Published on Feb 22, 2001
I’ll say it straight out; this is a fantastic album.
I’m not at all familiar with most of Santana’s musical output,
but I do know that he made a name for himself with a smashing
performance in 1969 when he played at Woodstock, the same year his
first album was released. I also know that he has experienced real
highs and lows throughout his long career, capped by a massive
comeback in 1999 with his
Supernatural album, which I believe has actually become one
of the top 20 or 30 best selling albums of all time, and certainly
his biggest triumph in the commercial sense.
While
Supernatural certainly wasn’t bad, I personally don’t think
it comes close to the brilliant musicianship contained on this
self-titled effort, which was his third album and released in
1971.
These early Santana albums were probably the first successful
mainstream fusion of Latin music and rhythms with hard rock; not a
great surprise considering Santana’s Mexican roots and American
upbringing. This album is a fascinating listen from start to
finish…the blend of different styles experimented with just work
together magically.
Just listen to the opening track, “Batuka,” one of the finest
rock instrumentals I’ve ever heard. Normally one would assume that
Latin influenced music is cheesy poppy stuff that people in Brazil
like to grind to. Or people in North America stupidly consider the
likes of Ricky Martin to be a “groundbreaking” crossover fusion of
latin music with rock, which of course is complete poppycock.
Yes, “Batuka” is a clear message that Latin music can actually
have balls… just listen to the complex percussion accompanied
with funky bass rhythms and a plethora of heavy guitar riffs
courtesy of good ‘ol Carlos himself. He also liberally throws
hyperactive melodic solos around that are short and sweet enough to
remain an impressive showcase of his technical ability without
becoming irritating endless wankfests as many other guitarists
tended to indulge in at the time. He certainly has a knack for
melodic playing with great feel. Also, check out the addition of
the crazy organ towards the end of the song, which reminds one of
the best of Deep Purple!
The rest of the album pretty much retains this high level of
songwriting and musicianship, perfecting the blend of Latin rhythms
with blues, soul, lounge, and of course the hard rock which cements
it all together. Some songs lean more heavily towards pure Latin
music even sung in Spanish, and then there’s others like
“Everybody’s Everything” which sound more like a ’60s James Brown
soul pop number. All the tracks are very melodic and interesting
without ever sounding too commercial… they perfectly reflect the
album cover in that listening to the album is like embarking on a
journey into a mystical land.