The word “legendary” is thrown around with such causality nowadays that it has lost all currency, but in the case of American guitarist Pat Metheny it still holds true. Having accumulated three Gold records and won twenty Grammy awards (ten of which are in different categories), he’s also fused and shaped various forms jazz into new and exciting forms. A career that has found him constantly invigorated continues with his latest offering, MoonDial, a collection of self-penned and cover songs which evidence an artist at a creative pinnacle.
Pat is an artist who appears in many guises, be it making guest appearances or with his band, but MoonDial continues the work explored on previous albums One Quiet Night (2003) and What’s It All About (2011), being a solo album that’s recorded with no overdubs. Discovering a new kind of (non-nylon) guitar string manufactured in Argentina has opened up a whole world of sounds and textures for Pat, and that becomes immediately obvious on the opening (and title) track ‘MoonDial’. The sound which emanates from this disc is full and luxurious and the palette from which Pat paints is the warm, crayon hues of autumn; earthy browns, burnt reds and yellows are the colours from which this album is comprised. Subsequently, it feels as if Pat has found his spiritual home and the autumnal feel of this record is matched by the organic playing which conspires to give the project a natural sensation.
When an artist approaches a cover version they shouldn’t aim for an exact replica (we have the original for that), rather they should impart their own personality on proceedings and wrestle ownership from the composer. That’s not always an easy task, and especially when those writers are as esteemed as Lennon and McCartney, but it’s a fight he tackles head on and then wins hands down with an emotive rendering of ‘Here, There And Everywhere’. Likewise, ‘You’re Everywhere’ (from Chick Corea’s 1972 Return To Forever) takes the pinnacle of electric jazz, makes some bold edits, then reworks it for electric guitar. While this might be an anathema for some, it evidences a restless, free spirit who seems intent on charting new soundscapes, and that’s precisely what he does on a reworking of the traditional ballad ‘Londonderry Air’, presenting somethings that’s both familiar and fresh.
Pat Metheny has certainly developed his own signature style but that’s not to say he’s generic, far from it, but whether he’s playing the emotive ‘Angel Eyes’ or the chord-centric ‘Shōga’, it could only be one man making those strings talk, and MoonDial speaks like no album has done before. Another Grammy on the way, methinks.
- MoonDial is released on 26th July 2024 and is available here.
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Track List:
1. MoonDial
2. La Crosse
3. You’re Everything
4. Here, There and Everywhere
5. We Can’t See It, But It’s There
6. Falcon Love
7. Everything Happens To Me/Somewhere
8. Londonderry Air (Traditional)
9. This Belongs To You
10. Shōga
11. My Love And I
12. Angel Eyes
13. MoonDial (epilogue)
