(Contemporary Jazz) Pat Metheny Group Companion Vol.2(2 CD),редкие неизданные записи 1981-1982. FLAC (tracks), lossless

Welcome to Volume 2 of The PMG Companion, a series of compilations that gather together
the best available versions of the many compositions the Pat Metheny Group has performed
in its history that have not appeared on commercially available albums by the PMG. Included
are unreleased originals, standards and covers, and PMG treatments of material Metheny
has released outside the Group.
For this volume the criteria were expanded to allow for the inclusion of "bonus tracks" -
live versions of songs that do have PMG studio recording counterparts. This approach, if
contrary to the ground rules established for Volume 1, made it possible to compile "The
Travels Companion." When you combine this two-disc set with the live double album Travels
(recorded at various locations in 1982), you have at your fingertips a commercial quality
recording of every piece of music the second lineup of the PMG performed in concert during
its remarkably prolific two-year history.
In the second half of 1980, while the PMG were on a six-month hiatus from touring and in the
process of making a change in personnel, and continuing through 1981 and 1982, a seemingly
endless stream of inspired compositions flowed from the pens of Metheny and his frequent
collaborator, Lyle Mays. Many of these pieces grew out of purposeful experimentation, the
writers having made a conscious decision to push themselves into previously unexplored
areas. Several of the new works were recorded by Metheny and Mays in September of 1980,
with special guest percussionist/vocalist Nana Vasconcelos of Brazil, and released on the
duo’s pivotal As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls in early 1981. Another album’s worth
of new material would appear early in 1982, with the release of the re-formed PMG’s landmark
Offramp (recorded in October of 1981 with original member Dan Gottlieb, new member Steve
Rodby on bass, and Vasconcelos, returning as a special guest). Seven more compositions,
recorded after the Offramp sessions, dominated the live Travels album. There were other
songs performed in 1981 and 1982 that went unrecorded until years later, after they had been
revisited and reworked, or that remain unreleased as of this writing. All of those are
included here. The PMG Companion, Vol. 2, along with Metheny’s groundbreaking double album,
80/81 (recorded in May of 1980, between PMG tours of North America and Europe), Metheny’s
and Mays’ As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, and the PMG’s Offramp and Travels albums,
stand together as a testament to the tremendous growth of the composers during this period,
and to a work ethic that, especially in Metheny’s case, continues to this day.
In much of their adventurous new material, Metheny and Mays were expressing themselves,
sonically, in ways they never had before, as well. This was due to the almost simultaneous
introduction of two revolutionary synthesizers, which the two are credited with having
pioneered in live performance. No one in attendance at a 1981 PMG concert will soon forget
his or her first exposure to the raw, trumpet-like cry of Metheny's new Roland GR-300 guitar
synthesizer, which he would strap on early in the set for the full-throttled frenzy of his
role in the Group’s soon-to-be-recorded tribute to Ornette Coleman, “Offramp.” A few songs
later, Metheny would pick up the Roland again, this time to render, in a far more lyrical
but equally spectacular fashion, a building passion and an exhilarating release that,
heretofore, would have been impossible for him to convey in a like manner, in his and Mays’
mesmerizing tour de force “Are You Going With Me?” (featured on Offramp, and in a live
version on Travels).
Mays, meanwhile, had added the computer-based Synclavier to his growing keyboard arsenal. A
combination digital recording system and synthesizer, with a sampling rate much higher than
the analog synthesizers of the day – higher than standard compact discs, in fact - it
provided Mays with the ability to trigger pre-recorded backing tracks, or to synthesize, via
the Synclavier’s keyboard, life-like recreations or imaginative permutations of any sound
he and Metheny needed in order to fully realize their visions for their new compositions.
Examples of such sampling choices included individual instruments (for instance, Mays’
“harmonica” solo in “Are You Going With Me?”), lush beds and orchestrations, and special
effects, such as the circling helicopters, falling projectiles and multi-tracked
manipulations of Vasconelos’ ethereal voice heard in live versions of “As Falls Wichita,
So Falls Wichita Falls” (a version is included on Travels) and – minus the helicopters –
here, in the 1982 arrangement of “Mars.”
