Review: Pat Metheny’s “Secret Story” Collectors Edition Reissue

Pat Metheny’s Secret Story is one of my Desert Island discs.  Despite Metheny being cast as a jazz guitarist, Secret Story crosses so many boundaries that it cannot be pigeonholed into any one style of music.  Throughout, elements of jazz, new age, instrumental pop, world music and orchestral works add to create something that not only resounds musically, the rich melodies and arrangements give it an added dimension of emotion that is rare to find in a project such as this on.  This is an album that haunts you long after it has left your ears.  Good news:  Secret Story was reissued recently, and adds a second disc with five previously unreleased tracks from the same sessions.  How well do the new tracks work up against the original album?

To begin with, I don’t know where these songs would fit into the overall scheme of Secret Story.  Much like the “restored” Joshua Tree, you can’t help but wonder where these tracks would have fallen if Metheny had originally released this as a two-CD set.  The opening track of the bonus disc, “Back In Time”, would easily have fallen into the final minutes of the original album, with its strings and melancholy theme. The same could be said for “A Change in Circumstance.” “Understanding” is a little more upbeat, and “Et Si C’etait La Fin (As If It Was The End)” makes me wonder if this were originally intended to be the closer for the album, sort of a “life goes on” statement given the weighty songs that would have preceded it (“Tell Her You Saw Me” and “Not To Be Forgotten–Our Final Hour”). Metheny has denied that the “secret story” of this album really had to do with any one particular event, but many have surmised it was about an ill-fated love affair.

Regardless, the bonus disc clocks in at around 17 minutes, and the songs are as finely crafted as those on the main portion of the album.   Pat is not featured as much on these tracks as he is on the original album tracks.  The only song that doesn’t seem to fit is “Look Ahead”, which is a number done mainly with orchestral strings–it seems as though it were intended as a transitional piece between two other songs, as it really doesn’t go anywhere with a melody.

The remastered sound is pretty good on this album, although the original CD was, in my opinion, nearly demo material to begin with.

If you already own Secret Story, should you rush out and buy the new Collector’s Edition?  If you are a big fan of this albu, by all means grab it for the bonus disc.  On the fence, and don’t really have an interest?  Hang onto your original CD, as it still sounds quite good.  If you haven’t yet experienced Secret Story, though, I recommend getting this edition and focusing your attention on the main album.  If you put aside your preconceived notion of what jazz is, and Pat Metheny’s own past works, prepare to be pulled in by this sweeping album.   Already know Metheny’s music well, but haven’t experienced this one:  I urge you to get it, as it not only treads new ground, but also summarizes a lot of the stylistic elements Metheny has used in the past, both solo and with the Group.

So it goes without saying that this CD set is highly recommended.