What is there to say
Pat Metheny, whether, in a trio, group or solo is and will always be a brilliant musician, writer and outstanding Jazz person. I have most of his CD's and have never regretted any of my purchases.

Best Jazz Recording of the late 80's
My favorite PMG recordings: Travels, The Way Up, We Live Here, Still Life Talking, Letter From Home. Pat Metheny is the only jazz musician of our generation who has attained the stature of Ellington or Miles Davis. Still Life Talking, fine wine that it is, ages wonderfully.

Five star album, lousy remaster.
This is one of Pat Metheny's best. I have the original CD release and have used it as a reference when auditioning audio equipment. The original recording really is great. So what could the studio possibly do to improve it when remastering?

Apparently the studio thought that it was important that this recording sound good when listening to it in the car, because they boosted the average sound level by compressing the loud parts. Sure, when comparing the two versions with the volume knob at the same setting, the quiet parts of the remastered version sound clearer and more distinct. But that's because the quiet parts are louder. Unfortunately for the remastering engineer it's not possible to make the louder parts louder, too. The result is the loss of dynamic range, and occasional clipping. 5 of the 7 tracks hit the maximum level on the remastered CD. Only 1 does on the original.

So what about those quiet parts where the remastered version seems to sound clearer? When the volume level is compensated for the difference in average levels, the original sounds almost identical to the remastered version in those quiet parts. Too bad -- the original is just as clear as the remastered version and has greater dynamics. If you want compression, a lot of consumer playback equipment has a compression circuit, often called "loudness". That will make the quiet parts louder so just about everything is the same volume, which should be great for listening in your car.

I'll be keeping the original and flipping the remastered version.

Metheny, never disappointing!
Has been one of my favorites from Metheny, only had it on vinyl until recently, so now I can enjoy it again.

Best Album of Pat Metheny
As a long time Metheny fan, I recommend "Stil Life" as his best work to date. He excels in both virtuosity and composing abilities in this album. "Minuano", "Last Train Home" and "Third Wind" are real masterpieces.