Upojenie (2002)

"An oddity, even within the variegated discography of Pat Metheny. It features the guitarist alongside Polish singer Anna Maria Jopek and a group of mostly Polish musicians, recorded in Warsaw during 2002. Half the set features lyricised and re-titled versions of Metheny compositions, sung in Polish; the other half are originals composed in the main by Jopek and her husband, Marcin Kydrynski, plus a couple of traditional Polish tunes. It has sold upwards of 100,000 copies in Poland. "Upojenie" means ecstasy in English, but to Poles also implies a degree of darkness. Stylistically, the album sits closest to Metheny's layered and intricately produced work with the Pat Metheny Group. Individual track line-ups are more or less evenly divided between eight to 11 piece electric groups and smaller electro-acoustic settings. Yet even the latter are meticulously post-produced and Jopek's multi-layered vocals give them a rich sheen akin to the electric tracks." (Chris May, AllAboutJazz, klik voor meer op de link)