Album: Abraxas
Artist: Santana
Born: Jalisco, Mexico
Released: September 1970
Genre: Latin Rock
Influenced: Stephen Stills, Prince, Fugees
Hailing from the most musical Mexican state, Jalisco (home of mariachi bands), Carlos Santana had one of the most unlikely routes to rock stardom, moving as a child to Tijuana then San Francisco and later being called in as a late replacement guitarist while a spectator at a Fillmore West concert. From here, he formed his own group and built his reputation at Woodstock, before the release of the self-titled Santana in 1969. The album was a huge hit and showed that the San Francisco music scene was still alive and well, though moving away from psychedelia into a melting pot fusion of jazz, blues, rock and Latin music. Abraxas is Santana's most accessible album, mixing the long improvisations with some of the band's most memorable hits, such as the cover of Black Magic Woman by early Fleetwood Mac. Santana replicates the crisp, long-sustained chords of the Peter Green blues original, but enhances it with Latin polyrhythms and lets the song segue into the freeform jazz of Gypsy Queen.
Integrating elements of calypso, samba and salsa, Abraxas was a huge hit and pointed to growing interest in (that awful term) "world music". Samba Pa Ti is one of three instrumentals on the album, all arranged by Santana, mixing a slow samba beat with guitar solo. I also really like the accomplished jazz playing on Incident At Neshabur. Oye Come Va is probably the most famous recording on the album, enhancing the mambo of Spain's Tito Puente with Hammond organ and guitar and bringing it to a wider audience. For me, the song will always be associated one of my favourite films, The Big Lebowski. Hope You're Feeling Better is another highlight on the album, showcasing Gregg Rolie's talents and preference for harder rock, a trait that Carlos Santana had to temper. All three of the early Santana albums are great, and I also really like the chilled out jazzy records like Caravanserai that the group (with a much changed line-up) put out later in the 70s, but Abraxas will always be the one for me.
Hailing from the most musical Mexican state, Jalisco (home of mariachi bands), Carlos Santana had one of the most unlikely routes to rock stardom, moving as a child to Tijuana then San Francisco and later being called in as a late replacement guitarist while a spectator at a Fillmore West concert. From here, he formed his own group and built his reputation at Woodstock, before the release of the self-titled Santana in 1969. The album was a huge hit and showed that the San Francisco music scene was still alive and well, though moving away from psychedelia into a melting pot fusion of jazz, blues, rock and Latin music. Abraxas is Santana's most accessible album, mixing the long improvisations with some of the band's most memorable hits, such as the cover of Black Magic Woman by early Fleetwood Mac. Santana replicates the crisp, long-sustained chords of the Peter Green blues original, but enhances it with Latin polyrhythms and lets the song segue into the freeform jazz of Gypsy Queen.
Integrating elements of calypso, samba and salsa, Abraxas was a huge hit and pointed to growing interest in (that awful term) "world music". Samba Pa Ti is one of three instrumentals on the album, all arranged by Santana, mixing a slow samba beat with guitar solo. I also really like the accomplished jazz playing on Incident At Neshabur. Oye Come Va is probably the most famous recording on the album, enhancing the mambo of Spain's Tito Puente with Hammond organ and guitar and bringing it to a wider audience. For me, the song will always be associated one of my favourite films, The Big Lebowski. Hope You're Feeling Better is another highlight on the album, showcasing Gregg Rolie's talents and preference for harder rock, a trait that Carlos Santana had to temper. All three of the early Santana albums are great, and I also really like the chilled out jazzy records like Caravanserai that the group (with a much changed line-up) put out later in the 70s, but Abraxas will always be the one for me.
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