Metheny and Mays employed the new synthesizers judiciously, choosing to expand on the
distinctive stylistic foundation they’d forged in the first incarnation of the PMG. They
also countered their increased use of synthetic sounds with a greater number of organic
ones: percussion, the human voice, and, most notably, the acoustic bass. Metheny’s and Mays’
integration of new instruments and technologies has continued in the years since, but,
thanks to an adherence to their original philosophy, the practice has never altered that
which, elementally, has made the music of the PMG so unmistakably their own.
Before we get to the music, please join me in acknowledging the continued dedication of my
partners in this endeavor, Charles Fredericks and Ted Foos. Charles brought the raw tracks
(a fair number of them from 25-year old cassette tapes) to a state I didn't think possible
when we began this project. Even though many of the tracks were taped using the same
recording equipment from night to night, the physical condition and the audio properties of
each tape – and, sometimes, even the sound engineer’s mixes – were, to understate it,
inconsistent from tape to tape. Somehow, using the Travels masters as his guides, Charles
brought all of these tracks into line with one another, so that they now sound "of a piece"
when heard together. Ted was there with us all the way, listening in as the raw tracks were
chosen and then as they underwent transformation. Once we'd reached the point where we could
begin to envision the final product – when it was finally decided that the bonus tracks
would be included and the sequencing of the discs was firmly established - Ted began the
process of creating his comprehensive artwork package, which is every bit the worthy
successor to the outstanding package he designed for The PMG Companion, Vol. 1.
The three of us would like to extend a very special thanks to our new friend, Jay Vachon. A
fan of Volume 1, and an audio engineer who specializes in restoration, Jay contacted us late
in the process to offer any technical assistance we might need. Rather than “simply” achieve
the near-impossible goals we set for him – most notably, to find a way to bring down the
overbearing volume level of the acoustic bass in a few of the tracks without disturbing the
volume levels or the tonal qualities of the other instruments – Jay kindly put every minute
of every track under his microscope and made additional contributions whenever possible.
Finally, we’d like to thank our dear friend of longstanding, fellow PMG fan Claudia Milesky.
Back in 2002, Claudia presented us with a wondrous old shoebox full of 25-year old,
off-brand cassette tapes. Extraordinary examples of not being able to judge books by their
covers, these battered, brittle old tapes were dubs of cassettes recorded by the PMG from
their own soundboard in 1981 and 1982. Charles transferred and then mastered the few
complete shows we found in the box, and they were made available to collectors not long
after the tapes were in our possession. These were the widely circulated 1982 Rochester,
Michigan concert (well represented here) and the early and late 1982 Norman, Oklahoma shows
(also represented here). One of the two cassettes was, sadly, missing from the other shows,
but the uncut or otherwise unflawed performances we were able to cull from the tapes we did
have greatly expanded the universe from which this collection could be compiled. The
significance of Claudia’s gift to the overall quality of this compilation cannot be
overstated.
All involved hope you will enjoy and value this addition to your PMG library. Please
remember that volumes of The PMG Companion are never to be used for personal gain. Any
attempts to sell copies via eBay or other means will be thwarted to the best of the
abilities of the international PMG fan community, to whom this series is humbly dedicated.
Jim Leonard ~ July 2006

AUDIOCHECKER v1.2 - by Dester - opdester@freemail.hu
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01 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t01.flac
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02 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t02.flac
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03 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t03.flac
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04 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t04.flac
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05 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t05.flac
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06 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t06.flac
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07 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t07.flac
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08 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d1t08.flac
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09 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t01.flac
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10 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t02.flac
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11 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t03.flac
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12 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t04.flac
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13 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t05.flac
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14 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t06.flac
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15 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t07.flac
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16 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t08.flac
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17 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t09.flac
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18 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t10.flac
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19 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t11.flac
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20 -===- D:\Downloads\PMG_Companion_Vol2\PMG_Companion_Vol2_FLAC\PMG_Companion_Vol2_d2t12.flac
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Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%