OK, enough of this rock star business- let's be real musicians
Written: Aug 03 '07 (Updated Aug 05 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: What it lacks in Caravanserai's spirituality, it makes up for in awe-inspiring musicianship.
Cons: Fans of Carlos Santana the guitarist might wanna skip ahead to Flame-Sky.
The Bottom Line: While the salsa does rear its head on a few occasions, this is more of a jazz-fusion affair. Will take a little more effort to get into than Abraxas did.
Just as I figured it was time to challenge my perceptions of blues, country, and modern hip-hop, I’m thinking that my opinion of jazz might be due for a revision. So many descriptions of Santana’s Welcome album include the words “jazzy”, “fusion” and “influenced by John Coltrane” that I’ve found myself in the following position- if Welcome is any indication of what jazz is like (and I’ll be the first to admit, the genre is one of my musical blind spots), then maybe I’m missing out on something that’d really tickle me in the special place.
I’ve owned and already listened to the previous album Caravanserai a number of times. It’s quite jazzy at well, and marked the point at which Santana began to move down on the ladder of public acceptance. With original vocalist/keyboardist Gregg Rolie and back-up guitarist Neil Schon gone to form Journey, Carlos and those he had on the payroll were free to leave commercial considerations aside to pursue a fancier, more sophisticated sound. Unfortunately for those in love with Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va, the days of frantic Afro-Caribbean salsa rock were over for a time.
Long-time drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionist Chepito Areas were still in the picture when this album was recorded in 1973, and the former nearly upstages Carlos on Welcome. In fact, while I dig it quite a bit, the guitarist plays a fairly minor role on much of the album, leaving keyboardists Tom Coster and Richard Kermode, amazing bassist Doug Rauch, and Shrieve’s busy sticks to fill up the void. Of course, maybe he was just getting ready for the ten minute plus Flame-Sky, where he and English guitarist John McLaughlin shred each other’s butts like two inmates on Viagra. While the mood of that six-string fest varies from mellow-trippy to darkishly rowdy, I was almost tired of hearing the guitar by the end.
Really, only Samba de Sausalito is anything like the earlier incarnation of Santana, what with all the conga-thumping. Much of Welcome falls either into the realm of friendly and upbeat 70’s soul with a vaguely funky edge (When I Look Into Your Eyes, Love, Devotion, & Surrender) or material that’s really up to its butt in the jazz (like Mother Africa, where the soprano sax solo gets all crazy and cacophonous at the tribally manic end). A couple of female singers contribute vocals (those being Wendy Haas and Flora Purim), but the official vocalist as the time was Leon Thomas, who had that smooth brotha style going on. Probably got a lot of tail just by answering the phone. The bonus track Mantra, by the way, is an excellent, previously unreleased, and slightly eerie exercise in crazy drumming, stunning bass work, electric piano floating in and out of the mix, and weird-ass moaning- glad they put it on there.
Other than Welcome (the John Coltrane-penned closer that’s so pretty and pleasant in a Barnes & Noble way, I can hardly stay awake), I’d say the album is mostly strong, if very experimental and not at all what people had come to expect of Carlos and crew. Parts of the album are almost weird and ethereal enough to veer enough into a space rock classification, but it’s so jazz in its execution that the man for whom the band was named almost sounds out of place at times (on several of the songs, I don’t think he did anything but contribute a guitar solo). While his ex-bandmates were laying the foundations for their eventual success as Journey, Carlos and what would soon become his ever-changing roster of hired guns were pushing the Santana vision away from radio and into a place where only fellow musicians could truly enjoy their work. I like it and recommend it with reservations, but be forewarned- this is not the screaming lead guitar-drenched, voodoo ceremony-sounding, enchilada acid rock that most might associate with the name.
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