Product Description

The 2002 album Upojenie, now being released domestically for the first time, may be Pat Metheny's most unique and, for many listeners, least well-known project. The guitarist collaborates with popular Polish singer and keyboardist Anna Maria Jopek backed by a group of Polish musicians.

Track Listing

1. Cichy Zapada Zmrok [Here Comes the Silent Dusk]
2. Mania Mienia [So It May Secretly Begin]
3. Biel [Whiteness]
4. Przyplyw, Odplyw, Oddech Czasu... [Tell Her You Saw Me]
5. Are You Going with Me?
6. Czarne Slowa [Black Words]
7. Lulajze Jezuniu [Polish Christmas Carol]
8. Upojenie [Ecstasy]
9. Zupelnie Inna Ja [Always and Forever]
10. Piosenka Dla Stasia [A Song for Stas]
11. Letter from Home
12. Me Jedyne Niebo [Another Life]
13. By On Byl Tu [Farmer's Trust]
14. Polskie Drogi [Polish Paths]
15. Tam, Gdzie Niesiega Wzrok (Follow Me)
16. Na Calej Polaci Snieg [The Snow Falls All Over the Place]
17. Szepty I Lzy [Whispers and Tears]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11477 in Music
• Brand: METHENY,PAT
• Released on: 2008-10-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

Inventive, Creative and Uplifting
Anna Maria's beautiful voice is marvelous throughout this album and the creative interpretation of Pat's and PMG's classic tunes make this a must have for any Pat Metheny fan. Pats' playing on this album is spirited, uplifting and technically marvelous. As a whole the album flows and has nice balance between Pat's and the PMG's tunes reinvented with Polish lyrics and also traditional Polish tunes that are highlighted by Jopek's incredible voice. Now that this album has been released through Pat's and PMG record company, it is available in the US without having to pay for an import album from Poland. In short, this beautiful album is a must have! 3 incredible bonus tracks (1 studio/ 2 live) including 2 Pat solos on nylon string and synth guitar - Simply Awesome! Also a shorter tune with the soprano guitar. Highly recommended!

Bound to divide opinions
Having already owned the original Polish recording for over three years & been at times enraptured & at others left cold by it, I'm not at all surprised at the diversity of reviewers' opinions here.
Let me explain.
Firstly, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the concept of this album (ie. adding words & vocals to some of Metheny/Mays' best tunes), nothing at all wrong with Jopek's voice (light yet appealingly smoky) &, in the main, nothing wrong with Pat's new arrangements (mainly just voice, guitar, piano, bass & drums with occasional synth). Indeed, from the opening Picasso guitar playing of "Cichy Zapada Zmrok" a FIRST listen invariably pleases. However, from track 2 "Mania Mienia" ("So May It Secretly Begin") a slightly unsettling phenomenon starts to occur - on first blush you can't help but think that the tune is "meant" to have words yet it seems that as the arrangement gets ever so slightly more embellished (in this particular case a little bit of backing violin & some overdubbed vocals) you start yearning to hit the eject button & replace it with the original version from "Still Life Talking". Same with "Przypeyw Oddech Czasu" (Tell Her You Saw Me) where the almost "plodding" vocals plus a little too trilling piano & then a faux South American pan-pipe & conga effect had me almost gagging on one listen & again yearning & reaching for the original from "Secret Story". Same again with "Tam Gdzie Nie Siega Wzrok" (Follow Me) where there's simply FAR too much vocalising which diminishes the raw "punch" of the original version (I know everything's a matter of taste but IMHO the vocalese voice-over of the "bridge" part which continues as a backing vocal through to the end of the track is frankly awful!).
So, here's the rub - these are such great tunes that adding a new dimension (ie. vocals sung by quite an appealing singer) seems like a great idea & on first listen you're happy enough to give the new arrangements their "head", so to speak. However, after a while you get the sense that some of the arrangements have been ever so slightly overdone & maybe the original versions are the better ones after all.
So, this is a 3.5-4 star disc because:-
on the plus side, the tunes ARE fantastic (worthy of at least 4* on their own) & at times the arrangements are indeed new & fresh & add a new dimension to Metheny's greatness;
on the minus side, there's often a bit too much singing/not enough guitar & occasionally over-wrought arrangements which make the originals seem just fine as they were.

a peaceful masterpiece
Despite having followed Pat Metheny's career for thirty years, I was unprepared for this wonderful, sensual, deeply compelling album. New arrangements of some of Metheny's most beautiful compositions are interwoven with exquisite traditional and original music by Anna Maria Jopek, whose ethereal voice is an instrument in itself. In this collection there is both great joy and great respect for the music heritage of Poland, and for Metheny's rich and deeply moving jazz.