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Santana
Santana
[Legacy Edition]
(Columbia/Legacy)
First Appeared in The Music Box, December 2004, Volume 11, #12
Written by John Metzger
Several years ago, Santana’s self-titled debut was retrofitted with a crisper
sound and a handful of bonus selections, but its latest incarnation as a
two-disc set is simply astounding. Combining the original album with a handful
of outtakes, the band’s complete performance at the Woodstock Music & Arts
Festival, and the scrapped initial recording sessions from January 1969, the new
collection paints a vivid portrait of the restless, uncontainable energy of a
rising star. That the eponymous effort wasn’t perfect doesn’t matter; it has
served the group remarkably well simply because its contents are so utterly
unique. Standing at the crossroads between jazz and blues, Santana’s music was
flavored with a healthy dose of soul-pop smoothness, worldly rhythms, and Latin
spice. Although the songs on its debut didn’t fold together in as cohesive a
fashion as the ensemble’s subsequent outings, the primal force with which they
were delivered made quite a powerful statement while also paving a path to the
future. The percolating percussion, the steady rumble of bass, and the colorful
splatters of atmospheric organ congealed around the shimmering guitar flights of
bandleader Carlos Santana to create an aural, urban collage of magnificent
importance. True, Evil Ways became a Top 10 single, but it was within
Treat’s hypnotic alternations between tender grace and spirited swing, the
fiery bliss of Savor and Jingo, and the smolderingly seductive
essence of Soul Sacrifice that the collective’s true intentions were
buried, where new sonic textures were not only formed, but also explored. In the
intervening years, many artists have tried their hand at crafting a similar
concoction of styles, but none have come close to matching the spiritual
transcendence inherent in Santana’s mesmerizing grooves and prismatic
instrumental interludes.
For the record, none of the extra studio selections on Santana: Legacy
Edition are going to change the perspectives of the unconverted, and Santana
was wise to re-record the tunes rather than try to formulate something out of
its shabby early sessions. Yet, all of these bonus tracks are too good and too
informative to be discounted so readily. From a pair of explosive renditions of
Soul Sacrifice to the loose, expansive rendering of Treat and from
the probing reverie of Studio Jam to the swirling strains of Fried
Neckbones, these previously unreleased snapshots undoubtedly shine a
brilliant light upon the rapid period of development through which Santana was
traveling. With its raw, edgy demeanor, it’s the material from Woodstock,
however, that makes the expanded edition of Santana an even better
outing. Granted, the best moments of the performance — Soul Sacrifice,
Savor, and a supremely jazzy Fried Neckbones — appeared on the first
reissue of Santana, but these songs assume a startling potency when
placed within the context of the rest of the band’s stellar set. Over the course
of 45-minutes, the collective ripped through a pair of cover songs and five of
its own compositions as if it were possessed, and in essence, it effectively
introduced itself to the world by vigorously tearing its music apart and
reassembling it with an irrepressible fury. Indeed, taken along with Live at
the Fillmore 1968, the refurbished Santana adds new dimensions and
depths to the understanding of the group’s beginnings, and as a result, the
album, despite its flaws, never has sounded more vital.
Santana [Original Album] — 
Bonus Materials —
Santana: Legacy Edition —
Santana [Legacy Edition] is available
from Amazon. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Santana [Original Album] is available
from Amazon. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004
The Music Box
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