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As an album, Orchestrion is as ambitious as "Secret Story and The Way Up," but it is no less brilliant. Here Metheny exceeds our expectations, and perhaps even his own.
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Aside from the wonderment that might be induced if you saw this setup create the music live in concert, perhaps it’s best just to say that this is one of the good but not great Pat Metheny records, which ain’t bad at all.
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MojoWhenever he lays down his licks atop the bed he's made, there's never any doubt that this is a Pat Metheny record. One of his better ones, too. [Mar 2010, p.101]
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It's very melodic (though not very melodically surprising), and technically mind-boggling. But harnessing all this awesome machine power to make just another Pat Metheny Group album without the group seems a bit of a missed opportunity.
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He’s come close to his aim of making this album more than a curiosity, but the real impact can surely only come from seeing his orchestrion in action.
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As in most of Metheny’s work, what could be mistaken for glib virtuosity--or, in this case, gadgetry-reveals new depths at every turn.
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The most obvious distinction from past releases is the richly textured soundscape of unusual tones that Metheny harmonizes with on with his guitar.