1001 Albums Generator - Santana - Abraxas

 Album 12

Abraxas - 1970

by Santana

It opens like a jazz ensemble warming up and then seamlessly merges into the monster hit, "Black Magic Woman", which has always, I guess, been a jam song and THAT song crashes into Gypsy Queen and I want to be at the Hayden Planeterium for the Abraxas Experience. 

It does get a bit samey-same after a while but just as I wrote this, the vocals on Mother's Daughter came in to save us. To be honest, the Santana-penned tunes are the least interesting.

4.25 out of 5

Singing Winds, Crying Beasts

Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen

Oye Como Va

The 1981 Listening Post - Santana - Zebop!

Santana - Zebop! #132 By Jon Rosenberg April 29 1981 Santana Zebop! Genre: Rock/Latin Rock/Jazz Rock Allen’s Rating: 3 out of 5 Jon’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Highlights: Winning Changes Tales of Kilimanjaro Genre: Rock/Latin Rock/Jazz Rock Santana hits the 80’s! With an album called Zebop! And yes, the exclamation point is part of the title, so clearly someone was very excited about this music. After spending the latter half of the 70’s putting out jazz fusion that seemed to alienate many of their Woodstock Nation fans, Zebop! is something of a return to form. Gone are the Fillmore-length jams and lysergic lyrics, and in their place shorter, more radio friendly songs. But fear not, there is still a lot of fantastic guitar-work, and the requisite Latin percussion that envelopes you like a warm comfy blanket – and without which this wouldn’t be a Santana album. There’s nothing here of the caliber of “Evil Ways,” “Black Magic Woman,” or “Nobody to Depend On” from the first three albums. But “Winning” is a catchy-as-hell pop song -written by Russ Ballard - that gave Santana their first Top 20 hit single in a decade - and their last until “Smooth” in 1999. It’s still a great song, which fortunately hasn’t been co-opted (yet) by any douchebag politicians who don’t pay attention to the lyrics. “Changes” - a Cat Stevens cover - is a fantastic opener, that Santana make their own. And “Tales of Kilimanjaro” is a swirling Santana instrumental that brings to mind the chill vibe of “Singing Winds, Crying Beasts” from Abraxas. So, while some may not appreciate the pop sensibilities and brevity of the tunes, Zebop! is a minor classic in the Santana discography and definitely worthy of reappraisal by fans who may have dismissed it back in the day. https://open.spotify.com/album/6xneJ1pKj47GhKZOKv7OGD?si=i7CL7uYsSe2sLKmdsq6Qqw

The 1985 Listening Post - Santana - Beyond Appearances

Santana - Beyond Appearances

#50

February 1985

Santana

Beyond Appearances

Genre: Rock

2.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Touchdown Raiders

Here’s what I want to know. I want to know about the song, “Written in Sand”. I want to know how that song ended up on this record. 

Why?

Because it is credited to Mitchell Froom and Jerry Stahl. 

Jerry Stahl.

The guy who wrote Permanent Midnight.

He also wrote an episode of CSI that I appeared in. (Tiny party but, holy shit, Jerry Freaking Stahl!!)

And, pursuant to my curiosity he wrote, under the pseudonym “Herbert W. Day”, the cult prog film, “Cafe Flesh”. 

Cafe Flesh. A film whose score was written by:

Mitchell Froom.

I want to know how they ended up working together on a porn film and then writing for Carlos Santana. 

That’s what I want to know. 

(They also collaborated on NightDreams, which was also a porn/cult film from the same director that was released the year before.

THAT is the story that needs to be told. 

This is a Santana record. Which mean, as usual, boring songs with great guitar work. But also…synths. 

Too

Many

Synths

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/beyond-appearances/871135485