Santana - 2010 "Original Album Classics 3"

This little box set is great value, especially if you love the fusion side of Carlos Santana. In fact I enjoyed this so much on the first listen it is hard to decide which one to spin again first! I had owned Illuminations on vinyl previously and it's as great as I recalled. Swing of Delight (a two record set on a single CD)is new to me. You won't find much of the classic Santana sound here but this is one of Carlos's finest accomplishments. The thing I find interesting about this music is that it appeared AFTER the Santana band proper had returned to a more air play consumer friendly sound. As a musician who dabbles with jazz I feel this music is far more interesting. I just wish he'd continue releasing the solo stuff like this

It's fusion but it does not sound particularly dated like a lot of fusion from that era does. I have a theory about why. Electronic instruments at this time were out of date by the time a record was released because the technology changed so quickly. So many artists fell victim to the synth thing. What sounded great at the time sounds a lot like Nintendo game music today. Tom Coster was not overly indulgent with synthesizers and when he did use them he used additional pedals and a touch technique that produced a very organic sound. For example the synth on Dance Sister Dance sounds like a guitar rather than a mini moog Coster was known for this ability in the Santana band. So Swing will get lots of rotation from me. Oneness is great stuff too but a little unusual. In places it reminds me of Weather Report lineup #3 Some have compared it to Borboletta (one of my favorites) but I really don't hear that at all. Still, I like the entire album. The sound on these CD's is very good try not to get hung up on is it or isn't it remastered. With these box sets you get whatever the latest edition of the CdD single release might happen to be. You can't go wrong at this price.

Now some reviewers complain about no liner notes or credits with these 3 and 5 album value sets. Nonsense! Let the music speak and if you want to see personnel all of these are documented on Wikipedia. The mini Lp sleeves are sturdy and pretty cool. I do miss this fusion side of Carlos Santana and do wish he would stop trying to repeat the success of Supernatural and get back to making more of this great music. In the meantime we have these. I thought Carlos' fusion was abandoned after Borboletta so discovering Swing of Delight and Oneness was finding more of that great work. My favorite Santana works are: Caravanserai, Welcome, Lotus, Borboletta, Amigos. If you like those then you will like this box set a lot.

These are three of Carlos Santana's rock/jazz fusion albums in one package. These are from Carlos Santana as opposed to the Santana band, although I think that Oneness is really a Santana band album. The good news is you get three albums that had come in 4 LPs for a very cheap price.
The bad news is that this a very stripped down package with no credits or album information. The CDs come in cardboard sleeves that are shrunk versions of the original LP covers. The problem is that the track listings and credits were not on the outside of the album covers. They were included in the LP sleeves for two of the albums and in the center of the gatefold for Swing of Delight. So, unless you have the original LPs or go online, you don't know who played on these albums.

The sound quality is very good to excellent on all three discs.

The first disc is Illuminations, which is supposed to be a duet with harpist/organist Alice Coltrane. There really isn't that much Coltrane on the album. I found half the album to be to ethereal ambient type music that relied too much on a string section. It does have about 15 minutes of great music for jazz greats Jack DeJonnette and David Holland. I give this album 3 stars.

Oneness could be considered a Santana band album because it contains members of the Santana band at the time it was recorded in 1979. However, it sounds a lot like the Santana album from 1974, Borboletta. This is a very good jazz/rock/latin fusion album with some great parts and some good songs. I give it 4 to 5 stars.

Swing of Delight was originally issued as a double LP. But, it is only 56 minutes long and could have been released as a single LP. I never like playing it because I would have to get up every 13 minutes to flip the album. It is great that it is a single album. This is more of a jazz/rock fusion album with very little Latin influence. For the first half of the album, it is difficult to tell that Carlos Santana was involved. Even his guitar playing is significantly different. I really enjoy the change. Later on, he does revert back to some of the Latin influences and his famous guitar style. I give this one a solid 5 stars.


 1974 [2010] "Illuminataions"

Illuminations is a 1974 collaboration between Carlos Santana and Alice Coltrane. Jazz musicians Jules Broussard, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland also contributed to the record, on saxophone, flute, drums and bass. Alice Coltrane delivers some harp glissando, while the string orchestra adds a serene mood to the music. Carlos Santana (whose Indian name "Devadip" appears on the sleeve) plays electric guitar in his own fashion, utilizing feedback, long notes and simple melodies, letting much space to the other instruments. The album is conceived as an instrumental jazz album, with lengthy solos on guitar, saxophone and keyboards. The introduction to "Angel of Air", with its violins, has been sampled by the Cinematic Orchestra. It is his first of three solo albums (the others being Oneness and The Swing of Delight) to be released under his temporary Sanskrit name Devadip Carlos Santana, given to him by Sri Chinmoy.

For his third duet album, Carlos Santana performed the works of John Coltrane, paired with Coltrane's widow, harpist/keyboardist Alice Coltrane, on this instrumental album. Side One includes several contemplative, string-filled numbers, while Side Two presents Santana's re-creation of John Coltrane's late free jazz style in "Angel of Sunlight."

Track Listing:

  1. Guru Sri Chinmoy Aphorism - Devadip Carlos Santana and Turiya Alice Coltrane
  2. Angel of Air / Angel of Water - Devadip Carlos Santana and Turiya Alice Coltrane / Devadip Carlos Santana / Turiya Alice Coltrane
  3. Bliss: The Eternal Now - Devadip Carlos Santana and Turiya Alice Coltrane
  4. Angel of Sunlight - Devadip Carlos Santana and Turiya Alice Coltrane
  5. Illuminations - Devadip Carlos Santana / Turiya Alice Coltrane

Personnel

    Carlos Santana - Guitar
    Alice Coltrane - Harp, Piano, Wurlitzer Organ
    Tom Coster - Electric Piano and Hammond Organ - 2,4,5
    Dave Holland - Double Bass - 2,4
    Jack DeJohnette - Drums and Percussion - 2,4
    Jules Broussard - Flute, Soprano Saxophone - 2,4
    Phil Brown - Tamboura - 4
    Armando Peraza - Congas - 4
    Phil Ford - Tablas - 4


1979 [2010] "Oneness Silver Dreams-Golden Reality"

Oneness: Silver Dreams - Golden Reality is a 1979 album by Carlos Santana. It was his second of three solo albums (the others being Illuminations and The Swing of Delight) to be released under his temporary Sanskrit name Devadip Carlos Santana, given to him by Sri Chinmoy. The album features members of the band Santana, and consists mostly of instrumental songs and ballads.

This is the first Carlos Santana solo album. It features members of the Santana band as backup, however, so the difference between a group effort and a solo work seems to be primarily in the musical approach, which is more esoteric, and more varied than on a regular band album. The record is mostly instrumental and given over largely to contemplative ballads, although there is also, for example, in the song "Silver Dreams Golden Smiles," a traditional pop ballad sung by Saunders King.

Track listing:

  1. The Chosen Hour
  2. Arise Awake
  3. Light Versus Darkness
  4. Jim Jeannie
  5. Transformation (Excerpt from Hovhaness' "Mysterious Mountain")
  6. Victory
  7. Silver Dreams Golden Smiles
  8. Cry of the Wilderness
  9. Guru's Song
  10. Oneness
  11. Life Is Just a Passing Parade
  12. Golden Dawn
  13. Free As the Morning Sun
  14. I Am Free (Excerpt from "The Soul-Bird")
  15. Song for Devadip

Personnel:

    Carlos Santana - Guitar, Vocals
    Chris Solberg - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
    Urmila Santana - Vocals
    David Margen - Bass
    Narada Michael Walden - Drums
    Chris Rhyne - Keyboards
    Clare Fischer - String arrangements and conductor; Piano on "Silver Dreams Golden Smiles"
    Saunders King - Guitar, Vocals
    Graham Lear - Drums
    Bob Levy - Synthesizer
    Tom Coster - Keyboards, Vocals
    Pete Escovedo - Percussion
    Armando Peraza - Percussion, Vocals


1980 [2010] "The Swing Of Delight"

The Swing of Delight is a 1980 double album by Carlos Santana. It was the last of three solo albums (the others being Illuminations in 1974 and Oneness in 1979) to be released under his temporary Sanskrit name Devadip Carlos Santana, given to him by Sri Chinmoy.

