Pat Metheny Anna Maria Jopek - Upojenie +Album Reviews

Inventive, Creative and Uplifting

D. Shear | USA | 10/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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

David J. Ohanlon | Lilyfield, NSW Australia | 12/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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

blackgammon | ypsilanti, MI. | 11/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

New Life

Grrr | ALASKA USA | 07/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was initially dubous about arrangements of existing Metheny tunes, but after hearing three tracks, I was thinking how I'd love to hear MORE arrangements by MANY OTHER arrangers because, frankly, Pat's compositions are intrinsically gorgeous and I can't get enough of them. I'd really like to hear how others will rearrange them in the future. Having them reinvented is a delight I'd never considered. I know and love virtually every PM tune ever composed, so this washes over me as a refreshing revelation. I can't stop playing it around the house.

Since PM has always had a propensity toward singers who either sing in Spanish or unintelligible "chanting" it made perfect sense that a gorgeous female voice (in this case, Polish) would be the main melody throughout. There's something about a foreign language set to music because, after all, music IS the nebulous, beautiful language. They seem to go together well, to my thinking, and Metheny's music has always transported me to a better world: serene and perfect."

Metheny's best disc ever

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 01/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know where to begin and will have to come back and write a more expansive review, but for the moment, suffice it to say that this is the best disc Metheny has ever recorded. The dialectical endeavour with this singer from Poland has compelled him to reconsider well known pieces and collaborate of her material as well to stunning effect. Jopek has a crystal clear voice that is uniquely Eastern European. A slight change of inflection and you might be listening to Marta Sebestyen. Anna marie is her own person though, and it was she who took the initiative on this collaboration. Metheny was nothing short of generous, but it's clear that once engaged, he was fulyy committed at a level I have not heard since SECRET STORY. And believe it or not, this is even better. And! they perform "Tell Her You Saw Me" from STORY with such powerful effect you will swear that you are hearing this for the first time. Jopek enlists a number of Polish jazz musicians and Metheny plays as though on fire with them. Their collective resetting of "Are You Going With Me?" will leave you amazed. Essentially. Jopek wrote lyrics or mouth music to some of Metehny's tunes, and Metheny filled out the charts on a number of her songs, and it is thus a very intense collaboration.

This is nothing short of brilliant and already nails it as the best jazz CD of '09. If you had purchased this last year in the EU, note that the US release has a couple of new compositions from teh two of them and two live performances. Well worth a new purchase. THis will only serve to heighten and intensify Metheny's remarkable soulful and lyrical playing, and it is his very highest achievement to date."

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	Pat Metheny, Anna Maria Jopek Upojenie Genres: International Music, Jazz, Pop 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 key... more » « less
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