Tuesday, October 28, 2014

"Abraxas" by Santana (September, 1970)


Brad's Take:

Apparently, September of 1970 was a stacked month full of albums that sooner or later became "classics." Abraxas by Carlos Santana is yet another one to have made the list. 

This is my first time with a full Santana record, and it kicks off with "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" which sounds like 1970 to me. A psychedelic keyboard sound, some rumbling Latin bongos, and very little guitar, which was surprising to me since I am pretty familiar with what Santana is capable of on the guitar.

When "Black Magic Woman" starts, you understand the first track was just a prelude to the album, and track 2 is where this thing really begins. Anyone who is even just a little bit familiar with Santana (like myself) knows his variation of the Fleetwood Mac song "Black Magic Woman."

Next up was Santana's version of "Oye Como Va" (originally by Tito Puente) which is another song I immediately recognized. Good luck not singing along to that one, even though (if you're like me) you have no idea what you're actually saying. 

Carlos Santana has a very cool guitar style. It feels very well rehearsed because it's so fluid and clean. Not clean in tone, but clean as in "spotless" or "perfect." It's all very well articulated. That's just one thing I notice about his playing. 

This album has solos and memorable riffs all over the place. "Incident at Neshabur" in particular has a really cool riff that will be stuck in my head the rest of the day. "Hope You're Feeling Better" sounds like they're channeling their inner Jimi Hendrix a bit. Both in guitar playing and vocals. Gregg Rolie's vocals especially have that Jimi Hendrix disortion "ness" to them.

I'm not sure how much producer credit was split between Carlos Santana and Fred Catero, but this album feels very well thought out and cohesive. They knew exactly what they wanted and how to execute it. Maybe Carlos is as good of a producer as he is a guitar player. It doesn't seem like he half-asses what he does. Maybe that's part of what makes him so legendary even today.

Dad's Take:

Santana. That's almost all I need to say. I love this stuff.

Coming off his surprise show-stopping performance at Woodstock, Santana put out two great albums. Then followed them with more great albums.

Abraxas is great from start to finish, with it's Latin-flavored-psychedelic-funky-rock-jazz-fusion. Everybody recognizes the two classic tunes here, "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va," numbers two and three in the track list. But don't stop listening there.

This album--although it, of course, has great songs--works best as a whole album. It has a flow, a musical storyline. The songs are unified without becoming monotonous. It's almost a perfect musical picture of the area where I grew up, only a few miles from Santana Central. This is my local music, full of memories and a feeling--a sense--that feels much like home. Maybe not my street, but my town and my region.

Santana might be the tightest-sounding jam band ever, or maybe the loosest-sounding tight band. They expand the concepts of rock and roll and jam and create foot-tapping, head-bopping sound paintings that suck you in and threaten to never let you go. Not that you want to get out. You don't just listen to Abraxas. You feel it. You visit it. It invites you to move in and whether you want to go or not, you find yourself there, living an adventure you don't want to end. It's fun, sometimes frightening, sometimes sexy, and almost always irresistible. The music is literally a trip, and you don't want it to end.

Enough writing. I'm just going to let Abraxas carry me away.

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