Can you remember your favorite days as an internet writer?

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I just stumbled on this Epinions piece as I was looking for something else. It's one of my old music reviews from that site. It was from the days when I was really passionate about internet writing, and could make as much as $600/month writing on the internet. In those days. we could save drafts, and work on a piece for several days before we published it. I reviewed guitars and jazz CDs, and was also an "Advisor/Editor" in music and musical equipment. I helped others improve their work. Do remember those days? Do you have a favorite writing site from days gone by? --- Metheny's Offramp: The '80s Pat Metheny Group sound continues to develop Feb 1, 2009 Review by Horswispr Rated a Very Helpful Review Pros:some cool tunes; mostly happy music Cons:too much synth for my personal tastes The Bottom Line: Offramp is quintessential early '80s Metheny. It's not among my favorite Metheny albums, but many folks like it. By the time the Pat Metheny Group released Offramp in 1982, the band had pretty much established the "Pat Metheny Group" sound that I associate with Metheny in the 1980s. Drummer Dan Gottlieb and keyboardist Lyle Mays had been playing with Metheny for a few years, and Nana Vasconcelos was also present, adding Latin-flavored percussion and vocalizations. The band was moving away from the natural/acoustic-sounding jazz trio and quartet format and into bigger things. It was the beginnings of what I've called "arena jazz," with a heavier emphasis on synthesized sounds, both from Metheny's guitar and Mays's syhthesizer. Still, much of Offramp manages to retain the dreamy, introspective yet optimistic feel that drew me into his earlier albums like Bright Size Life (1976), Watercolors (1977) and New Chatutaqua (1979), and so I like much of it, in spite of myself. Yes, the big bold major chord statements are there, as are sounds that only a synthesizer or synth-guitar could produce, but there are also nice, drawn out tunes featuring Metheny's familiar tubey jazz guitar, and that light, breezy, "everything's gonna be OK; let's take a drive" feel is present on several of the cuts. The opening track, Barcarole, starts with a steady percussive beat, followed by what sounds more or less like an elephant trumpeting. It lets us know quickly that this isn't some traditional jazz album. The track lasts only 1:17 and consists mainly of an abbreviated conversation between Metheny on synth-guitar and Mays on keyboard synthesizer. Are You Going With Me?, a longer track (8:47), is a Metheny/Mays composition that sounds to me like Huck Finn meets Emerson Lake and Palmer. A steady, fairly slow rhythm is established and the first solo is on...harmonica? Nope, must be either Mays or Metheny (probably Mays) generating this sound via the miracle of modern technology. Pretty relaxing, but the overly-bent notes and other effects are a distraction. Metheny's solo (with that '80s synth-guitar sound) is more passionate but never goes over into dissonance. An OK tune. Au Lait (8:32) is another Metheny/Mays collaboration and is probably my favorite tune on side one. It's fairly slow and mellow, and I had a hard time counting it, which I like (makes it interesting). Vasconcelos makes his presence known on percussion with some unusual sounds in the background (I'm hearing birds, crickets, snakes and random sighs), especially during the early parts of the song. This one stays subdued, and I do like Mays's piano work (not-overdone and it sounds like a real piano!) throughout. Eighteen (5:08) begins side two and is "arena jazz" at its most arena jazz. Medium tempo, Gottlieb heavy on drums with a rockish beat. Synthesizer everywhere, giving way ultimately to Metheny on a nice (not overly synthesized) major scale-based happy joy solo. Offramp (5:59), the title tune, is to this recording what The Calling is to Rejoicing, for those who know that album. Offramp is dissonant and very "out there." I hear mostly Gottlieb on drums, Rodby on bass and Metheny on elephant-guitar, though Vasconcelos contributes some jingly chimes now and then. With James (6:47) we're back to a pleasant, driving, quntessential '80s Metheny/Mays tune. Nice opening riff. Nice Metheny guitar solo. Nice Mays piano solo. Back to Metheny. Like sailing along on a warm and windy day. The Bat, Part II (3:50; I don't know where The Bat, Part I is) is one of those dreamy, slow moving tunes that never really gets out of bed. Cool, Hearts of Space kind of stuff with Vasconcelos's crickets doing their thing in the background. I like it. If it were fourteen minutes long instead of four, I'd mediate to it. Or something. And there you have it. Far from my favorite Metheny, but generally fun stuff. I can almost "feel" '80s Midwestern college hipsters putting this one on (transferred to cassette, of course) and cruising out to the cornfields for a "study break." For those with good stereo systems, the fidelity is good, as it always is with ECM releases. I can't recommend this one unconditionally because there are so many Metheny albums I like more, but if you find it on LP for $2 at Amoeba Records, it's worth checking out. The tune list: Barcarole (Metheny, Mays, Vasconcelos; 1:17) Are You Going With Me? ( Metheny, Mays; 8:47) Au Lait (Metheny, Mays; 8:32) Eighteen (Metheny, Mays, Vasconcelo; 5:08) Offramp (Metheny, Mays; 5:59) James (Metheny, Mays; 6:47) The Bat, Part II (Metheny, Mays; 3:50) The musicians: Pat Metheny, guitars Lyle Mays, keyboards Steve Rodby, bass Nana Vasconcelos, percussion, voice Dan Gottlieb, drums If you're into Metheny's pre-arena music, I'd recommend Bright Size Life or Watercolors over Offramp. If you want to hear some classic jazz by Metheny in a trio format, I'd recommend Rejoicing. If you like Metheny's '80s work, I'd recommend The Road to You, a live recording by the Pat Metheny Group from the early 1990s. I haven't heard Metheny's most recent work yet, so I can't comment on it. Offramp is fun but not among my favorite Metheny albums.