Full Review

Pat Metheny, Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) Review

Pat Metheny has been awing music fans since his debut album, Bright Size Life, released in 1975. His versatility as a composer and player is legendary. Over the years, he has performed with artists as diverse as Steve Reich to Ornette Coleman to Herbie Hancock to Jim Hall to Milton Nascimento to David Bowie. Metheny’s body of work includes compositions for solo guitar, small ensembles, electric and acoustic instruments, large orchestras, and ballet pieces, with settings ranging from modern jazz to rock to classical. His latest release is a live album recorded at Sony Hall in New York with keyboardist James Francies, and drummer Marcus Gilmore called Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV). Metheny, alongside the two new virtuosos of a younger generation, performs three new Metheny compositions and arrangements of his older material with graceful, contemporary sonic adornments.

Bottom Line: Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) benefits from the energy of being a live recording, which pushes the three players’ intuitive listening and interaction throughout the project. Metheny’s guitar sounds are varied and add to the flow of the music. The opening composition, “It Starts When We Disappear,” is one of the three new ones for this project, with an atmospheric intro of electronic loops, an active cymbal pulse, and swirling synths. The beautiful melody is backed by Metheny’s usual driving drums from Gilmore. Fancies’ solo explores colorful avenues through flurries of notes. Metheny’s solo is fluid and propelled by his irresistible rhythmic drive and keen melodic sense. “Better Days Ahead” is a co-arrangement between Metheny and Francies that has elements of the original feel with a little funkier undertone. Here Metheny expresses his jazz-folk language with added bends and trills of expression. A crowd favorite is a fresh arrangement of “Bright Size Life.” Opening with Metheny’s shifting voicings over a pedal tone. The trio takes the song at a brisk pace, one which Metheny digs into for his solo and spins out his chromatically embellished figures between melodic gems. Overall, Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) is an album that captures the energy, joy, and respect the performers have for each other in a live setting. The compositions, both old with fresh arrangements and the new ones, have a natural flow as a whole and offers multiple feels, styles, colors, and vehicles for improvisation. This is a must-have for Metheny fans and guitarists alike. That’s the short of it!