For his second "solo" album, Carlos Santana used Miles Davis' famed '60s group--Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams -- plus members of the current Santana band, for a varied, jazz-oriented session that was one of his more pleasant excursions from the standard Santana sound. (Originally released as a double-LP, The Swing of Delight was reissued on a single CD.)

Track listing:

  1. Swapan Tari
  2. Love Theme from "Spartacus"
  3. Phuler Matan
  4. Song for My Brother
  5. Jharna Kala
  6. Gardenia
  7. La Llave
  8. Golden Hours
  9. Sher Khan, the Tiger

Personnel:

    Written-By – D.C. Santana* (tracks: 4, 6 to 8), Sri Chinmoy (tracks: 1, 3, 5)
    Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, 12-string Guitar, Percussion, Vocals – Devadip Carlos Santana
    Soprano Sax – Premik Russell Tubbs (tracks: 1, 3), Wayne Shorter (tracks: 2, 6, 9)
    Tenor Sax – Premik Russell Tubbs (tracks: 4, 5), Wayne Shorter (tracks: 3, 9)
    Acoustic Piano, Rhodes, Clavinet, Synthesizer [Clavitar, Prophet 5, Yamaha CS-80, Oberheim 8 Voice, Brass, Strings] – Herbie Hancock
    Acoustic Bass – Ron Carter (tracks: 2, 3, 6, 7, 9)
    Bass – David Margen (tracks: 1, 4, 5, 8,)
    Drums – Tony Williams (tracks: 1, 3, 6), Graham Lear (tracks: 5, 8), Harvey Mason (tracks: 2, 4, 7, 9)
    Congas, Bongos, Percussion – Armando Peraza
    Congas, Percussion, Vocals – Raul Rekow
    Timbales, Percussion, Vocals – Orestes Vilato

Santana - 1969 [2009] "Santana"

Santana is the debut studio album by Latin rock band Santana released in 1969. Over half of the album's length is composed of instrumental music, recorded by what was originally a purely free-form jam band. At the suggestion of manager Bill Graham, the band took to writing more conventional songs for more impact, but managed to retain the essence of improvisation in the music.
The album was destined to be a major release, given a headstart by the band's seminal performance at the Woodstock Festival earlier that August. Although "Jingo" was not very successful (only reaching #56), "Evil Ways", the second single taken from the album, was a U.S. Top 10 hit. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart and #26 on the UK Albums Chart. It has been mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic.

Before the arrival of Carlos Santana's eponymous band, the San Francisco rock scene drew the inspiration for its jam-oriented music mainly from blues, rock, and Eastern modalities. Santana added Latin music to the mix, forever changing the course of rock & roll history. On their groundbreaking debut album, the group mix Latin percussion with driving rock grooves. Santana's unique guitar style, alternately biting and liquid, vies with the multiple percussionists for the sonic focus.
Unlike later efforts, Santana's first album features an abundance of loose, collective compositions based on a couple of simple riffs ("Jingo," "Soul Sacrifice"). This approach allows for Santana and his bandmates to flex their improvisational muscles to fine effect. The high-energy level on Santana is infectious -- the laid-back feel of other '60s San Francisco groups was clearly not for Carlos and co.

Santana's first album boils, fries and cooks whilst other bands just simmer and whilst recent offerings from the guitarist are less than hot this is where any prospective fan ought to start. The band of excellent musicians play with professional abandon and vitality. This is Latin music that is infectious and exciting and deserves to be in any self respecting music lovers collection. The next couple of albums improved on the formula but this is a joy to listen to from start to finish. 

By the time Santana arrived on the San Francisco scene in 1968, the Grateful Dead's freeform antics were already legendary. But Santana was a jam band of another order--fueled by Latin rhythms, blues, bebop, and straight-ahead rock. Having set the audience at the 1969 Woodstock festival on its collective ear, the band did the same for the nation with its self-titled debut, released later that summer. Songs such as "Evil Ways," "Jingo," and "Soul Sacrifice" contain extraordinary ensemble playing, powered by percolating congas and timbales and topped by the grippingly human cry of Carlos Santana's guitar. The 1998 reissue of the album contains three bonus tracks recorded live at Woodstock: "Savor," "Soul Sacrifice," and "Fried Neckbones."

 Carlos Santana was born in Mexico in 1947, and moved to San Francisco during the 1960s. With a love of jazz and blues music, he began to develop into a talented guitarist, at the same time absorbing the hippie scene of San Francisco. He formed the Carlos Santana Blues Band in 1967, which soon became renowned for their improvisational jam-based style. They stood out for their incorporation of latin musical styles into their sound, and by 1969 were signed to Columbia Records, having changed their name to simply Santana. Their big break was their highly-acclaimed performance at the Woodstock festival, which really brought them to public attention.
Their debut album came out that same summer. It was a truly innovative release, laying down the framework for their signature sound, with its fusion of latin-styled rock, blues, jazz, salsa and African rhythms. By this time the band's line-up consisted of Carlos Santana (guitar/vocals), Gregg Rolie (keyboards/vocals), David Brown (bass), Michael Shrieve (drums), Michael Carabello (percussion) and Jose Areas (percussion). The focus of the album was on their instrumental interplay, driven by the three-piece percussion section and led by Santana's fast-paced, bluesy electric guitar work. Most of the album consisted of instrumentals, as was fitting considering their jam band roots, though there were a few vocal numbers brought in to attract a wider audience, with Gregg Rolie proving to be an excellent lead singer. This was a good idea, as their cover of "Evil Ways" (originally written by Clarence 'Sonny' Henry) became a #9 hit single. Following in its wake, the album got to #4.

Track listing

All tracks written by the members of Santana except where noted.

1.     "Waiting (instrumental)"       4:03
2.     "Evil Ways" (Clarence "Sonny" Henry)     3:54
3.     "Shades of Time" (Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie)     3:14
4.     "Savor (instrumental)"       2:47
5.     "Jingo" (Babatunde Olatunji)     4:21
6.     "Persuasion"       2:33
7.     "Treat (instrumental)"       4:43
8.     "You Just Don't Care"       4:34
9.     "Soul Sacrifice (instrumental)" (Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie, David Brown, Marcus Malone)     6:37

Personnel

    Gregg Rolie – lead vocals, Hammond organ, piano
    Carlos Santana – guitar, backing vocals
    David Brown – bass
    Michael Shrieve – drums
    Michael Carabello – congas, percussion
    José "Chepito" Areas – timbales, congas, percussion

Santana - 2016 Santana IV - "Live At The House Of Blues Las Vegas"

On March 21st, 2016, a few weeks prior to the release of the Santana IV album, the classic line-up of Santana (Carlos Santana (guitar, vocals); Neal Schon (guitar, vocals); Gregg Rolie (keyboards, vocals); Michael Shrieve (drums); Michael Carabello (congas, backing vocals); with Karl Perazzo (percussion, vocals), Benny Rietveld (bass) with special guest vocalist Ronald Isley) took to the stage at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas.

The show they delivered combined tracks from the new album with the classic hits from the band's first three albums, to which Santana IV is the natural successor. This was a hugely anticipated reunion of a line-up that had not performed and recorded together since the early seventies. It brought back the scintillating combination of rock, Latin, blues, jazz and African rhythms which was the band's trademark and made them truly unique. The concert was a celebration of the chemistry, dynamism and pure musical joy that had made the original band so special and earned them a place in so many fans hearts. It is a show to be enjoyed over and over again.

This visual and audio celebration of the original members of Santana is fantastic. In early 2016, at the urging of guitarist Neal Schon, the five original members of Santana came together after more than 40 yrs. to play together again and ultimately released an album, Santana IV. In addition, they also started playing live dates together. It is from these shows that this Blu-Ray and 2CD set is taken.

It is truly amazing how new songs like, "Anywhere You want to Go" and "Suenos" fit seamlessly next to older hits like, "Oyo Como Va", "Evil Ways/Black Magic Woman", and "Soul Sacrifice". The band itself plays together so well, it's like the 40 yr. separation never occurred.
As for the technical aspects of the discs is concerned, it doesn't get any better than this. The Hi-Definition taping of the show gives you a "crystal clear", "sharp as a tack" picture. The audio recording of the show is every bit as exceptional as the visual recording.
This purchase is a "no-brained". In a genre where spotty editing and sub-par audio and visual recording are, a lot of the time, "standard", this is a true gem!

