The AllMusic review yesteryear Richard S. Ginell awards the album four stars as well as states: "Metheny's softly focused, asymmetrical guitar style, amongst echoes of apparent influences every bit disparate every bit Jim Hall, George Benson, Jerry Garcia, as well as diverse province guitarists, is quite distinctive fifty-fifty at this early on juncture. Metheny's long-running partnership amongst keyboardist Lyle Mays besides begins here, amongst Mays mostly on acoustic pianoforte simply besides providing a few mild synthesizer washes."
“Pat Metheny was virtually defining a novel musical cast on this 1977 date, blending folk, country, as well as popular elements amongst jazz as well as creating a gentler, to a greater extent than intimate idiom than fusion had been. His distinctively chorused electrical guitar oftentimes floats over the shine textures created yesteryear his ain acoustic six-stringer, Lyle Mays’ piano, as well as Danny Gottlieb’s discreet drumming, patch Eberhard Weber’s electrical as well as acoustic bass lines ascent to ricochet amongst the guitar leads. The vocal titles abound amongst watery images, as well as they’re perfectly inwards keeping amongst this flowing music, which tends to a pale, fifty-fifty pastel, palette as well as an ethereal lightness. “River Quay,” particularly, suggests the audio of the Pat Metheny Group that would come upwards later.”
From the opening strains of Pat Metheny’s 2d album, nosotros straightaway know that nosotros convey a calming yet powerful journeying ahead of us. The nowadays company—among which keyboardist Lyle Mays, a Pet Metheny Group fixture, makes his starting fourth dimension appearance—renders his feature combination of cast as well as fashion into an instinctive launder of comfort. Mays’s pianism proves the perfect complement to the guitarist’s untainted sound. Just nous to the agency he buoys the music inwards the opening championship track, as well as his fluent solo inwards “River Quay,” as well as y'all volition hardly hold upwards able to imagine the music without him. We instruct a lingering hold off at Metheny’s ain abilities inwards “Icefire,” inwards which he solos on a cleverly tuned 12-string that lobs betwixt solid chords as well as higher callings. Midway through, the music melts into its 2d titular half, flowering inwards a cluster of Ralph Towner-esque harmonics. “Oasis” introduces the harp guitar, a sympathetically strung musical instrument that shines inwards Metheny’s hands similar the charango inwards Gustavo Santaolalla’s. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 mournful electrical sings at its center, always shielded yesteryear an unrequited encompass of acoustics. Varied rhythms as well as bold chord changes animate its otherwise stagnant beauty. After these repose submersions, nosotros come upwards up into air, as well as into light, amongst the beautiful “Lakes,” which positively glows amongst repose ecstasies. Again, Mays broadens the edges to novel waterlines, cresting similar a moving ridge that never crashes upon its thematic shores. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 two-part suite proves a complex telephone telephone as well as reply amongst the self earlier the 10-minute “Sea Song” reprises the harp guitar for its swan song. The music hither is beyond aquatic, as well as could easily convey seeded a Ketil Bjørnstad project. Eberhard Weber’s shine bass introduces the morning’s regular activities amongst the starting fourth dimension rays of sunrise inwards countless awakening eyes, earlier rolling out in ane lawsuit again, drawn dorsum into the depths similar the tide that gives them life.
Metheny’s precision dives as well as soars, a close selfless bird, his fingers running together similar the colors of the album’s title. His supporting crew is inwards tune at every minute (and ane mustn’t neglect to praise Dan Gottlieb’s drumming inwards this regard), protecting every tune amongst passionate detail. This is perfect music for travel, for the music travels itself. It’s a airplane ride inwards a higher house a shimmering landscape, a hang-glide over opened upwards valleys, a dive into crystal waters—and yet, our feet never instruct out the ground. One powerfulness telephone telephone it otherworldly, were it non thus firmly rooted inwards the public inwards all its glory. Pure magic from start to finish.
Pat Metheny emerges on his 2d album, Watercolors, every bit an ECM impressionist, to a greater extent than oftentimes than non conforming to the label's overall audio patch all the same asserting his ain personality. As the championship suggests, in that place are several mood pieces hither that are suspended inwards the air without rhythmic underpinning, a harbinger for the novel historic menses invasion all the same inwards the future. Metheny's softly focused, asymmetrical guitar style, amongst echoes of apparent influences every bit disparate every bit Jim Hall, George Benson, as well as diverse province guitarists, is quite distinctive fifty-fifty at this early on juncture. Metheny's long-running partnership amongst keyboardist Lyle Mays besides begins here, amongst Mays mostly on acoustic pianoforte simply besides providing a few mild synthesizer washes. Danny Gottlieb is on drums, as well as ECM regular Eberhard Weber handles the bass. This is essentially the starting fourth dimension album yesteryear the Pat Metheny Group per se, although the band had yet to uncovering its administration inwards this somewhat diffuse showing.
Track listing:
1 Watercolors 6:28
2 Icefire 6:07
3 Oasis 4:02
4 Lakes 4:43
5 River Quay 4:56
6 Suite- I. Florida Greeting Song 2:30
7 Suite- II. Legend Of The Fountain 2:28
8 Sea Song 10:16
Personnel:
Pat Metheny – 6-and 12-string electrical guitar, fifteen string harp guitar
Lyle Mays – piano
Eberhard Weber – double bass
Danny Gottlieb – drums
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