Pat Metheny Group
Still Life (Talking)

That Pat Metheny has been throughout his long and enduring career one of the greatest and most respected guitarists in modern jazz is now undeniable. An eclectic musician with great technique, he has distinguished himself over the years thanks to a fresh and modern sound, capable of moving from pure jazz to exploring fields close to rock and pop ('Letter From Home' was one of several such cases).

The breaking down of musical barriers led, in 1987, to the composition of what is considered by many to be one of the guitarist's highest musical/artistic expressions, and it is with this 'Still Life (Talking)' that Metheny reached one of his creative peaks.

Rich with influences ranging from pop to jazz to Brazilian music, the musician in this album manages to harmonize different rhythms with great harmony, in order to paint images as modern as they are light, while also confirming his great composing skills. Opened by the track "Minuano", the album finds in its opening track one of its best moments: it is filled with tasteful harmonic passages, with simple yet impactful vocal lines that captivate the listener for over 9 minutes of great class. Notable is the solo that Metheny gifts us in the middle of the song. The following "So May It Secretly Begin" continues, in a sense, the musical path undertaken in the opening song, this time developing on more contemplative but equally pleasing sounds. Metheny's light touch gives the track added class.

Devoid of sung parts, "So May..." thanks to its melodies flows very easily to the listener's ears. It is followed by the very famous "Last Train Home", in which rhythms and distortions almost close to rock bring to life the album's most fusion track. Great charm and beauty once again envelop the entire composition, especially in its guitar lines, which accompanied by a perfect musical/rhythmic backdrop, create one of the most dreamy tracks. We thus arrive at one of the most evocative pieces of the album: "(It's Just) Talk", wherein we find a delicate vocal part and a melody much indebted to Brazilian popular music. This time the rhythmic section and the keyboard parts are commendable, slightly overshadowing Metheny's guitar. The frenetic "Third Wind" turns out to be the most lively track on the album, reaching its creative peak in one of Pat's most beautiful solos, where melody and technique coexist in a fragile but perfect balance. In a word splendid.

The last two songs appear to be the opposite of each other. In fact, while "Distance" is presented as the album's weak point (a keyboard base with almost mystical tones but not very successful), "In Her Family" returns to moving on truly high-quality levels and, thanks to an almost sad melodic base that plays much on the emotional aspect, closes the album in the best possible way. 1987 was thus a fundamental year for jazz compositions: it must be said that while worldwide the album was recognized as an extreme masterpiece in fusion terms, this work was also one of the first capable of perfectly blending different tones and rhythms. Two other greats like Barbieri and Jobim tried (the first too attached to pure jazz, the second too influenced by Brazilian rhythms), but Pat was the first, and this confirms the fact that class is not water.