I rarely attend concerts these days because very few bands today rock like they did back when I was growing up in the seventies. That was a time when bands were made up of virtuoso musicians who coaxed the very best out of each other on stage. This Santana concert takes me back to that time and, although the original band only reunited for a few shows, it's as if they've been playing together all of this time, their performance is every bit as good as when I saw them 45 years ago.

To watch Carlos, Greg, Michael and Neal playing their hearts out together brought a huge smile to my face, and it was clear that they were loving it too. From the beautiful Samba Pa Ti to the rocking Batuka and the final jam of Toussaint Overture, this band is on fire. Because in a sense Neal plays in Santana's shadow, some may not appreciate what a fantastic guitarist he is, in fact, I think he is one of the very best players today and I love how Carlos introduces him as his "little brother". I do wish he didn't use so much processing and whammy bar on his guitar, it brings a little of that 80s Van Halen distortion which only detracts from the soulful and bluesy Santana sound.

I tend to favor the older material over the new, but the cuts from Santana IV sound great too. While one can say that watching a DVD of a concert will never be the same as being there, the filming and audio quality are so good that, played on a big screen and a high-end sound system, you almost feel that you're in the front row at the show.

Emotional brawn, complexity, abandon, and elegance. Timelessness, too, has always been a fitting attribute for describing the culture of sound that is Santana. That distinction applies more now than ever. While writing about the “Santana IV” reunion album earlier this year, I have to say I wondered if these men could pull off on stage the kind of timeless magic they ignited in the studio. More than 40 years had passed since this particular group played together, but IV really does sound like the natural follow-up to “III,” from the early 1970s.

Reports emerged that they’d tour, but only for a limited number of dates, with the current lineup of Santana filling out the remainder of the calendar. Well, forget any doubts about commitment or ability. As it played out, for a little while anyway, time stood still. Quite simply, Santana burned down the House this night, and “Santana IV Live at the House of Blues Las Vegas” captures the event in the best possible light on DVD or Blu-ray, coupled with two CDs.

Carlos Santana and Neal Schon together again on guitars are a force to be reckoned with. Their fiery duel during the new, thunderous “Shake It” — just one of many examples — sends electric shivers through a body. The songs from “IV” blend seamlessly with the classics. Gregg Rolie back in the seat as lead singer and B3 player not only shows how strong he still is, but that his tenure in the Santana band best represents the Santana band.

Rolie leads the charge on “Anywhere You Want to Go” with the same gusto he gives the absolutely iconic and note-perfect Santana take on Fleetwood Mac’s “Black Magic Woman.” Rousing performances of “Soul Sacrifice” and “Jingo” kick-start the night, right away illuminating the awesome, interwoven percussion of Michael Shrieve, Karl Perazzo, and Michael Carabello. Their performances of the lovely “Samba Pa Ti” (focused on Carlos Santana’s mesmerizing, melodious guitar), the tribal-like “Batuka,” and an at once nonchalant and raging “No One to Depend On,” keep the night flying on high.

Reprising his role on “IV,” the Isley Brothers’ Ronald Isley as special guest dazzles as he sings “Love Makes the World Go Round.” But this is all about Santana — the man and the band. Carlos is one of the few who can paint colors with a guitar, and if ever there was an example of unyielding chemistry between musicians, this band is it. They define Mexican rock music. For every right reason, this package is recommended even more so than “IV.” Viva Santana!

Track listing:

CD 1
01 Soul Sacrifice
02 Jingo
03 Evil Ways
04 Everybody's Everything
05 Shake It
06 Anywhere You Want To Go
07 Choo Choo
08 All Aboard
09 Samba Pa Ti
10 Batuka
11 No One To Depend On
12 Leave Me Alone
13 Sueños

CD 2
01 Caminando
02 Blues Magic
03 Echizo
04 Come As You Are
05 Yambu
06 Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen
07 Oye Como Va
08 Ronald Isley Intro
09 Love Makes The World Go Round [featuring: Ronald Isley]
10 Freedom In Your Mind [featuring: Ronald Isley]
11 Toussaint L'Overture

Personnel:

Guitar, Vocals – Carlos Santana, Neal Schon
Keyboards, Lead Vocals – Gregg Rolie
Congas, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Michael Carabello
Drums – Michael Shrieve
Timbales, Percussion, Vocals – Karl Perazzo
Bass – Benny Rietveld
Keyboards – David K. Mathews

Santana - 1971 [1998] "Santana III" [30th Anniversary]

Santana is the third studio album by Santana. The band's second self-titled album, it is often referred to as III or Santana III to distinguish it from the band's 1969 debut album. The album was also known as Man with an Outstretched Hand, after its album cover image. It was the third (and until the group's 2016 reunion, the last) album by the Woodstock-era lineup, and it was also considered by many to be the band's peak commercially and musically, as subsequent releases aimed towards more experimental jazz fusion and Latin music.

The album featured two singles that charted in the United States. "Everybody's Everything" peaked at No. 12 in October 1971, while "No One to Depend On", an uncredited adaptation of Willie Bobo's boogaloo standard "Spanish Grease", received significant airplay on FM radio and peaked at No. 36 in March 1972. The album also marked the addition of 17-year-old guitarist Neal Schon (who performed notable solos on both singles) to the group.

The original album was recorded at Columbia Studios, San Francisco, and released in both stereo and quadraphonic.

Santana III was also the last Santana album to hit #1 on the charts until Supernatural in 1999. According to the 2005 edition of Guinness World Records, this is the longest delay between #1 albums ever occurring. The original album was re-released in 1998 with live versions of "Batuka", "Jungle Strut" and a previously unreleased song, "Gumbo", recorded at Fillmore West in 1971 which features lead guitar solos by both Santana and Schon.

The year was 1971, and young Neil Schon had a big decision to make. The 17-year-old guitar prodigy was invited by Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominoes at the same time that he was invited by Carlos Santana to join his group. Schon chose Santana just in time to go into the studio to join in the recording of the band’s third album.

By the time Santana III was recorded, the band was still riding the huge wave they created with their historic appearance at Woodstock two years earlier. Their self-titled first album had reached #4 on the Billboard Album Chart, and their second, Abraxas, sold more than four-million and reached #1 in 1970. Everything seemed to be going their way.

What most of their fans didn’t know was that the pressure of success was taking its toll on the group, and by 1971 they were on the verge of disintegrating. Santana wanted the band to put emphasis on its Mexican musical roots. Greg Rollie, an original member of the band when it was formed in 1966 as the Santana Blues Band, wanted to go with a more progressive sound and themed concept albums, which suited young Schon just fine, given his classical training.

The tensions became more than the group could handle, and soon after the release of Santana III, the band’s members went their separate ways. Rollie later formed Journey, which would also become Schon’s home.

Santana goes back deep into the roots of today’s music, not only just to the time when the Family Dog was at the Avalon, but back further into the heavy dosages of Latin and African rhythms that have been part of American music for a long time.

For it’s surely true that for all their Fender basses and fuzz tones, Santana is more deeply committed to the music defined and still played by Tito Puente, Machito, Mongo Santamaria, and all the glorious combinations of brass and rhythm that made the old Sunday afternoon dances such a delight, than to the Rolling Stones. Santana’s music is contemporary, but it comes from a tradition and part of what has provoked a curious reluctance on the part of some hard rock fans to accept Santana is that tradition.

This is music to dance to, but it is music that shrieks for more advanced, dexterous and imaginative dancing than some of the freeform body motion that rock dancing has accepted. It is also music that asks for a certain kind of emotional abandon for maximum enjoyment. You don’t just listen to Santana; you get inside the rhythm, play it in your head or your body and participate.

Basically, they demonstrate to what incredible transports of ecstasy one can be taken by complex, insinuating rhythms, especially when they are played against one another not only in their patterns but also in the timbres of the sounds and the ranges wherein they are played. A full Santana rhythmic onslaught, as in “Tous-saint L’Overture” (who, contrary to one DJ I heard is no relation to the singer/producer, but rather was a military genius who has remained a hero to blacks and to many others because of the Haitian independence struggle more than 100 years ago) is one of the most complex assemblies of rhythmic patterns you can hear.

The delight of the tensions brought into play when one rhythm is set against another with all the artful shifts in the beat and utilization of alternate timbres of sound is amazing. Against these rhythmic turbulances, the singing, wailing guitar of Carlos Santana is usually set and it provides a contrast that can sweep you up in its momentum immediately and carry you along. And above all, the band swings.

