PMG. Mostly I find the music very simple and saccharine. I find tracks like 'Phase Dance' unbearable. But there are some excellent tracks here and there, eg. 'Are You Coming with Me?', or 'The Heat of the Day', and Metheny can produce some great soloing.

I think the title track is a very good piece of music. It starts atmospherically and has some interesting dynamics throughout. 'September 15th' is above average for PMG. The other tracks are, again, just a bit too twee for my tastes.

For those wanting longer pieces with more emotional oomph and musical interest, try Yes's 'Close to the Edge' or Allan Holdsworth's 'The Unmerry-Go-Round'.

I probably would have given this a 5-star rating if it wasn't for that pointless little 2-minute song at the end with the vocals that, like the song itself was totally unnecessary. It still confuses me why they tagged that inane little piece on the end of an otherwise supurb piece of work. The 20-minute title tune is difficult to describe.....as I said, it's fascinating, haunting and it stays with you. It's a beautiful slab of artistry that deviates not only from Metheny's norm, but ANYONE'S norm. It maintains a minimalist foundation, it builds, subsides and just continues to mesmerize. The next song "Ozark" is more of a straight jazz piece featuring Mays on the piano, and the next 2 songs are fabulous pieces that remind you more of what you expect from Metheny. The album would have been excellent and complete with those 4 songs. Despite the diversity, it is an amazingly cohesive album. Everything goes together so well!! Then, that last bit just hangs there and makes you say, "What was that for?" There is an album's worth of brilliant material here. The album is worth any cost just for the title tune, but most of the rest of the album is a tremedous supplement. Overall, this is an album you should get........most of it, you will play many times over!

If I had listened to samples before and not just read the reviews - I never would have bought it. That does not mean that you wouldn't like it.

This classic from 1981 is one of my favourites from the Metheny/Mays partnership and is a must-have for any fan of their music. It's mesmerizing stuff indeed.

The title track is very experimental even by today's standards let alone back then and as one might predict, it got (and still gets) very mixed reviews. Personally, I love it though and, according to Metheny himself in a magazine article, many of the ideas employed on the Pat Metheny Group's 2005 album The Way Up actually had their genesis on this recording 24 years earlier! I find that amazing.

The album speaks to me in so many different ways and though I've had it on vinyl since 1987 (the brilliant title track takes up the whole of side one!), I just had to get the CD because this is the kind of music I love playing in the car while driving late at night. "September Fifteenth", a dedication to Bill Evans and ""It's For You"" are also personal favourites as is the closing vocal track, "Estupenda Graça", sung by Nana Vasconcelos, whose vocals can also be heard in other places on the album. At 2mins 41secs it's much too short, though I have read somewhere that it was expanded on during a subsequent live tour that included the singer & percussionist in its lineup. Vasconcelos also plays berimbau, percussion and drums on this recording. Lyle Mays plays piano, synthesizer, organ and autoharp and Pat Metheny plays electric & acoustic 6 & 12 string guitars and bass.

These dudes are simply the best. They've had me enthralled for well over 20 years now and I applaud them for refusing to adhere to the narrow definitions of jazz that many would prefer them to.

I was fortunate enough to be music director at my college radio station when AFWFSFWF came out and we wore the grooves out on this disc. It's been 26 years since, and the music has proved to be timeless. It's also full of messages- I've heard the theme of the title track covers anything from nuclear war to Vietnam. That ability to take away different interpretations of the music is what has impressed me so much.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before here, but I was once told that all of the images on the album cover represent a song title on the album. I can understand that. It's an awesome cover, too.

Being a harpist myself, I can truly admire Catrin Finch's talent, style and choice of music selections for her first album.

Some songs are truly a revelation for the harp as an instrument using New Age style accompaniment, while there are still pieces with a classical vibe.

Well Done!

While biographies disguised as reviews are tiresome, some background is in order, in this case. At the age of 23, Catrin Finch has been playing the harp for 18 years. She was appearing on British television and with major orchestras by the time she was 10, and was appointed the Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales (a.k.a. Prince Charles) at the age of 20. Bottom line: This lady has more than enough credentials to be regarded as a major musical talent.

But does having a long list of credentials translate to making a great album? In this case, you bet it does. On "Crossing The Stone," Catrin Finch combines piles of technical expertise with surprising and even stunning musical choices. Sure, she covers classical music (such as Bach's 'Prelude from Partita #3' and Handel's 'The Arrival of The Queen of Sheba') brilliantly, but you'd expect that from an alumnus of The Royal College of Music. But would you expect to hear a piece by jazz pianist Dave Grusin done on the harp? How about music by guitarist Pat Metheny, or a Chick Corea composition?

Catrin Finch is an incredible talent, and she has created a beautiful, eclectic album that demands (and will receive) repeated listening. Unfortunately, it's also an album that you probably won't find in your local music store. This album has not received a lot of publicity, and I have yet to walk into a CD store and find it sitting on the shelf. Save yourself a lot of tedious shopping: buy it here and now.

The artist is able to deconstruct the traditional image of harp as an instument. The texture and the hue of the music is rich and full of lustre. very creative and versatile.

I first heard Catrin Finch on a free sample CD I received and when I listened to it, I couldn't believe that the instrument that she was playing was the harp! It was so vibrant and full of life. It felt like I had opened the windows and let the sun shine in. The harp is the world's oldest - and most difficult instrument, but in Ms. Finch's power it is sounds both contemporary effortlessly played. It is a wonderful buy for any appreciate of music, and the most electric harp album ever produced.

Being a harpist myself, I can truly admire Catrin Finch's talent, style and choice of music selections for her first album.

Some songs are truly a revelation for the harp as an instrument using New Age style accompaniment, while there are still pieces with a classical vibe.

Well Done!

While biographies disguised as reviews are tiresome, some background is in order, in this case. At the age of 23, Catrin Finch has been playing the harp for 18 years. She was appearing on British television and with major orchestras by the time she was 10, and was appointed the Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales (a.k.a. Prince Charles) at the age of 20. Bottom line: This lady has more than enough credentials to be regarded as a major musical talent.

But does having a long list of credentials translate to making a great album? In this case, you bet it does. On "Crossing The Stone," Catrin Finch combines piles of technical expertise with surprising and even stunning musical choices. Sure, she covers classical music (such as Bach's 'Prelude from Partita #3' and Handel's 'The Arrival of The Queen of Sheba') brilliantly, but you'd expect that from an alumnus of The Royal College of Music. But would you expect to hear a piece by jazz pianist Dave Grusin done on the harp? How about music by guitarist Pat Metheny, or a Chick Corea composition?

Catrin Finch is an incredible talent, and she has created a beautiful, eclectic album that demands (and will receive) repeated listening. Unfortunately, it's also an album that you probably won't find in your local music store. This album has not received a lot of publicity, and I have yet to walk into a CD store and find it sitting on the shelf. Save yourself a lot of tedious shopping: buy it here and now.

The artist is able to deconstruct the traditional image of harp as an instument. The texture and the hue of the music is rich and full of lustre. very creative and versatile.

I first heard Catrin Finch on a free sample CD I received and when I listened to it, I couldn't believe that the instrument that she was playing was the harp! It was so vibrant and full of life. It felt like I had opened the windows and let the sun shine in. The harp is the world's oldest - and most difficult instrument, but in Ms. Finch's power it is sounds both contemporary effortlessly played. It is a wonderful buy for any appreciate of music, and the most electric harp album ever produced.