Santana - Santana

MoFi gets it right

This is a review of the sound quality of the latest MoFi remastering of this album, NOT a review of the merit or stature of the debut album (we already know it is classic).

Having had two Sony iterations of this album over the years, most recently the last Sony deluxe edition, this MoFi blows everything else away. As with the MoFi edition of Abraxas; increased clarity, more 3-dimensional soundstage / imaging... it's hard to believe that after all these years, Sony hasn't been able to get so much musical information out of the mastertape for their previous releases and that MoFi just did. Makes you wonder what else we're missing on the many other Sony remasters... Only regret is that the bonus material of the last Sony reissue won't also get the MoFi treatment. July 23, 2008

In the beginning...

The best instrumental album outside of jazz realms you're likely to hear. The worst vocal album outside of boy-band realms you're likely to hear. Ah, how I love paradoxes. But, considering that most of the songs are instrumentals, it works out in the end. Besides, there are only three vocal songs that offend me (in the "this-sucks" sense, not the "this-is-evil-hell-Satan-music" sense). See, one of them is "Evil Ways", an excellent pop song with some tinges of jazz and samba. Quite naturally, it ended up being the band's first top ten hit. And you still hear it all the time on the radio, which is awesome. Of course, it was also a cover. The remaining three songs with vocals are terrible. "You Just Don't Care" and "Persuasion" are bellowed terribly by Rollie, and "Shades of Time" is just as pretentious as its title implies. But this record has not become a classic because of "Persuasion". No, the thing that makes this work as well as it does is the several instrumentals that make up the rest of the record. If we count "Jingo" as an instrumental (and we should, because it contains four syllables of lyrics), there are five, and each of them rules in their own different way. Each also sets itself apart from each other. "Savor" is a mix of samba and jazz; "Treat" is jazz plain and simple; the aforementioned "Jingo" is African crossed with Latin; and "Waiting" makes for a fine rock-influenced opening. All of them are more or less features for Carlos, but I'd much rather hear five minutes of Carlos soloing than five seconds of Rollie singing, so I get my way. "Soul Sacrifice", then, shows the band as a synergetic unit bursting with enthusiasm and intensity. From the slightly ominous theme to the percussion solo to the furious denouement, it's everything that made the original group as good as they were. Get it for the instrumentals. Definitely. Oh, and this is so much better and more focused than that lame Live at the Fillmore 1968, I find it hard to believe it was recorded a year afterwards, mostly by the same musicians. Maybe the fact that this has Michael Shrieve (who rules, by the way) and Fillmore 1968 doesn't makes all the difference, eh? May 19, 2008

Boiling Latin Brew

If you like Abraxas then you will certainly enjoy this album as well. The songs have a looser feel to them. If you close your eyes you can imagine the players having a great time just jamming. In fact I personally enjoy this album more than Abraxas.

Mobile Fidelity has done has done an excellent job on the mastering, breathing new energy into this 1969 recording.

The CD is presented in a cardboard fold sleeve to replicate the original vinyl version. So the artwork is presented in the original manner. However, I am still undecided about the cardboard sleeve because while this is nice in a nostalgic way, it is inconvenient to use. The CD is in a soft protective inner sleeve like vinyl was and it slides into the tight cardboard sleeve just like a vinyl record.

But don't let this put you off, the music is awesome! So get yours now before you miss out.
May 9, 2008

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