Lyrics are almost secondary to instrumental virtuosity with Santana and so are vocals. Frequently the lyrics are utilized as single lines for a unison shout or chant that in itself evolves into a rhythmic pattern played against the sounds the band is producing. Thus the band actually becomes an extended essay in rhythm.

Sometime I would like to see an analysis of the rhythms and patterns used by Santana done by some ethno-musicologist who could relate them to traditional Cuban, African and Haitian music and styles. I suspect it would be quite revealing.

I am convinced that this band, which is really a city band bringing us the hot pavement and the cool nights as well as the rumble and the roar of the city, is solidly linked back to the hill country, the savannahs and the inland plains music of Africa and Cuba and the other sources of that magic rhythmic power of which they are such compelling examples.

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Santana

Track listing:

01 Batuka 3:35
02 No One To Depend On 5:31
03 Taboo 5:34
04 Toussaint L'Overture 5:56
05 Everybody's Everything 3:31
06 Guajira 5:43
07 Jungle Strut 5:20
08 Everything's Coming Our Way 3:15
09 Para Los Rumberos 2:47
Bonus Tracks: All Recorded Live At The Fillmore West July 4, 1971
10 Batuka (Live) 3:41
11 Jungle Strut (Live) 5:59
12 Gumbo (Live) 5:26

Personnel:

Gregg Rolie – lead vocals, keyboards, piano, producer
Carlos Santana – guitar, vocals, producer
Neal Schon – guitar, producer
David Brown – bass, producer, engineer
Michael Shrieve – drums, percussion, producer
José "Chepito" Areas – percussion, conga, timbales, drums, producer
Mike Carabello – percussion, conga, tambourine, vocals, producer

Additional personnel:

Rico Reyes – percussion, vocals, lead vocals on "Guajira"
Thomas "Coke" Escovedo – percussion, vocals
Luis Gasca – trumpet on "Para los Rumberos"
Mario Ochoa – piano solo on "Guajira"
Tower of Power – horn section on "Everybody's Everything"
Linda Tillery – background vocals
Greg Errico – tambourine

Santana - 1987 "Blues For Salvador"

Santana - 1987 Blues For Salvador

Blues for Salvador is a 1987 album by Carlos Santana, dedicated to his wife, Deborah Santana. The record was released by Carlos Santana as a solo project, not with the Santana band. It won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, his first Grammy ever.

On previous "solo" albums, Carlos Santana had made noticeable stylistic changes and worked with jazz, pop, and even country musicians. On this, his fourth Carlos Santana release, the line between a "solo" and a "group" project is blurred; this record is really a catchall of Santana band outtakes and stray tracks. For example, included are an instrumental version of "Deeper, Dig Deeper" from Freedom, and an alternate take of "Hannibal" from Zebop!, as well as "Now That You Know" from the group's 1985 tour. Given the variety of material, the album is somewhat less focused than most Santana band albums, but there are individual tracks that are impressive, notably "trane," which features Tony Williams on drums. (Blues for Salvador won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance).

Track listing

    "Bailando/Aquatic Park" (Santana, Thompson, Vialto) – 5:46
    "Bella" (Crew, Santana, Thompson) – 4:31
    "I'm Gone" (Crew, Santana, Thompson) – 3:08
    "'Trane" (Santana) – 3:11
    "Deeper, Dig Deeper" (Crew, Miles, Santana, Thompson) – 6:09
    "Mingus" (Crew, Santana, Thompson) – 1:26
    "Now That You Know" (Santana) – 10:29
    "Hannibal" (Ligertwood, Pasqua, Rekow) – 4:28
    "Blues for Salvador" (Santana, Thompson) – 5:57

Personnel

    Greg Walker – vocals
    Alex Ligertwood – percussion, vocals
    Carlos Santana – guitar
    Chris Solberg – guitar, vocals
    Chester Thompson – keyboards
    Sterling Crew – keyboards, synthesizer
    Orestes Vilató – flute, percussion, timbales, backing vocals
    Alphonso Johnson – bass
    Graham Lear – percussion, drums
    Tony Williams – drums
    Buddy Miles – backing vocals
    Armando Peraza – percussion, bongos, vocals
    Raul Rekow – percussion, conga, vocals, backing vocals

Santana, John Mclaughlin - 1973 "Love Devotion Surrender"

Love Devotion Surrender is an album released in 1973 by guitarists Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, with the backing of their respective bands, Santana and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was inspired by the teachings of Sri Chinmoy and intended as a tribute to John Coltrane. It contains two Coltrane compositions, two McLaughlin songs, and a traditional gospel song arranged by Santana and McLaughlin. It was certified Gold in 1973. In 2003, Love Devotion Surrender was released on CD with alternative versions as bonus tracks.

Both men were recent disciples of the guru Sri Chinmoy, and the title of the album echoes basic concepts of Chinmoy's philosophy, which focused on "love, devotion and surrender." Sri Chinmoy spoke about the album and the concept of surrender:

 Unfortunately, in the West surrender is misunderstood. We feel that if we surrender to someone, he will then lord it over us....But from the spiritual point of view...when the finite enters in the Infinite, it becomes the Infinite all at once. When a tiny drop enters into the ocean, we cannot trace the drop. It becomes the mighty ocean.

For both men the album came at a transitional moment spiritually and musically: Love Devotion Surrender was a "very public pursuit of their spiritual selves." Carlos Santana was moving from rock toward jazz and fusion, experiencing a "spiritual awakening," while McLaughlin was about to experience the break-up of the Mahavishnu Orchestra after being criticized by other band members. Santana had been a fan of McLaughlin, and McLaughlin had introduced Santana to Sri Chinmoy in 1971, at which time the guru bestowed the name "Devadip" on him, and the two had started playing and recording together in 1972. According to his biographer Marc Shapiro, Santana had much to learn from McLaughlin: "He would sit for hours, enthralled at the new ways to play that McLaughlin was teaching him," and his new spirituality had its effect on the music: "the feeling was that Carlos's newfound faith was present in every groove.

A hopelessly misunderstood record in its time by Santana fans -- they were still reeling from the radical direction shift toward jazz on Caravanserai and praying it was an aberration -- it was greeted by Santana devotees with hostility, contrasted with kindness from major-league critics like Robert Palmer. To hear this recording in the context of not only Carlos Santana's development as a guitarist, but as the logical extension of the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis influencing rock musicians -- McLaughlin, of course, was a former Davis sideman -- this extension makes perfect sense in the post-Sonic Youth, post-rock era. With the exception of Coltrane's "Naima" and McLaughlin's "Meditation," this album consists of merely three extended guitar jams played on the spiritual ecstasy tip -- both men were devotees of guru Shri Chinmoy at the time. The assembled band included members of Santana's band and the Mahavishnu Orchestra in Michael Shrieve, Billy Cobham, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jan Hammer (playing drums!), and Don Alias. But it is the presence of the revolutionary jazz organist Larry Young -- a colleague of McLaughlin's in Tony Williams' Lifetime band -- that makes the entire project gel. He stands as the great communicator harmonically between the two very different guitarists whose ideas contrasted enough to complement one another in the context of Young's aggressive approach to keep the entire proceeding in the air. In the acknowledgement section of Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," which opens the album, Young creates a channel between Santana's riotous, transcendent, melodic runs and McLaughlin's rapid-fire machine-gun riffing. Young' double-handed striated chord voicings offered enough for both men to chew on, leaving free-ranging territory for percussive effects to drive the tracks from underneath. Check "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord," which was musically inspired by Bobby Womack's "Breezing" and dynamically foreshadowed by Pharoah Sanders' read of it, or the insanely knotty yet intervallically transcendent "The Life Divine," for the manner in which Young's organ actually speaks both languages simultaneously. Young is the person who makes the room for the deep spirituality inherent in these sessions to be grasped for what it is: the interplay of two men who were not merely paying tribute to Coltrane, but trying to take his ideas about going beyond the realm of Western music to communicate with the language of the heart as it united with the cosmos. After three decades, Love Devotion Surrender still sounds completely radical and stunningly, movingly beautiful.

