Santana
Marathon

I approach this review almost with a sense of challenge. Those who have read my other reviews know that I generally go "hunting" for rather objective musical structures, regardless of the label or recognition that an album brings along. It's 1979. It is generally believed that Carlos Santana ended his artistic mission that year, first as one of the revelations of the Woodstock era, culminating in his extraordinary third album, then as an adept of the most refined mysticism, beginning with the turn of "Caravanserai."

This of '79 is considered the third turning point: "unfortunately" the commercial one. But is it really so? The album of that year, which concretizes this turn, is "Marathon," a record where in any case several new elements are evident: Alex Ligertwood debuts as the vocalist and the sound becomes decidedly more rock, harder... but also unexpectedly melodic. And here lies a bit of the redemption of this album. At the risk of attracting much criticism, I can affirm that this is a more intriguing work than it seems at first glance. Undoubtedly, good Carlos did not maintain these levels later, even in his commercial phase; this is out of the question. But this album contains traces of that absolutism, of that objectification, which I have always considered fundamental in music. And it's interesting to delve a bit deeper into this concept.

In theory, there is no such thing as good or bad music: there are pieces where the objective component of emotion is more or less prominent. "Marathon" is objectively a good album and this transcends the "commercial" label that has been attached to it; otherwise, taking this reasoning to the extreme, we could say that all the masterpieces of music that have sold perhaps millions of copies are of a commercial nature... What strikes about "Marathon" is its compactness, not only musical but also between the atmospheres of the tracks and the emotional "concept" of the album that refers to a Greek-mythological and primordial way. This is the album's greatest virtue. Let's take a look at the tracks: The title track opens the album in an epic and resounding manner, with the images of Greek athletes running in flames as they appear on the splendid cover: It's the ancient world, the origin of civilization. After the rock parenthesis of "Lightning In The Sky" where Ligertwood expresses all his potential, there is the first jewel of the album: "Aqua Marine" narrates in its atmospheres the journeys of Ulysses, of the Argonauts, but perhaps also those tropical beaches on which Christopher Columbus landed from the caravels. The stone of scandal is titled "You Know That I Love You," the track that reached the Top 40... Well, epic and dramatic love song, it must be accepted for what it is. But the album undoubtedly benefits from the "Stand Up/Runnin" duo, in some ways the best track of the album. Tight rhythm, insistent bass, solo in the interlude, and then everything flows into "Runnin" where the guitar weaves a truly absolute solo. Now the album can calmly descend into its final phase. After the decent "Summer Lady," we reach the third gem of the work: "Stay (Beside Me)" is the light of a summer sun after a storm over a pristine Greek sea. "Hard Times" closes the album in a tough yet subtly epic manner. In short, something much more than a "transition" album.

It is a work to be considered, in my opinion, in an isolated manner, without thinking that it necessarily inaugurated Carlos Santana's commercial era.