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Rating: Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Carlos Santana born on July 20, 1947, in Autlan de Navarro, Mexico. His passion for music was instilled early on, thanks to his father, who, being a "mariachi," a wandering musician, lulled him with sweet and melancholic melodies. Later, accompanying his father in his performances, the first instrument he took up wasn't a guitar but a violin. Perhaps it is to this origin that we can attribute his love for long, sustained, sighed, and sung notes, so characteristic of his style and his unmistakable trademark, a style that makes him unique among all electric guitarists. The fact is that Carlito managed to carry that desire and passion into three great CDs, which I consider his greatest masterpieces: "Santana," "Abraxas," and "Santana III."
Year 2001. Five years ago. My dad walks into a store and asks for Carlos's latest CD. He gets home, inserts it into his player, and listens to it from start to finish. In the evening, still not entirely convinced, he re-inserts it into the player to listen to it again from start to finish. He is a long-time fan of Santana, so within a few days, he'll come to terms with it and, in the end, listen to it with much of the love he had for his older albums. Not me. The collaborations with great artists are many and very beautiful, but I want Carlos Santana, not a guitarist inclined to play the highest notes as quickly as possible (not even that quickly, sigh) to match the trends and songs of other artists. This is indeed one of the album's weaknesses. Once, he set the pace, created the rhythm, and kept pace with his singers (since he almost never sang except in the choruses of his songs), while today, he has to adapt to market laws. The typical Latin melodies have almost completely disappeared. The themed songs no longer have the punch and reek too much of what's been heard before considering his repertoire.
Without going into an unnecessary song-by-song commentary, I only consider saving the three collaborations with Chad Kroeger, the lead guitarist and singer of Nickelback (the best of the CD - "You & I"), with Dido (beautiful and intense - "Feels like Fire"), and with P.O.D. ("experimental" and unusual for Carlos - "America"). The rest is quite bland and monotonous making you imagine the album as a frisbee to be thrown as far as possible (the idea of enlisting Placido Domingo in "Novus" is rather pitiful).
When you realize that the very best thing about a CD is the cover, it's honestly time to retire even if your name is Carlos Santana. In fact, your memory will remain in history...
P.S.: And yet no! He must have thought of wanting to earn the last "pennies" to retire. My God, how can you listen to the latest CD "All that I am" while holding back retches of disgust. This is ruining a career for the god $.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
13 Aye Aye Aye (04:46)
INTRO
STANDING IN THE DOORWAY
BENEATH THE MOONLIT SKY
AN ANGEL STOOD BEFORE ME
AND LOOKED ME IN THE EYE
AYE AYE
AYE AYE AYE
AYE AYE AYE
AYE AYE AYE
SHE MOVED UP RIGHT BESIDE ME
AND WE BEGAN TO DANCE
THE GROOVE WAS ALL AROUND US
WE SLIPPED INTO A TRANCE
AYE AYE
AYE AYE AYE
AYE AYE AYE
AYE AYE AYE
SPANISH LYRIC
AFRICAN LYRIC
DANCING TO THE RHYTHM
MOVING TO THE BEAT
EVERYBODY�S SINGING
YOU COULD FEEL THE HEAT
AYE AYE
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Other reviews
By Federico Larosa
An album carefully crafted to appeal to everyone: guitar virtuosos, lovers of Latin rhythms, fans of soul and R&B voices, even opera lovers.
Songs like Nothing At All, Let Me Love You Tonight, You Are My Kind, Why Don’t You And I, and Feels Like Fire certainly do not make one regret listening to and/or possibly purchasing the album.
