Santana - Supernatural

The Arista debut of Carlos Santana and band gives fans of the soulful guitar vet two albums in one, but it's a decidedly good-news, bad-news proposition. First, there's a fine collection of late-'90s-model Santana--tastefully tooled songs driven by Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms ("[Da Le] Taleo," "Africa Bamba," "Migra," "Primavera," and the emotionally charged instrumental "El Farol") that allow Carlos plenty of elbowroom for his passionate soloing. Then there's the collection of tracks featuring a lineup of de rigueur alternative and hip-hop stars, including Dave Matthews, Everlast, Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Eagle Eye Cherry. To their credit, Matthews ("Love of My Life") and Eagle Eye Cherry ("Wishing It Was") muster enough chemistry to make the fusion work. But the rest of the collaborations feel like an unnecessary stretch to reach out to a younger demographic that El Jefe has little trouble attracting on his own terms. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com essential recording

Doesn't even reek of the 90's, Part 2

First off, Supernatural is not *just* a Santana record. It's more of a mix between Santana, his band, his collaborators and sometimes the producers. It's really a great sounding record all around, and despite it's mainstream trappings, I found pretty much all the songs good (not awesome or great, mind you). I'll tackle the album in it's two different faces: The more traditional (though this one is far from the traditional Latin music it seems) songs (give or take), or the less traditional, latin-pop songs.

Santana and his band of percussion instruments, horns, keyboards, the works are probably the best, and Carlos Santana makes his guitar sing and never wastes a note. The very first note on (Da Le) Yaleo hits you like a refreshing drink of water, enough to make you say ahhhhh. The band is tight and well arranged, and Santana and his band swing effortlesly between moods and styles. The grooves are greatly dominant here, with all of them percussion creating an infectious grooves. The sound samples aren't lying. Listening to this will take you to the shores, sunsets, wherever the music is from =). Good stuff, and stay tuned for the The Calling, with Eric Clapton!

The more poppy songs are, weaker obviously, but still, actually pretty _______ good. The two really bad ones are Put Your Lights On (everlast sucks), and Do you Like The Way (Lauryn Hill can't rap, or compose worth a ______). Unlike other crappy pop music with a fake Latin shtick of the time (ricky martin), there is actual Latin in it and actually pretty much is Latin, only with poppy vocals and rhythms, and a slightly poppier tone (but still has the unmistakenable latin roots, and sounds very latin).

Each of the guest vocalists do great, and often write their own material. The two most infamous tracks I actually dig, being Smooth and Love of My Life (and I really, on a whole, despise Matchbox 20 and that yuppie poon rob thomas). Maria Maria is the weakest on here, but it's pleasant and doesn't bug the crap out of me. Plus, the instrumentation is rather beautiful. Corazon Espinado is just as dancable as Smooth. Wishing It Was has good music, good enough to ignore the absolutely banal lyrics. Supernatural has a great collection of pop songs, while not excellent, really are darn good.

If you like this, you might also want to listen to Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos. I think they go together quite well and both sound great, though this one is more lush, while the other is just plain better. If not, well, this album is still worth a purchase if you haven't. Well, don't be scared because of Rob Thomas or Dave Matthews. There's plenty to be had without them.

8/10 June 22, 2008

Santana at his best

This work is Santana at his best. His collaboration with other artists adds to both making an explosion of talent. An audio treat best listened to at night when the imagination can fire up and see his work.

Brilliant.

Susan June 9, 2008

Great songs and sound quality, though DVD-surround mix was a bit slapdash

I was really looking forward to receiving this disc. Although I think he wails for a little too long in some of his solos, I have to admit Santana is one talented musician.

I won't go into each song individually as some reviewers have done here. I personally believe you already know the songs you're getting when you're buying in this format... perhaps you own the CD / have heard the songs before, and you want to hear it in a new light.

Well, overall the songs are great. They really are. Santana brought in great talent to accompany him, and I do NOT see it as a sell-out album, like some people have said here. True, this makes this album more "poppish" than previous works, but there are still many tracks that are true to his old style.

That said, I was expecting a little more from this DVD surround mix. The sound quality itself is great - something we demand from these type of discs. And you DO get the sense that you're being enveloped by sound better than the CD. But it's the mixing itself seems like it was lazily done. The rear channels weren't utilized for much more than accentuating the occasional piano track or reverb.

Would I still recommend this disc? Yes, I would. Would I recommend this format? I would, solely based on the fact that it sounds cleaner and crisper than the audio CD version. Just know that the "surround" that's being advertised is more from reverb than anything else. March 8, 2008

santana going strong

Carlos Santana is a legend in the truest sense of the word . I am someone who listened to him in the sixties & am so pleased to see he is still going strong & appealing to a newer audience. More power to him !!! February 25, 2008

Santana - different sound, still great

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3EOWQS8YXPR2C I've been a Santana fan since Woodstock but not through thick and thin, so I wasn't current when this album came out, but it really caught my ear and I like almost everything on it. It's one of my favorite albums overall. Santana from several eras is great for jumping rope to. February 16, 2008

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