Pat Metheny Group - Besancon France 1991

In the Summer of 1991, the PMG toured Europe. A number of concerts on this tour were recorded, and a live album ("The Road to You") eventually emerged in 1993.
However, at some point, a DAT of rough mixes of the entire concert from Besancon, France, escaped into the public domain. This was circulated as part of the Metheny Audio Archive Project (MAAP) as MAAP #6, which comprises the entire Besancon concert, plus most of the concert a few days later in Marseilles.
I have obtained a copy of this recording. The overall sound quality is superb. However, the mixes are of varying quality, and there are some drop-outs on Pat's guitar in several places. However, this recording is a unique record of the entire PMG set from that night.
Some comments follow about the tunes:

Forward March
The original concert versions of this number from 1984 are frenetic and busy by comparison to this version, which is relatively restrained. For the 1991 tour, PMG alternated between this tune and “Phase Dance” as the opening number.

Have You Heard
The keyboard mix here is poor, with Lyle’s synth parts almost inaudible for the better part of the song. I removed a false start from this part of the CD, where Steve Rodby’s bass was not present for the first bar, and the band stopped with Pat apologizing to the audience.

Every Summer Night
Excellent version. This song never made it to the official album.

Naked Moon
Occasional guitar track dropouts on this version.

Better Days Ahead.
This may actually be the version released on “The Road To You”.

Change of Heart
A number originally written for a trio setting. Another tune that never made it to the official release.

Last Train
Mix is OK, but the band screws up the ending…

First Circle
This version shows that the handclaps in the live LP version have been improved by the addition of overdubs. Here, you can hear the basic handclap track, which sounds very artificial.

Scrap Metal
Great version, with a spacey-sounding guitar/percussion section in the middle.

If I Could
Marred by dropouts in the guitar, but features a beautiful new ending by Lyle that acts as a segue into...

Spring Ain’t Here
Nice version of the ballad from “Letter From Home”. Neither this or “If I Could” made it to the official release.

Straight On Red
The 1983-89 live versions of this song featured very long piano solos from Lyle Mays. Here, in its 1991 incarnation, the piano solo is shortened, and the presence of Armando Marcal playing Brazilian percussion, with additional percussion from Pedro Aznar, gives the song a more airy, stripped-down Brazilian feel, based on a great groove from Paul Wertico. Great piano solo by Lyle Mays. Other concerts from this tour show him playing completely different (mostly excellent) solos on this song from night to night.

Are You Going With Me?
In the live set since before the beginning of time, this is an OK version, with Lyle Mays playing an excellent solo using his harmonica sound and a foot pedal (this is not a pitch wheel – he hates that device).

Guitar Solo/The Fields, The Sky
It was normal on this tour for Pat to play a solo guitar improvisation before transitioning to “The Fields, The Sky”. Surprisingly, despite the fact that the song was written to be played with berimbau (it has a harmonic pedal point around G), Armando Marcal does not play berimbau on it, and the feel of the tune is spoilt somewhat by the band playing it too damn fast, almost like they wanted to get it over and done with. The tune would disappear from the live book at the end of this tour.

The three tracks from this part of the CD package presumably did not make it to the official album because they had all been previously released on “Travels” in 1983.

Half-Life of Absolution
The version of this tune here shows a more spacey, percussion-heavy mix than the final released version.

Beat 70
Nice version of this up-tempo tune from “Letter From Home”.

Letter From Home
Good version of the previous studio album's title track.

Minuano (Six Eight)
This version has a poor mix, with Pedro Aznar’s vocals being too low throughout. However, it is one of the last times that the full version was played – ever since this tour PMG have used the shortened version of the tune (minus the intro) as a set closer. No version of this tune made it to the official release.

Third Wind
Great version of this tune for the encore, with Lyle Mays playing some very “out” sounding synthesizer parts.