Santana
Africa Speaks

Exactly 20 years after the worldwide success of "Supernatural," followed in the early 2000s mostly by albums of average quality like "Shaman" in 2003 and others decidedly mediocre like the insignificant "All That I Am" in 2005, the legendary chicano Carlos Santana, after the recent good performances with "Corazon" in 2014 and "Santana IV" in 2016, along with the return of (almost) the entire official lineup from way back in 1969, decides to hit hard again with his beautiful and saturated Paul Reed Smith and, in collaboration with the legendary producer of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Johnny Cash (and many more!) Rick Rubin, releases this new record, symbolically titled "Africa Speaks", as can be clearly seen from the beautiful front/back cover.

From a purely artistic/creative point of view, let's start by saying that the album in question neither discovers nor invents anything new from what the excellent Baffo Latino has experimented with over almost half a century of activity, yet the average quality of the material is generally very good with several compositional peaks, as we will see below.

First of all, let's start with the semi-instrumental title track "Africa Speaks" which immediately highlights the extremely high pitch of the Spanish singer-songwriter's voice, yet of clearly African origins, Buika, and the always incisive and brilliant guitar of Carlos, who is already demonstrating that he is indeed very serious.

With the subsequent "Batonga", the atmosphere is reminiscent of "Santana III": congas and timbales fired at full power, followed by a true battle of guitar and Hammond B3 solos by Carlito and the excellent David K. Mathews, who on this occasion transforms into the wild Gregg Rolie, reminiscent of the legendary Woodstock era.

"Oye Este Mi Canto", on the other hand, is based on an initially delightful Afro-Cuban rhythm with Buika suspended between singing in Spanish and some verses likely declaimed in the Bantu language, followed by the usual powerful solo by a still remarkably fit Carlito.

In "Yo Me Lo Merezco", the rhythm is that of a great Blues/Rock piece with Buika's always bright voice in the foreground and a stunning sort of jam session by Santana that enlivens the second part of this excellent track.

However, the pinnacle of the album is found in the following "Blue Skies" which begins with a Jazz/Blues attack and the two high-pitched voices of Buika and Laura Mvula that then blend into a true battle of spacey riffs and guitar solos between Carlos and the equally excellent guitarist/composer Tommy Anthony, finally closing with a relaxed part where the excellently played percussions by the historic Karl Perazzo prevail.

Of very clear Funk (or Funky, if you prefer) origins is "Paraisos Quemados", where Carlos alternates in riffs and solos with Mathews' very distinguishable Hammond, resulting in a beautifully torrid and dense track.

"Breaking Down The Door", as the sleeve notes state, is an adaptation of "Abatina" by Manu Chao, but the result is a catchy piece, reminiscent of the atmospheres of the Central-South American barrios and, above all, very well played and arranged even with a trombone solo almost halfway through the track.

"Los Invisibles" presents a text written entirely in the Bantu language, dedicated to all the "disappeared" (that is, the so-called "invisibles") and musicality halfway between Latin and Hard Rock with high technical rates.

"Luna Hechicera" keeps the Latin Rock sounds of the album more than good, while "Bembele", introduced by a good Jazz-style electric piano riff, has a bass line very similar to the historical "Jingo" of 1969 and in general falls entirely within Carlito's own "latino" standards.

The album concludes with "Camdombe Cumbele", another good Latin Rock track which worthily ends an album that, in a world like our current one dominated by so-called "plastic music" where electronic sounds (often used in a slapdash manner, especially in Pop and in very recent import genres "Made in USA" like Trap) take the lead, represents a healthy and indeed life-saving breath of fresh air for those who still unconditionally love the renowned "played music" which even in today's Rock is dramatically getting lost, but thanks also to "Baffo Latino," still lives and fights with us.