Search - Pat Metheny :: ECM Touchstones: New Chautauqua

It's not a remaster, thank God!

Andreas Gisler | Basel, Switzerland | 11/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To R.Lapine: No, this is not a remaster. Unless I'm totally mistaken all the ECM Touchstones are 'just' repackaged (cardbox instead of tray- fine with me!) budget issues of the older CD versions.



As a recording engineer and music lover, I'm come to despise most 'remasters': More often than not, remastering means nothing but more loudness and therfore less dynamics. It's become an unfortunate trend in recent years and it's especially sad when done to jazz records or anything 'acoustic' in general.



As for the music on 'New Chatauqua' it's always been on my my fave Pat Metheny recordings. 'Strumming' is the central theme here and it's interesting to note that this hasn't been doen too often with jazz guitar. Pat himself pointed that out in a recent Intervew and to my knowledge, only John Mc Laughlin has worked with this very guitaristic technique on some on his early records like 'Extrapolation' or 'My Goal's beyond'.



Metheny though builds this whole record on the bright, ringing sounds of his 6- and 12-srting acoustic guitars and the results are outstanding. This recording sounds as fresh and sparkling today as it did back in the day.



Highly recommended."