Quick! Name an album on which John McLaughlin plays piano and Jan Hammer plays drums. Give up? The answer: the much loved but often maligned 1973 collaboration between Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, Love, Devotion and Surrender. (At this time John was still MAHAVISHNU and Carlos was not quite yet DEVADIP.) Now if anyone out there in musicland can determine on which cuts John McLaughlin played the piano and Hammer played the drums - you win a prize!

In 1973, Carlos Santana had become mesmerized by the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. His interest became so strong that he literally followed the band on tour across America. He and McLaughlin became friendly. One night John McLaughlin had a dream that the two should record an album together. He took that dream to Clive Davis, the head of Columbia Records, and Love, Devotion and Surrender was born.

LDS delivers some of the hottest playing you are ever going to hear. John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana play their respective butts off, especially on the inspirational "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord". The rapid-fire machine gun bursts and call and responses make for an electric guitar Nirvana. Other musicians assembled for the recording included Santana compatriots Armando Peraza, Don Alias, Doug Rauch and Mike Shrieve. John McLaughlin brought along Jan Hammer, Billy Cobham and the legendary organist Larry Young. Imagine a Latin Mahavishnu Orchestra!

At the time of this recording’s release, the patience and reverence afforded gurus was waning. This could help explain the relatively poor sales of Love, Devotion and Surrender relative to expectations. After all a smiling Sri Chinmoy, in all of his splendid grandeur, was pictured on the album cover. It may also help explain the many negative reviews. In hindsight, you will probably find that most of these reviews came from Santana fans that just couldn’t figure out what was going on with their hero.

Despite all outward appearances, the fact of the matter was that this album pointed much more in the direction of John Coltrane than it did any guru or religious movement. Santana is, like McLaughlin, a devoted Coltrane admirer. McLaughlin and Santana even make the effort of trying to pull off “A Love Supreme,” and it works very well. (Even the vocals are effective). An acoustic treatment of “Naima” does the master proud, too. The other players are strong on all tunes. Cobham, in particular, is a powerhouse.

In recent years, Love, Devotion and Surrender has begun receiving the praise it so richly deserves. (Bill Laswell has even released a well-received remix.) LDS remains a milestone in the history of fusion music. We can only hope that McLaughlin and Santana will find an opportunity to record together again soon, something both men have hinted at.

Tracks Listing

1. A Love Supreme (7:48)
2. Naima (3:09)
3. The Life Devine (9:30)
4. Let's Go Into The House of the Lord (15:45)
5. Meditation (2:45)

Total time - 38:57

Line-up / Musicians

- Carlos Santana / guitars, vocals
- John McLaughlin / Guitar, piano
- Larry Young / organ
- Doug Rauch / bass
- Billy Cobham / drums
- Don Alias / drums
- Jan Hammer / drums
- Mike Shrieve / drums
- Armando Peraza / Congas, Bongos

Santana - 1972 [1990] "Caravanserai"

Caravanserai is the fourth studio album by Santana, released on October 11, 1972. It marked a major turning point in Carlos Santana's career as it was a sharp departure from his critically acclaimed first three albums. Original bass guitarist David Brown left the group in 1971 and was replaced by Doug Rauch and Tom Rutley, while Armando Peraza replaced original percussionist Michael Carabello after his departure. During this period, Santana's relationship with longtime keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie rapidly deteriorated; consequently, keyboardist Tom Coster performed on one song before replacing Rolie shortly after the album's release. Caravanserai reached number eight in the Billboard 200 chart and number six in the R&B Albums chart in 1972.

Then there are Arabian flourishes that may conjure images of a lone desert scape with a camel making its way across arid sandy mirages.
We hear the desert scape with nature’s sounds in Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation, and then the low hum of the sun’s rays with fluttering flute, until the chimes glisten over cooling down the heat, with swells of keyboard echoes. All the Love in the Universe is a spiritual journey that moves inexorably to a climax, along a bass pulse, finally breaking into a song and then an insane instrumental break with Carlos lead and Gregg Rolie’s Hammond battling for supremacy.

The music flows along organically in the first half with not too many breaks from one track to the next and encapsulates the power of desert ambience. It is a soulful, at times moving journey, and always completely challenging musically. Santana never returned to this style again so it remains a solitude wilderness album, a desert island album literally pulsating with energy. When the guitar is to be heard it comes in a flurry of power at the hands of mighty Carlos such as on Stone Flower, with Rolie’s Hammond shimmers and vocals that echo in the distance.

La Fuente Del Ritmo continues the quest to find the oasis, the water of life, with chaotic piano and cymbal splashes, and the congas and bongos are never far around the corner. The groove locks into frenetic tempo as the lightning fast hands on the congas attack. Carlos’ lead work is exceptional, enigmatic over the arousing African beats. The improvisatory piano runs are competing against the manic tom toms, and then the Hammond blasts return like rain falling into the oasis.

It all leads ultimately to a 9 minute extravaganza ‘Every Step Of The Way’, opening with gentle percussion, with Hammond answers, and the threat of a cascading guitar phrase. As far as jazz fusion goes this really hits the target. Santana take their time getting to the meat, and taking great pains to build up to a crescendo.

This is a tense experience at times, and at three minutes it finally breaks into a downpour of grooving bass and drums as lead guitar swoops like a hungry vulture. Once the vulture is airborn everything melts into the sunshine of the soundscape. The sound of a bird twittering floats overhead and then flutters down into swathes of keyboards and a wonderful brass sound that builds to a climax.

“Caravanserai” is sheer musical poetry and one of Santana’s triumphs; certainly one of their most famous albums and will continue to challenge and move listeners for decades to come; a timeless treasure.

The sound contrasted greatly with Santana's trademark fusion of salsa, rock, and jazz, and concentrated mostly on jazz-like instrumental passages. All but three tracks were instrumentals, and consequently the album yielded no hit singles. The album is the first among a series of Santana albums that were known for their increasing musical complexity, marking a move away from the popular rock format of the early Santana albums toward a more contemplative and experimental jazz sound. While Caravanserai is regarded as an artistic success, the musical changes that began on its release in 1972 marked the start of a slide in Santana's commercial popularity. This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic.

The largely instrumental Caravanserai, from 1972, is the first album from the guitarist after he dissolved his band from the popular albums Santana, Abraxas and Santana III, and he wasn’t looking back. Joining up with keyboardist Tom Coster, Santana was seeking the outer reaches of the soul with songs like “Just in Time to See the Sun” and “All the Love of the Universe.” The album mixes rock, jazz and salsa with tracks such as “Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation,” “Stone Flower” and “La Fuente del Ritmo,” but you can tell that Santana is itching to stretch out and stay there for a while.

Caravanserai was released in 1972 and is a brilliant album. You probably have to like jazz-rock to fully appreciate its charms. It contains many beautiful instrumental tracks that are melodic and accessible. The band had been listening to the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Santana's drummer, Mike Shrieve, claimed that he and Carlos Santana had grown tired of "rock and roll" and wanted to experiment with jazz. Unlike some jazz-rock groups, the band is tight and the solos fit the music perfectly. There is no self-indulgent jazz noodling on this album.

The guitar playing from both Carlos Santana and Neal Schon is lyrical and beautiful. This is a great guitar album. All but three of the ten tracks are instrumentals. There are three keyboardists: Rolie, Tom Coster, and Wendy Haas (formerly of Fanny). Two bass players: Tom Rutley and Doug Rauch. The Latin rhythm section is amazing: Jose Chepito Areas; James Mingo Lewis, and Mike Shrieve on drums. This really was a band of master musicians. This was probably one of the most musically accomplished bands in rock history.

It was the last Santana album to feature Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon, who went on to co-found Journey the following year.

Tracks Listing:

01. Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation (4:28)
02. Waves Within (3:53)
03. Look Up (To See What's Coming Down) (2:59)
04. Just In Time To See The Sun (2:19)
05. Song of the Wind (6:02)
06. All the Love of the Universe (7:36)
07. Future Primitive (4:12)
08. Stone Flower (6:14)
09. La Fuente del Ritmo (4:33)
10. Every Step of the Way (9:04)

Total Time: 51:20

Personnel:

- Carlos Santana / lead guitar, percussion, vocals (6), co-producer
- Neal Schon / guitar (1,3-6,8-10)
- Doug Rauch / guitar (2,3), bass (2-6)
- Gregg Rolie / organ, piano (6)
- Tom Rutley / acoustic bass (1,6,8-10)
- Michael Shrieve / drums, co-producer
- Jose 'Chepito' Areas / timbales, congas (7), bongos (8)
- James Mingo Lewis / percussion, congas (2,4-10), bongos (7), piano (9), vocals (6)
- Armando Peraza / percussion, bongos (9)

With:
- Rico Reyes / vocals (6)
- Douglas Rodrigues / guitar (2)
- Wendy Haas / piano (1,8)
- Tom Coster / electric piano (9)
- Lenny White / castanets (6)
- Tom Harrel / orchestral arrangements (10)

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! - 1972 [1994] "Live!"

