Secret Story (album)

Secret Story
Secret Story
Studio album by Pat Metheny
Released	July 1992
Recorded	Fall 1991–Winter 1992
Studio	Power Station, New York City
Genre	Jazz, jazz fusion, world music, world fusion
Length	76:11
Label	Geffen
Producer	Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny chronology

Last updated February 01, 2025

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[3]

Secret Story is an album by Pat Metheny, released in 1992. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1993. All of the music is composed by Metheny (shared credit on one track), and it is one of his most ambitious studio ventures, integrating elements of jazz, rock, and world music. On the performing side, it includes collaborations with the Pinpeat Orchestra of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, the London Orchestra and its conductor Jeremy Lubbock, the Choir of the Cambodian Royal Palace, legendary harmonica player Toots Thielemans, and keyboardist Lyle Mays from Pat Metheny Group.

Background

The opening song, "Above the Treetops", is an adaptation of a Cambodian spiritual song. Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano appears on "As a Flower Blossoms", earning the only co-writing credit on the album. Yano had previously collaborated with Metheny on her 1991 album Love Life. Orchestral arrangements for the album were conducted by Jeremy Lubbock.

Metheny took Secret Story on a concert tour, and a video recording of a live performance at New Brunswick, New Jersey, was issued. This film, also called Secret Story, was re-released on DVD in 2001.

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 1, 1995.^[4]

Remaster

In September 2007, the album was released again with noticeably retouched mixes and a bonus CD of five previously unreleased tracks from the same sessions.^[5] The remaster was issued on WEA and Nonesuch Records.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny except where noted

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Above the Treetops"	2:43
2.	"Facing West"	6:05
3.	"Cathedral in a Suitcase"	4:52
4.	"Finding and Believing"	10:00
5.	"The Longest Summer"	6:34
6.	"Sunlight"	3:53
7.	"Rain River"	7:09
8.	"Always and Forever"	5:26
9.	"See the World"	4:48
10.	"As a Flower Blossoms (I Am Running to You)" (Pat Metheny/Akiko Yano)	1:53
11.	"Antonia"	6:11
12.	"The Truth Will Always Be"	9:15
13.	"Tell Her You Saw Me"	5:11
14.	"Not to Be Forgotten (Our Final Hour)"	2:22

Note

Bonus CD of the 2007 Deluxe Edition reissue. The numbering for bonus disc tracks 2–4 in the booklet and on the packaging is wrong.^[5] The tracklist below is as the music is presented on disc.^[6]

All music is composed by Pat Metheny

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Back in Time"	5:22
2.	"Look Ahead"	4:05
3.	"Understanding"	2:14
4.	"A Change in Circumstance"	1:19
5.	"Et si c’était la fin (As If It Were the End)"	3:40

Personnel

Pat Metheny – guitars, bass guitar, keyboards (all tracks)
Armando Marçal – percussion (tracks 1–7, 9, 12, 16)
Steve Rodby – double bass, bass guitar (tracks 4-7, 9, 11, 16)
Paul Wertico – drums (tracks 4–5, 7–9, 11, 16)
Naná Vasconcelos – percussion (tracks 1, 4–5, and 10–12), voice (track 11)
Steve Ferrone – drums (tracks 3–5, and 12)
Will Lee – bass guitar (tracks 4, 6, 12, 19)
Gil Goldstein – accordion (tracks 4, 7, and 9)
Lyle Mays – piano, keyboard (tracks 2, 6, and 16)
Toots Thielemans – harmonica (tracks 8, 11, and 15)
Charlie Haden – double bass (tracks 1, 8, and 15)
Danny Gottlieb – cymbal roll, percussion (tracks 3 and 11)
Mark Ledford – vocals (tracks 3, 4, and 16)
Ryan Kisor – trumpet, flugelhorn (track 9)
Mike Metheny – trumpet, flugelhorn (track 9)
Michael Mossman – trumpet, flugelhorn (track 9)
Dave Bargeron – trombone, tuba (track 9)
Tom Malone – trombone (track 9)
Dave Taylor – bass trombone (track 9)
John Clark – French horn (track 9)
Andy Findon – flute (track 7)
Skaila Kanga – harp (track 13, 17)
Anthony Jackson – contrabass guitar (track 9)
Sammy Merendino – drums (track 6)
Akiko Yano – vocals (track 10)
Paulo Braga – drums (track 19)

Technical

Pat Metheny – producer
Steve Rodby, David Oakes – co-producers
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Recorded 1991–92 at the Power Station, New York City
Orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studio One, London, UK^[7]

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year	Category
1993	Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Jurek, Thom (2011). "Secret Story - Pat Metheny | AllMusic". Musical review. AllMusic . Retrieved 2011-07-19.
↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 995. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
↑ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
1 2 Kelman, John (October 20, 2007). "Pat Metheny: Secret Story: Deluxe Edition". All About Jazz . Retrieved November 11, 2021.
↑ "Secret Story by Pat Metheny". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
↑ Album Liner Notes

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[allmusic-1] Jurek, Thom (2011). "Secret Story - Pat Metheny | AllMusic". Musical review. AllMusic . Retrieved 2011-07-19.

[2] Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.

[Penguin-3] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 995. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[gold-4] "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 19 May 2017.

[allaboutjazz-5] 1 2 Kelman, John (October 20, 2007). "Pat Metheny: Secret Story: Deluxe Edition". All About Jazz . Retrieved November 11, 2021.

[6] "Secret Story by Pat Metheny". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved 4 October 2017.

[7] Album Liner Notes

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