Excellent work from Santana (Supernatural - Santana)

Member Name: polydeuces

Product:	Supernatural - Santana
Date:	29/05/08 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: yes

Disadvantages: maybe

Are you wondering why there has been such a long gap from Santana's last big-selling album until the Grammy award winning Supernatural'? Well, me too.

As someone old enough to remember the first album successes in the late 1960s based on the groundbreaking Santana' and Abraxas' dear Carlos seemed to lose that spark of originality that made his music so enjoyable. It was Santana who first fused the African rhythms into guitar rock and with a band which was so musically tight and focused they were effortless in their playing. Early album classics Jingo' and Oye Como Va' led an early appreciation in strong pounding rhythmic rock and knocked at the convention that popular rock music had to be in English.

Add to this the instrumental masterpieces like Samba Pa Ti' where exceptional musical virtuoso playing is used within a beautifully constructed piece.

So where did it all go wrong ?. Collaborations with Miles Davis and John McLaughlin not withstanding Carlos did not enjoy either critical or popular acclaim to match the early success. However as the saying goes form is temporary, class is permanent and with the album Supernatural' Carlos has shown he can still produce excellent music.

In the modern age where black or hispanic music has moved away from band based rock to hip-hop style or rap Santana chose his collaborations for Supernatural very well. In particular the track Maria Maria' with Wyclif Jean blends the best of both artistes. Smooth' and Migra' also stand out, the latter having almost an Irish-Black-dance feel to it.

Can I find any cause for criticism ? only that sometimes there is a feel that one or two of the guitar solos are a little contrived within a song and exist as an add-on rather than are integrated within the song. The final piece with Eric Clapton was disappointing being more of a meandering tune-up than a constructed instrumental.
Overall an album to be recommended for old Santana fans like me through to anyone who appreciates music which is commercial without sacrificing originality.

Summary: !