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live! is a live album by Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles.

From December 1971 to April 1972, Carlos Santana and several other members of Santana toured with drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles, a former member of the Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. The resulting live album contained both Santana hits ("Evil Ways") and Buddy Miles hits ("Changes"), plus a 25-minute, side-long jam titled "Free Form Funkafide Filth." It was not, perhaps, the live album Santana fans had been waiting for, but at this point in its career, the band could do no wrong. The album went into the Top Ten and sold a million copies.

Just an all-around hard-rocking, kick-butt collection of songs from a live concert in Diamond Head crater in Hawaii 1972; (this has been famously debated, only because the liner notes list the concert as January 0, 1972, but I believe this was a real show, as there are people that have stated they were there) In any case it is an amazing set of songs with Santana and his band, with Buddy Miles on drums, and the equally shredding Neal Schon on guitar..highlights are a fast version of Evil Ways, and an almost 25 min. jam called Free Form Funkafide Filth!

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live!…was recorded on New Year’s Day, 1972 at the Sunshine ’72 Festival inside Diamond Head volcano crater, Honolulu Hawaii. Carlos was coming off the massive commercial success highs of three critically acclaimed Santana albums, but was moving away from the Latin rock format he had pioneered and was taking more and more aggressive steps towards focusing his attentions and talents on fusion jazz.

Carlos though was a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix, very evident in his pre-studio and early studio playing techniques and extremely evident in the unreleased 1967 single “Ballin'” a gigantic homage to Jimi! The chance to team up with Band Of Gypsy’s drummer Buddy Miles was as close as he would ever get to meshing with one of his guitar heroes. As a matter of force, Carlos and Buddy were accompanied on this record and in the concert with some main elements of Santana (the band) including 2nd guitarist and soon to be founder of Journey, Neal Schon.

The concert album kicks off with a two-part jam penned by Carlos’ new guitar hero John McLaughlin in the first part (Marbles) and by Buddy in the 2nd drum led part (Lava). An R&B funky version of Evil Ways, with lead vocals by Buddy offers a unique take on the hit single. I’ve been listening to this for nearly 40 years and the jury is still out. As a live performance it has its merits, but in comparison to the Santana original, it is a few bricks shy of a full load for me. The opening song Marbles is much better by a mile (no pun intended), but the closer to side one of the album, a newly refreshed version of Band Of Gypsy’s hit Them Changes is the stand out track here.

These molten grooves were recorded in Hawaii right on a volcanic crater. Carlos Santana together with drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles and several members of Santana channel Evil Ways; Marbles; Lava; Them Changes , and nearly a half hour of Free Form Funkafide Filth !

Track listing:

1. "Marbles" John McLaughlin 4:18
2. "Lava" Buddy Miles 2:10
3. "Evil Ways" Clarence "Sonny" Henry 6:36
4. "Faith Interlude" Miles, Carlos Santana 2:13
5. "Them Changes" Miles 5:50
6. "Free form Funkafide Filth" Greg Errico, Ron Johnson, Miles, Santana 24:54

Personnel:

Buddy Miles – vocals, drums, percussion, congas
Carlos Santana – guitar, vocals
Neal Schon – guitar
Bob Hogins – organ, electric piano
Ron Johnson – bass guitar
Greg Errico – drums
Richard Clark – drums, percussion, congas
Coke Escovedo – drums, percussion, timbales
Mike Carabello – percussion, congas
Mingo Lewis – percussion
Victor Pantoja – percussion, congas
Hadley Caliman – flute, saxophone
Luis Gasca – trumpet

Santana - 1968 [1997] "Live At The Fillmore"

Live at the Fillmore 1968 is a live album by Santana, recorded between December 19 and December 22, 1968 and released in 1997.

Two-CD package drawn from performances at the Fillmore West in December 1968, with an early lineup including Bob Livingston on drums and Marcus Malone on congas (both of whom would be gone by the time the group recorded their official debut in 1969). The band sound only a bit more tentative here than they would in their Woodstock-era incarnation, running through several of the highlights of their first album ("Jingo," "Persuasion," "Soul Sacrifice," and "Treat"). More interesting to collectors will be the five songs that have not previously appeared on any Santana recording, including covers of songs by jazzmen Chico Hamilton and Willie Bobo and a half-hour original jam that concludes the set, "Freeway." The sound is excellent and the arrangements a bit more improv-oriented than what ended up on the early studio records. Its appeal isn't solely limited to committed fans; on its own terms it's a fine release, highlighted by some burning organ-guitar interplay in particular. Live at the Fillmore 1968.

More than 100 minutes of unreleased live Santana from when they were just a glimmer in Bill Graham's eye! Seriously, the band's almost a full year away from their breakthrough performance at Woodstock when they performed these nine songs, five of which they never subsequently recorded. Includes the hits Jingo and Soul Sacrifice , plus notes and unseen photos. 

Had this 2 CD set, recorded just prior to the band's Columbia debut in 1968, been released in the mid-'70s, it would have been a multi-platinum certainty. Today it's an object lesson in how time can turn white-hot acts into stone cold catalog filler. Pretty cool version of "Soul Sacrifice," though.

Fans of early Santana will love this. It has great versions of Santana standards such as Jingo, Soul Sacrifice, Persuasion and Treat. It also has some rare tunes which I don't think are on other Santana albums such as Fried Neckbones, Chunk A Funk and Conquistadore. The songs are mostly lengthy jam-style tunes with plenty of improvisation. Freeway alone is 30 minutes long, but doesn't hardly seem like it. I only have a couple of complaints about this release. Soul Sacrifice is awesome as always, but actually has very little guitar soloing. Fortunately, Gregg Rolie's organ soloing makes up for it. It's still not as good as the awe-inspiring woodstock version. Second, the absence of Mike Shrieve, future Santana drummer. The drummer from these performances isn't bad, but not as great as Mike Shrieve. Petty complaints aside, this is a great CD which fans of Santana's peak era ('69 to '72) will love. Anyone who likes jam band music (early Allman Brothers, Phish) will enjoy this also. 

These are some of the earliest recordings of Santana, before they hit it big with their classic debut and the show-stopping performance at Woodstock. The band's Afro-Latin sound hasn't really gelled yet -- Mike Shrieve's absence on drums is obvious, and the lack of the Latin percussionists (just a conga player here) makes the rhythms a little less exciting. Carlos's playing shows signs of his future greatness but on some of the jams he sounds a little tentative. The live versions of tunes that would appear on the debut are much looser and the band really stretches out compared to the studio. "Jingo" and "Treat" are especially nice. I'm not sure I'd say this version of "Soul Sacrifice" is better than the one performed at Woodstock, but it's still interesting. Some of the never previously released tunes are really just jams that sometimes work ("Chunk-a-funk") and sometimes overstay their welcome (the 30 minute "Freeway Jam"). There's also a smoldering version of Albert King's "As the Years Go Passing By" and a groovy cover of Chico Hamilton's "Conquistadore Rides Again". All in all, these live recordings find Santana halfway between the 60s San Francisco sound of long, drug-soaked jams and their trademark Latin Rock. These performances must have made some very stoned kids very happy back in '68. It's not perfect, but it's fun to listen to!

Six months before recording their great debut album and 21 years before his recent world wide sucess, Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie and band played their hearts out for four nights at the Filmore West in December of 1968.
This album is not only a great Santana album but one of the great live albums of the 60's. I often agree with the Amazon staff but their review here is way off. This CD contains 9 songs four of which would show up on the debut album and 5 were unreleased until now.
My favorite song on the CD is the totaly different version of "Treat" here than on the debut album. Gregg Rolie's piano introduction is great. It is easy to forget how magical Carlos Santana and Rolie were togeather. Of the unreleased songs "Conquistadore Rides Again" is a highpoint. Great version of "Persuasion" too.
Amazing sound for a 60's recording but Columbia Legacy always seems to do a great job. Forget the various live albums by The Doors, The Byrds, Joplin and the Airplane. This one ranks with Dylan live at The Royal Albert Hall, Hendrix and Redding at Monterey and the Stones at Madison Square Garden. That it was unreleased Until 1997 is all the more remarkable because most unreleased rock albums should stay that way. Enjoy! 

