Pat Metheny Songbook: Lead Sheets 
asked by bugger on November 18, 2006 4:16 AM
Now for the first time ever, all musicians can play and study nearly every note Pat Metheny has ever written in this amazing new book that he deems his "most exciting project since (his) first album." Over a decade in the making and done with Metheny's intense involvement every step of the way, the Pat Metheny Songbook is a complete collection of this genius guitarist/composer's songs from the recording of Bright Size Life in 1975 to today. This comprehensive tribute includes compositions from all of his solo records, group records, collaborations with Lyle Mays and others, and more - 167 songs in total in its more than 400 pages! The compositions are presented in lead sheet arrangements, enabling all musicians unprecedented access to Metheny's music. Also includes a two-page time line of Pat Metheny milestones; an introduction from the editors; a table of contents which lists the songs and their composer credits; a biography; a complete full-color discography including album covers, musician credits and Metheny's commentary; plus his thoughts on composing, improvising, developing a unique style; and more. This long-awaited, landmark release is absolutely essential for all Metheny fans!
Reviews
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At first I had to be satisfied with listening to, then saint, Pat Metheny. Now in his divine wisdom, he has allowed us mere mortals to play his works. I've been looking for this sort of thing for a while due to my interest in arranging his work for the steel drum. Now I have this tome of knowledge. YYYEEESSSS! 6 stars.
reviewed by ragtop on November 23, 2006 11:24 PM
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I could not believe that an artist of Pat Metheny's callibur
would be so generous as to offer a complete publication of
his brilliant work to his fans. I ran to the store and
grabbed it.(the last copy) I also could'nt believe the
low price. Those who don't appreciate it, you truly don't
know what you have in your possesion.
would be so generous as to offer a complete publication of
his brilliant work to his fans. I ran to the store and
grabbed it.(the last copy) I also could'nt believe the
low price. Those who don't appreciate it, you truly don't
know what you have in your possesion.
reviewed by anton584 on November 28, 2006 6:09 AM
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I'm a big fan(atic) of Pat Metheny's music; however, this book does not represent the artist's "complete collection" of compositions, as promoted by the publisher on the back cover. I don't like it when firms, especially ones that are after my money, choose to blatantly lie to me! Perhaps I'm being too harsh. It's probably my fault that I didn't go back to my library of CDs and count (album by album) to see that Pat (and Lyle) have more than 167 compositions under their collective belts. Shame on me. Despite its lack of completeness, though, I must rate the song book four stars. The true-to-form quality of the arrangements makes up for all of the publisher's shortcomings.
reviewed by perfect10 on November 28, 2006 2:09 PM
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This is really a no brainer: if you play jazz or are learning to play jazz and you are a fan of Pat's music, this is a great reference. It's well produced in every respect and defintely well worth the price. An added bonus are Pat's comments on the tunes and his thoughtful quotes regarding improvisation. Seeing that much of Pat's music in one place gives you new respect for the range, quantity and quality of his compositions. A few minor quibbles- I wish the book had been arranged alphabetically- the way it is, you have to look eveything up in the index first- no big thing but mildly annoying. Also some complex charts have been rendered as simple lead sheets making casual performances unlikely unless one is familiar with (and willing to transcribe from) the original recordings. That aside, I can't think of a reason that anyone wouldn't like this book. I should really give this 4 and a half stars for the little flaws, but since Amazon won't let me, I'll round up just because Pat writes such great tunes.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
reviewed by teacher on November 28, 2006 4:32 PM