Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Santana
Label: RCA Records
Release: 2014
Rating: 2/5
Carlos Santana’s latest musical ideas have gone downhill again. After the excellent latino rock fusion record »Shape Shifter« (2012), which briefly revived the high musical standards of his best days, you could kind of see it coming that this stretch of great artistic inspiration, the kind that warmed the soul of his original fanbase, wouldn’t last long. The legendary Mexican-born guitarist is simply too wrapped up in the currents of the modern music industry, and he just can’t resist the jingle of big money, even though at every chance he loves to preach at length about spirituality, humility and charity.
The latest studio result of Carlos’s return to the embrace of the modern music industry’s corporate logic is the latino pop/rock album »Corazon«, one of his most commercially minded records ever, though don’t count on it repeating the roaring success of »Supernatural« (1999) and »Shaman« (2002). In his by now well-established tradition, Carlos hired an army of different singers and musicians. The best known to the wider public include the legendary Weather Report saxophonist and Carlos’s old friend Wayne Shorter, latino singer Gloria Estefan, drummer Cindy Blackman Santana (Carlos’s wife), reggae musician Ziggy Marley (son of Bob Marley) and rapper Pitbull.
It’s precisely the collaborations with various rap/hip-hop stars over the past decade that fans of the life and work of one of the most revered and influential rock guitarists of all time hold most against their idol. But Carlos would do practically anything to sell more albums, as long as he can keep up his carefully manufactured image as a great humanitarian and champion of ‘third world’ rights. He has always been one of music’s biggest capitalists, and he couldn’t care less what his most loyal, longtime fanbase wants.
The music on »Corazon« is closer to run-of-the-mill latino pop with the occasional horn arrangement than to the elastic latino rock that made Carlos famous in his most fruitful and least ‘sold-out’ artistic period. It’s no surprise that most of the vocals on »Corazon« are in Spanish, which is only fitting given that this is a tribute to the works of various contemporary latino musicians. Three tracks this time are in English, »Feel It Coming Back«, »Indy« and »I See Your Face«, and they would have been better sung in Spanish, instead of Carlos once again trying to please his big North American capitalist friends too. The worst part of it all is that this isn’t original material, just a bunch of covers of modern latino musicians.
»Corazon« has exactly one original track, »Yo Soy La Luz«, which, no surprise at all, is by far the best thing on it, with the immortal Wayne Shorter on saxophone and Carlos’s wife Cindy Blackman Santana on drums. The first three tracks on the album are for all the latino pop rock and salsa fans out there, which means they’re listenable, even if only Carlos’s guitar variations tell you that you’re dealing with the legendary band Santana at all. Both tracks with the charismatic Gloria Estefan on lead vocals also turn out solid. In the hard-to-listen-to category, though, you’ve got »Oye 2014« with rapper Pitbull, a rap adaptation of the Santana evergreen »Oye Como Va« (the original was written by Tito Puente), the Bob Marley cover »Iron Lion Zion« sung by Ziggy Marley, »Margerita«, where Romeo Santon can’t decide which language he’d rather sing in, and two of the three tracks with English vocals. »Feel It Coming Back« with Diego Torres on lead vocals is the only slightly more classic-rock number, and it’ll appeal to some longtime but less demanding followers of Carlos’s career.
Money pouring in and pleasing a modern fanbase, especially the latino pop rock crowd, were Carlos’s main motives this time, but neither is an excuse for releasing a totally uninspired album of other musicians’ covers like »Corazon«. Anyone who can’t live without Carlos’s latest signature guitar runs and improvisational detours, whatever the arrangements or guest vocalists, won’t care much that »Corazon« is a soulless slap in the face to most of Carlos’s creative output and to his undisputed, pioneering role in latino rock. Everyone else will do themselves a much bigger favor by spinning any one of the classic Santana albums from the seventies instead of this forgettable effort.
Lineup
Carlos Santana – guitar
Andy Vargas – vocals
Tony Lindsay – vocals
Benny Rietveld – bass guitar
Jeff Cressman – trombone
Tommy Anthony – guitar, backing vocals
David K. Mathews – keyboards
Jose “Pepe” Jimenez – drums
Dennis Chambers – drums on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 12
Fernando Ricciardi – drums on “Mal Bicho”
Cindy Blackman Santana – drums on “Yo Soy La Luz” and “I See Your Face”
Josh Connolly – drum programming on “Mal Bicho”
Karl Perazzo – timbales on all tracks except 8, 9, 11; percussion on tracks 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
Raul Rekow – congas on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 12
Paoli Mijias – congas on tracks 3, 4, 7, 10, 11
Laercio da Costa – additional percussion on “Beijo de Longe”
David Stout – trombone and horn on “Iron Lion Zion”
Bill Ortiz – trumpet on “Saidera” and “Yo Soy La Luz”
Daniel Lozano – trumpet on “Mal Bicho”
Harry Kim – trumpet on “Iron Lion Zion”
Sergio Rotman – tenor saxophone on “Mal Bicho”
Dave Pozzi – tenor saxophone on “Iron Lion Zion”
Wayne Shorter – saxophone on “Yo Soy La Luz”
Vicentico – vocals on “Mal Bicho”
Larissa R. Nascimento – backing vocals on “Beijo de Longe”
Javany Javier & Ximena Muñoz – vocals on “Oye 2014”
Tim Pierce – rhythm guitar on 1, 2, 4, 5
Samuel Rosa – rhythm guitar on “Saidera”
Miguel – rhythm guitar on “Indy”
Emily Stefan – additional guitar on “Beijo de Longe”
Flavio Cianciarulo – bass guitar and rhythm guitar on “Mal Bicho”
Zac Rae – keyboards on all tracks except 6 and 8-11
Mario Siperman – keyboards on “La Flaca”
Lester Mendez – keyboard programming on “I See Your Face”
Pedro Alfonso – violin on “Beijo de Longe”
Production
Lester Mendez
Tracklist
1. Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa) [Spanish Version]
2. La Flaca (feat. Juanes)
3. Mal Bicho (feat. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs)
4. Oye 2014 (feat. Pitbull)
5. Iron Lion Zion (feat. Ziggy Marley & ChocQuibTown)
6. Una Noche en Napoles (feat. Lila Downs, Nina Pastori & Soledad)
7. Besos de Lejos (feat. Gloria Estefan)
8. Margarita (feat. Romeo Santos)
9. Indy (feat. Miguel)
10. Feel It Coming Back (feat. Diego Torres)
11. Yo Soy la Luz (feat. Wayne Shorter & Cindy Blackman Santana)
12. I See Your Face
13. Saideira (feat. Samuel Rosa)
14. Beijo de Longe (feat. Gloria Estefan)
15. Amor Correspondido (feat. Diego Torres)
