telynor's Full Review: As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls by Pat Me...
I've owned this one for a long, long time, ever since I was in my early twenties, and music was played on a turntable. Both Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays have been working together for a long time, their partnership creating an interesting blend of guitar and keyboards that never seems to get flat or boring.
This particular set was recorded in 1980, with Pat Metheny on electric and acoustic six and twelve string guitars, and bass; Lyle Mays on piano, synthesizer, organ and autoharp, with Nana Vasconcelos on berimbau, percussion, drums and vocals.
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
Running at over twenty minutes, this is the longest piece on the cd, full of interesting beats, rhythms, and voices. It puts me in mind of a jam session, and someone left the tape machine going. At first, it's a fairly simple arrangement, before it goes spiralling off into different moods and emotions. At times it gets jubilant, especially with Mays' keyboards, and Nana Vanconcelos' percussion giving one section the illusion of flying down an abandoned highway, with the telephone poles whizzing past. This is a piece to sit down, listen to, and see where the music will lead you to.
Ozark
After the eccentric blendings of the previous cut, this one comes as a surprise with the brillancy of the piano work, dancing and rippling like water in a brook. Metheny's guitar work is more than a match for Mays' technique, and you get the vague sense that there was a little competition going on in the first few moments before it settles down into a more sedate pace before it takes off again, circling around to the begining.
September Fifteenth
Dedicated to Bill Evans, this is a classy, rather bluesy piece. It's very soft, mostly guitar work in mournful chords and a very simple style. But it does not remain in that tone for long, soon picking up a more lively, happy pace, speaking of sunlight and a day that goes on forever.
"It's For You"
A much longer cut, this one hits the middle stride with a long set of electronic noodling, just going on and on, with Vanconcelos' vocals adding an interesting counterpoint to the keyboards.
Estupenda Graca
More vocals, and Mays' piano. It's another somber piece, with some interesting natural sounds added in the background.
This is still around, although it may take a while to find it. It's one of those cds that is meant to be just listened to, and is especially good for relaxing with the final cuts on the cd. It's quieter than the later work that Mays and Metheny released, but it has remained my favorite.
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays
1981, ECM Records
ECM IC 2516
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