Letter from Home is the sixth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 1989 by Geffen Records. In 1990, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. It was certified gold by the RIAA on July 23, 1998.[2]
| Letter from Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 29, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | Spring 1989 | |||
| Studio | Power Station, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion, Latin jazz, Crossover jazz, Smooth jazz | |||
| Length | 61:39 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Pat Metheny | |||
| Pat Metheny chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The album marked the return of Pedro Aznar, who became a member of the Group on the album First Circle. It also featured a reemphasis on increased instrumental diversity and was a huge commercial success, comfortably making the Top 200 album chart at Billboard magazine. "Slip Away" was, as Metheny put it, "extraordinarily successful, one of the most successful individual tunes that we've ever made." He said that it contains an ideal melodic durability.
The track Slip Away was heavily sampled by house music producer Nick Holder on his 2001 track Summer Daze.
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Pat Metheny except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Have You Heard" | 6:25 | |
| 2. | "Every Summer Night" | 7:13 | |
| 3. | "Better Days Ahead" | 3:02 | |
| 4. | "Spring Ain't Here" | 6:55 | |
| 5. | "45/8" | Metheny, Mays | 0:56 |
| 6. | "5-5-7" | Metheny, Mays | 7:54 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beat 70" | Metheny, Mays | 4:53 |
| 2. | "Dream of the Return" | Spanish lyrics by Pedro Aznar | 5:25 |
| 3. | "Are We There Yet" | Mays | 7:55 |
| 4. | "Vidala" | Pedro Aznar | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Slip Away" | 5:24 | |
| 6. | "Letter from Home" | 2:33 |
Personnel
edit- Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer, 12-string guitar, soprano guitar, tiple, Synclavier
- Lyle Mays – piano, organ, accordion, trumpet, Synclavier
- Steve Rodby – acoustic and electric bass
- Paul Wertico – drums, caja, percussion
- Pedro Aznar – vocals, guitar, marimba, vibraphone, tenor saxophone, charango, melodica, pan pipe, percussion
- Armando Marçal – percussion
Charts
edit| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[3] | 66 |
| US Top Contemporary Jazz Albums (Billboard)[4] | 1 |
Awards
edit| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance |
References
edit- ^ Henderson, Alex (2011). "Letter from Home - Pat Metheny Group | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "Pat Metheny Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
- ^ "Pat Metheny Chart History (Top Contemporary Jazz Albums)". Billboard.