Santana
Aqua Marine

My first listen of this instrumental by Santana happened in a dedicated listening room of a high-fidelity shop. The owner used this track to let customers test the many pairs of speakers for sale, and I ended up there to help a dear friend (God rest his soul... goodbye Mala...) choose one. That experience was so exciting and fulfilling that it remains vividly clear in my memory even after many years... truly nothing better than these warm, lustful Latin American rhythms grafted onto a fusion fabric, half jazz and half rock, with a touch of funky too, with the group caught at the zenith of its abilities and characteristics.

More contextually, I have always framed “Aqua Marine” as the perfect, unparalleled soundtrack for making love: there's the necessary initial preamble, in other words, the foreplay with the guitar arpeggio wet with chorus by Chris Solberg supported by the lighter shakers and percussion; then the main theme enters, left to a synthesizer whistle somewhat in the style of the Alan Parsons Project, played by keyboardist Alan Pasqua; then the rhythm becomes more pronounced, the beautifully slapped bass of the excellent David Margen enters, and we reach the main act, the intercourse, initially languid and relaxed and then gradually more intense, with the percussion galloping ever more vibrantly as the synth fades and Carlos’s solo guitar arrives to provide the typical "hot and scenic" brushstrokes.

Following is the climax phase, the proper apotheosis with the group's breaks in unison, guided by the strong and secure drumming that punctuates the contortions of the synthesizer theme; and finally the quieting, the satisfaction, with a return to the Stratocaster arpeggio and the last shudders of percussion, all in a magical atmosphere of skillful reverbs and carefully crafted flangings.

Placed in the middle of an album that's not worth much ("Marathon," 1979), teetering as it is between Latin-style rhythm and blues, mild funky, and slightly pop or almost AOR hard rock when Solberg's hard solo gets carried away with the leader letting him, "Aqua Marine" immediately stands out from the cover art, announced as it is in green/blue ultramarine letters amidst the rest of the titles which are of a completely different color... a genuine invitation to consider this excellent Santana number as the most important and central of that album: indeed it is, and by a wide margin compared to the rest.

As a single, the song instead appeared only as the B-side of the helpless, unbearable “You Know That I Love You” (see image), an insipid melodic number with a predictable, useless chorus and a love text as silly as so many others. The usual Santana therefore... always in the hands of others when it comes to composition (the piece is by Alan Pasqua) but a remarkable catalyst of musicians and sounds, as well as an excellent confectioner in adding with his guitar the cherry on the cake, mostly crafted by others' talent.

Hence, I recommend listening to this instrumental with ears also attuned to sexual fantasy, as well as with the normal interest of a music lover. For me, it is so, even though in reality I have never "used" this track for that purpose, not having the habit of choosing music when it really comes to that.