Track listing
Disc one

01   "Jingo" – (Babatunde Olatunji) – 9:38
02   "Persuasion" – (Gregg Rolie) – 7:06
03   "Treat" – (Carlos Santana, Rolie, Dave Brown) – 9:37
04   "Chunk a Funk" – (Santana, Rolie) – 5:58*
05   "Fried Neckbones" – (Willie Bobo, Melvin Lastie) – 10:10
06   "Conquistadore Rides Again" – (Chico Hamilton) – 8:40*

Disc two

01   "Soul Sacrifice" – (Santana, Rolie, Marcus Malone, Brown) – 14:30
02   "As the Years Go Passing By" – (Deadric Malone) – 7:49*
03   "Freeway" – (Santana, Rolie) – 30:15*

(The four tracks indicated with an asterisk were never released as studio tracks)
Personnel

    Carlos Santana – guitar, vocals
    Gregg Rolie – organ, piano, vocals
    David Brown – bass guitar
    Bob "Doc" Livingston – drums
    Marcus Malone – congas

Santana - 1974 [1991] "Lotus"

Lotus is a 1974 live album recording of the San Franciscan latino rock band Santana at the Osaka Koseinenkin Hall, Osaka, Japan on 3-4 July 1973. It was originally released in 1974 as a triple vinyl LP in Japan only. The first U.S. release was in 1991 as a 2-CD set.

The original live recordings were mixed in 4-channel quadraphonic sound and released in the CBS SQ matrix system. The SQ encoding permits all 4 channels to be contained in a 2 channel stereo version, which is compatible with conventional stereo playback equipment.
Some releases of this album have been marked as "Quad" or "SQ" and some are not. However, all known releases of this album use the same SQ encoded 2 channel recordings. Therefore the 4 independent channels can still be heard on modern equipment provided that the listener has a proper SQ decoder and 4 channel playback system.

Long held as a talisman by Santana fans, who had to buy it as a triple-LP Japanese import before Columbia finally issued it on CD in 1991, Lotus is a live album that finds Carlos Santana and his octet (a.k.a. the New Santana Band) at a nexus between rock, Latin music, jazz fusion, and spiritually driven communiqués to the gods. Some of the early hits are performed, such as "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va," but long, intense instrumentals are the order of the day, as on the breathtaking "Incident at Neshabur," "Every Step of the Way," and "Toussaint L'Overture." 

Lotus was recorded during the heart of Santana's jazz-rock period. But whereas Caravanserai and Welcome (whose lineup is featured here) are relatively quiet, meditate affairs, Lotus is a fiery testament to a band that was at its peak. The guitar playing, mixing speaker-frying leads with more avant-garde sounds, foresees the style Pete Cosey would perfect with Miles Davis a year later; and the rhythm section has loosened up to the point were they can switch from groove to groove effortlessly. Leon Thomas contributes a few vocals ("Black Magic Woman" and his trademark yodelling on "Mr. Udo") but the music is almost entirely instrumental.
The long fusion jams -- "Every Step of the Way", "Toussaint L'Overture" and an absolutely bonkers "Incident at Neshabur" -- are definitely high points of this concert. But you can't overlook the 30 minute medley that closes disc 1 either. The only real weak spot is Mike Shrieve's long drum solo "Kyoto" (hey, this was the 70s). If a sound halfway between Caravanserai and Miles Davis's acid funk albums Agharta/Pangaea sounds exciting, you must hear this.

Many complaints have been lodged against this album including comments regarding the excess length of songs, the constant noodling, the missing presence of Carlos Santana, the lack of an overall melody, and poor sound quality.

To begin with, the length of the songs is excellently chosen. And believe it or not Supernatural fans, each song is well planned out. Most reviewers who have a beef with this album's length don't like jazz to begin with, and desire that Carlos keep within the bounds of his late 60's and late 90's hit making three minute song machine. The greatness of Lotus is its ability to take all of Carlos' beautiful melodies and expand them each into a whole new creation.

Despite the extended length of songs on Lotus, there is no excessive noodling. Each solo has a central rhythmic and melodic structure that was used to express in a moment what can never been repeated. Unlike earlier Santana albums, Carlos allows other musicians (i.e. excellent keyboards and Latin percussion) to express beautiful melodies over a palette of amazing chord progressions and tight rhythms. In addition Carlos is in his best recorded form, from the subtlety displayed on Samba Pa Ti to the incredible Incident at Neshabur. Lotus is pure genius if for nothing but the second disk of material. Carlos' guitar tone on Lotus is perfect in its ability to express cleanly when played gently and fire up when played with great passion.

Lotus is one of the single greatest achievement in guitar playing in terms of Santana's ability to harness and realize the melodic powers of the guitar. No other guitarist I have heard (Jimi, Django, Allman, Clapton, Beck, and even McLaughlin) has unlocked the mystery of a melodic, singable solo more completely than Carlos Santana did on this record.

In regards to the recording quality and mix, I believe it to be one of the best live album ever made. This album is not meant to sound up-front like a studio album or have lots of crowd noise like live albums made in the late 70's till today have. Lotus is meant to sound endless and reverberate with great warmth. The mic positioning, engineering, and mixing is top notch. Every instrument is balanced and every subtlety is audible and clear. If you have never tried to mix a live album, you would never know how hard it is to achieve the level of warmth and tonal quality Lotus produces.

Lotus is near the top of recorded music of all time. Many years after "Smooth" is forgotten, future generations and historians will look upon Lotus as one of the most important achievements in modern music history.

Lotus is a dream come true. A recording of two Santana concerts in Osaka, Japan in support of Caravanserai, it blends songs from the group's then-current (mid-70s) jazzy period with old favorites, and is dished out by both the "New Santana Band" of the time and the "Old Santana Band." Yes, a live Santana CD with Michael Shrieve, Chepito Areas, and Armando Peraza (New) all on percussion! Tom Coster remains most prominent with his Hammond organ, but Lotus also features Richard Kermode (New) on keyboards. In substance, only one song from Caravanserai is included, a great version of "Every Step of the Way," but Welcome is represented by "Samba de Sausalito" and the pretty "Yours Is the Light." Coster bedazzles on the rockers from the first three albums as well as Airto's Brazilian jazz "Xibaba," one of the best moments in so many great ones. There is a 16-minute, unforgettable version of "Incident at Neshabur," with an extended, lovely coda--What more could you ask for? Carlos's superpowered guitar is mesmerizing, always; the entire atmosphere is otherworldly, dark, beautiful, modern jazzy (there is also a nod to Chick Corea), and most of all, electrifying. Early Santana and Lotus rule. 

When "Lotus" was originally released as a vinyl Japanese-only import (1974), it was one of the most prized items among collectors. The packaging...nowhere near as important as the music itself...was a mind-blowing example of innovation and creativity with several fold-out posters and the sleeve that housed the three discs inside. That's one of the things that delayed the release of "Lotus" on CD for so many years...shrinking all of that wonder down into a 4.75" x 4.75" plastic box. They DID it...maybe not as spectacularly as the original 12 x 12 release...but it was magnificent packaging for what is basically Carlos Santana's "A Love Supreme." Seriously...if you like the pop stuff, more power to you. There's plenty of good stuff there. But this was the top of Santana's spiritual / fusion era. In 1973 he added "Devadip" to his name, which meant "the light of the lamp of the Supreme." That light burns brightly across "Lotus," especially on CD 2 (where most of the extended numbers reside, including the 15 minute "Incident at Neshabur"). As Santana fans know, there are "several different Santanas." This was the MILES Santana, the COLTRANE Santana. This is scary and amazing music played with so much mind-numbing passion that you have to wonder why there are people who don't "get" Santana. Get Lotus, and strap yourself in for one heck of a ride.

