"Pat Metheny's debut studio album is a good one, a trio date that
finds him already laying down the distinctively cottony, slightly withdrawn
tone and asymmetrical phrasing that would serve him well through most
of the swerves in direction ahead. His original material, all of it lovely,
bears the bracing air of his Midwestern upbringing, with titles like "Missouri
Uncompromised," "Midwestern Nights Dream" and "Omaha
Celebration." There is also a sole harbinger of radical matters way
down the road with the inclusion of a loose-jointed treatment of Ornette
Coleman's "Round Trip/Broadway Blues," proving that Song X did
not come from totally out of the blue. Besides the debut of Metheny, this
CD also features one of the earliest recordings of Jaco Pastorius, a fully
formed, well-matched contrapuntal force on electric bass, though content
to leave the spotlight mostly to Metheny. Bob Moses, who like Metheny
played in the Gary Burton quintet at the time, is the drummer, and he
can mix it up, too."
(Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide)