Santana
Santana IV

The career of the fabulous Mexican guitarist Carlos Santana, of "chicana" origin, can safely be summarized as a circle that begins in the late Sixties, specifically in 1969, when together with organist/singer/composer Gregg Rolie, percussionists José "Chepito" Areas and Michael "Mike" Carabello, bassist Dave Brown, and the just seventeen-year-old drummer Michael "Mike" Shrieve, he decided to bring to life the eponymous band destined shortly thereafter to decisively disrupt not only the fate of the Californian psychedelia of San Francisco, led since then by prominent figures like the Grateful Dead of Jerry Garcia, to name the most well-known example, but also that of the burgeoning Latin Rock of which "Baffo Latino" is indisputably the pioneer.

And this circle, after a mile-long discography marked by various highs (for example, Caravanserai of 1972, the last great proof of the full band, and Amigos of 1976 with the well-known Europa in between) and lows (the latest recordings, except perhaps for Corazón of 2014, where the "duets" formula successfully tested in Supernatural of 1999 loses its edge and sinks into a Pop mishmash without rhyme or reason), closes, strange but true, with an almost complete reunion, promoted by the excellent Neal Schon, a talented rhythm guitarist who joined the band at the tender age of 15 and was one of the main architects of the excellent Santana III of 1971, with the exception of Areas and Brown replaced, notably well, by two of Santana's historical "squires": bassist Benny Rietveld and the eclectic percussionist Karl Perazzo.

The result, therefore, is an album that, finally, after several ups and downs, brings the original Santana sound, made of the winning mix between Afro-Cuban (or better yet South American) rhythms and the so-called Blues Revival scene of the mid-Sixties, back to the forefront with many references both to the psychedelia of its origins and to some Rock/Blues compositions by Peter Green, the first excellent source of inspiration for the Mexican guitarist. This is strongly noticeable in pieces like Shake It and Blues Magic/Echizo c with the latter seeming to be the "younger sibling" of the well-known Black Magic Woman, but which actually presents a similar style to The Super-Natural, another famous composition by the British guitarist contained in the album Hard Road of 1967 when he was part of the "Godfather of Blues" John Mayall's band, especially for the masterful control in the use of vibrato. The classic Blues enriched with rhythms suspended between South America and Africa is found in the initial Yambu which seems to draw attention to the fact that the band has finally been reborn, after years and years of parallel projects and collaborations with mixed fortunes. Anywhere You Want To Go, with an excellent Rolie on vocals, represents the perfect synthesis between the "rhythmic carpet" provided on one side by Carabello and Perazzo and on the other by Shrieve and Rietveld, and the exchanges between organ solos and the usual hot and inspired guitar of "Baffo Latino" that leaves no doubt about its immortal class, despite the almost imminent 69 springs. Another excellent piece of virtuosity is Fillmore East, a long instrumental piece lasting about 7 minutes and 30 seconds, probably dedicated to the homonymous famous Californian auditorium operated by the then-powerful impresario Bill Graham (as well as his main mentor, just like the Rock/Blues keyboardist Al Kooper), showcasing intricate melodic lines, even by the excellent Neal Schon, who confirms, from his first appearance in Santana III at the tender age of 15 in 1971, as a solid and reliable sidekick for "Baffo" himself.

Love Makes The World Go Round and Freedom In Your Mind feature vocals by the excellent Ronald Isley and, especially the latter track, highlights again a very good rhythm section, as also in Choo Choo / All Abroad.

The evident echo of the famous English bluesman Peter Green is felt in pieces like Shake It and Blues Magic / Echizo, where the usual brilliant guitar of Baffo Latino expresses itself at very high levels.

Caminando features passages reminiscent of pieces like On The Road Again by Canned Heat and Roadhouse Blues by The Doors and serves as an excellent filler.

Sueños is structured quite similarly to Europa, while You And I bears a close resemblance to some pieces from Santana's early period in the late Sixties.

Come As You Are is certainly very catchy and has rhythms that heartily nod to Brazil or the Caribbean for the skillful use of congas throughout the piece.

The farewell of an album, which overall revives the image of Santana's "Latino Rocker", is entrusted to the enchanting Blues of Forgiveness which for over 7 minutes immerses the listener in a world suspended between Blues and good old Californian Psychedelia, making the piece deserving of at least more than one listen.