Track listing:

Disc 1

1. Going Home
2. A-1 Funk
3. Every Step of the Way
4. Black Magic Woman
5. Gypsy Queen
6. Oye Como Va
7. Yours Is The Light
8. Batuka
9. Xibaba
10. Stone Flower (Introduction)
11. Waiting
12. Castillos de Arena, Part 1 (Sand Castle)
13. Free Angela
14. Samba de Sausalito

Disc 2

1. Mantra
2. Kyoto
3. Castillos de Arena, Part 2 (Sand Castle)
4. Incident AT Neshabur
5. Se A Cabo
6. Samba Pa Ti
7. Mr. Udo
8. Toussaint L'Overture

Personnel: 

Carlos Santana (vocals, guitar, percussion); 
Tom Coster (vocals, electric piano, organ, keyboards, percussion); 
Richard Kermode (vocals, electric piano, keyboards, percussion); 
Armando Peraza (vocals, congas, bongos, percussion); 
José Chepitó Areas (vocals, congas, timbales, percussion); 
Leon Thomas (vocals, maracas, percussion, sound effects); 
Doug Rauch (guitar); 
Michael Shrieve (drums).

Various Artists - 2006 "Viva Carlos"

"Viva Carlos!" features some of the greatest names in progressive jazz/fusion, blues, and rock guitar, each paying tribute to rock guitar icon Carlos Santana. These ten incredible guitarists have come together to lift up their guitars as their voices in celebration of some of the most important music in rock history.

Guitarist Jeff Richman continues his series of tribute albums with Viva Carlos!, an homage to guitarist Carlos Santana that manages to accomplish what most tributes can't: actually improve on its source.
Santana's tone and style are immediately recognizable, but when compared to the players enlisted here, the Mexican-born guitarist simply doesn't have the vocabulary. He's dabbled in the jazz world through associations with artists like John McLaughlin and Wayne Shorter. There's no question that some of his tunes are tailor-made for more expansive interpretation. But his ability to navigate his own sometimes complex changes has always been limited. His solo approach is more about finding single notes or simple lines that can thread through the changes, and letting his singing tone do the rest. And that ultimately reduces Santana as a guitarist to something of a one-trick pony.

But there's more substance to Santana's music than meets superficial examination, and his writing can be fine grist for more sophisticated exploration—just listen to Viva Carlos!. Vinnie Moore's take on the blistering "Se a Cabo applies a singing tone similar to Santana's. But his far more developed chops and extended techniques take the energy level to places Santana never could. Similarly, Frank Gambale's equally distorted but sharper-edged tone takes "Samba de Sausalito (from the fusion-centric Welcome, Columbia 1973) and, while occasionally referencing Santana's use of repetition, gives it a facelift through sheer boldness and wide-reaching ideas. Richman's take on the bossa ballad "Europa is reverential in tone, but more advanced in execution.

The real surprises here are those who stray far from Santana's tone and apply a more personal aesthetic. Who'd have thought that Pat Martino's clean and dark-hued sound would work so well with "Moonflower, or that Albert Lee—better known in country circles—could take the equally relaxed "Samba Pa Ti and reinvent it, retaining Santana's evocative melody while turning it into something far more subtle?

Credit, as always, has to go to Richman for assembling a band that understands the source material but is able to expand on it. Sometimes it's a simple conceit like the classic "Oye Como Va (featuring Mike Stern), where the familiar melody is reshaped in 7/4. It can also be a matter of applying a more visceral rhythm, as with the powerful shuffle of "Blues for Salvador, which is tailor-made for the blues-centric Robben Ford.

The fact that all the pieces (except 1987's "Blues for Salvador ) come from '70s albums may reveal a not-so-hidden statement. Recent releases like Supernatural (Arista, 1999) may be mega-million sellers, but Santana's real legacy remains with the string of albums he released between 1969 and 1977. Viva Carlos! respects that legacy but reinvents it through rearrangement and employing guitarists who speak with a more advanced language. This music will appeal to fans and, perhaps surprisingly, non-fans alike.

There are two sides of Carlos Santana which the record buying public has long become familiar with -- the groundbreaking Latin/jazz fusion guitarist of the '60s and '70s, and the mainstream pop/rocker of the early 21st century. Thankfully, the tracks covered on the 2006 Santana tribute, Viva Carlos!, focus entirely on the former era. With a backing band comprised of drummer Dave Weckl, bassist Abe Laboriel, keyboardist Peter Wolf, and percussionist Luis Conte, some of the most renowned names of jazz fusion guitar are included (Robben Ford, Frank Gambale, Pat Martino, Mike Stern), as well as rockers (Eric Gales, Eric Johnson, Vinnie Moore), and even a country picker (Albert Lee). Most tribute albums tend to be mixed bags, but Viva Carlos! proves to be one of the more consistent ones out there, since the performances tend to be quite similar throughout, like Mike Stern's "Oye Como Va" and Coco Montoya's "Jungle Strut." As one of the more criminally underrated/overlooked guitarists, any Santana tribute is a welcome one.

https://jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com/search?q=Santana

Tracks Listing:

1. Vinnie Moore: Se A Cabo (4:42)
2. Jeff Richman: Europa (4:42)
3. Eric Gales: Jingo (6:40)
4. Mike Stern: Oye Como Va (4:58)
5. Pat Martino: Flor D'Luna (5:24)
6. Eric Johnson: Aqua Marine (4:53)
7. Frank Gambale: Samba De Sausalito (4:36)
8. Robben Ford: Blues For Salvador (4:26)
9. Albert Lee: Samba Pa Ti (5:01)
10. Coco Montoya: Jungle Strut (4:58)

Total Time 50:20

Personnel:

- Vinnie Moore / guitars
- Jeff Richman / guitars
- Eric Gales / guitars
- Mike Stern / guitars
- Pat Martino / guitars
- Eric Johnson / guitars
- Frank Gambale / guitars
- Robben Ford / guitars
- Albert Lee / guitars
- Coco Montoya / guitars
- Luis Conte / percussion
- Abe Laboriel / bass
- Jeff Richman / rhythm guitar
- Dave Weckl / drums
- Peter Wolf / keyboards

Santana, Jeff Beck, Steve Lukather - 1987 [1992] "Lotus Gem"

In 1986 Steve Lukather played as a guest guitarist at the Lotus Gem
concert with the Santana Band and the Jeff Beck Band (with Simon
Phillips on drums). Another boost for Lukather, to play together with
one of his 'masters' (next to for example Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page,
Larry Carlton, Jay Graydon, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour). You can
hear clearly that Santana was easily played away by Lukather. The
competition between Lukather and Jeff Beck was more complicated. In a
speed boogie like Freeway jam or Super boogie there's the pointed, sharp
 sound of Jeff Beck and the more sliding sound of Lukather. It's obvious
 that Beck doesn't matter to give in his stability in search for
creative and unexpected peaks. Lukather on the other hand plays like the
 talented, skilled professional, the craftsman with his own style and a
big sound. The choice is yours.

Track listing:

CD 1
01 - Into/Primaera Invasion (Santana)
02 - Black Magic Woman (Santana)
03 - Open Invitation (Santana, Lukather)
04 - Starcycle (Beck)
05 - Cause It Ended For Lovers (Beck)
06 - Wild Thing (Beck)
07 - Freeway jam (Beck, Lukather)
08 - Going Down (Beck, Lukather)
09 - Escape (Beck, Lukather)

CD 2
01 - Super Boogie (Santana, Beck, Lukather)
02 - Lotus Blues (Santana, Beck, Lukather)
03 - People Get Ready (Santana, Beck, Lukather)
04 - Johnny B. Goode (Santana, Beck, Lukather)
05 - Goodbye porkpie Hat (Beck)
06 - Love will (Beck)
07 - Ambitious (Santana, Beck)
08 - Stop look and listen (Santana, Beck)
09 - Blue wind (Santana, Beck)

Personnel:

Steve Lukather - Guitars
Carlos Santana - Guitars
Jeff Beck - Guitars

Beck's band:
Jan Hammer - Keyboards
Simon Phillips - Drums
Jimmy Hall Vocals & Sax
Doug Wimbish - Bass

Santana's band:
George Miles - Vocals
Chester Thompson - Keyboards
Armando Peraza - Congas
Orestes Vilato - Timbales
Tom Coster - Keyboards
Graham Lear - Drums
Paul Rekow – Percussion


June 1 Sun,1986: Suntory Beer Sound Market '86. Karuizawa Prince Hotel, Karuizawa, Japan