The Way Up Pat

After two decades, the Smithereens were no longer in step with the times and they no longer cared – they do what they do because they love it, not because it's fashionable. They were at that point with 1994's A Date With the Smithereens, but that record was hurt by a weird undercurrent of bitterness and Pat DiNizio's songwriting slump…

One of the most original guitarists from the '80s onward (he is instantly recognizable), Pat Metheny is a chance-taking player who has gained great popularity but also taken some wild left turns. His records with the Pat Metheny Group are difficult to describe (folk-jazz? mood music?) but manage to be both accessible and original, stretching the boundaries of jazz and making Metheny famous enough that he could perform whatever type of music he wanted without losing his audience.

After leaving Ukiah, CA, and moving south to San Francisco to form the Charles Ford Band (named for their father) in the late '60s with harmonica player Gary Smith, brothers Pat (drums) and Robben (guitar) were enlisted by Charlie Musselwhite and were pivotal members of one of the best aggregations the harpist ever led. Leaving Musselwhite after recording Arhoolie's Takin' My Time, they recruited bassist Stan Poplin and younger brother Mark, then age 17, on harmonica and played under the name the Real Charles Ford Band. Heavily influenced by the original Butterfield Blues Band and the Chess catalog, the quartet was famous for their live jazz explorations…

First and foremost, let's establish one thing. This review has absolutely nothing to do with my friend and fellow Blogcritic Mark Saleski, who is known to anyone who reads this site regularly as a somewhat big Pat Metheny fan. I've actually been listening to Metheny for quite some time myself. Though I admit that up until recently viewing this marvelous concert captured on DVD by the folks at Eagle Rock, that I'd lost track of Metheny for a number of years. But before we get to that, and at the risk of possibly angering Saleski and a few of our other music scribes like Pico, I've got a few words to say about jazz in general these days.

Erotic Lounge - there is no better music to sex! A good collection of music - like a carefully cut diamond, find it among the slag heaps at times as difficult as to give the latter form. If we continue the analogy, the Sony BMG music produces such "diamonds" is not worse than the precious masterpieces by Cartier or Tiffany & Co. Therefore, past collections Erotic Lounge series to go hard, they cover charmingly attractive and content even more striking. The first collection was released in 2003, and each subsequent out once per year, revealing new facets as erotic titles.

"That'll Flat… Git It!" is one of the best compilations of the 1950's rockabilly. Each volume contains nearly 30 songs, mostly rockabilly classics and unknown great artists. In spite the tracks were remastered, you can hear some noise, especially in the end of the tracks. This is because many songs were taken from original vinyl singles.