Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Santana
Label: Self-released
Release: 2016
Running time: 75:26
Rating: 4.5/5
Fans of the classic lineup of the legendary Latin rock band Santana had to wait a full forty-five years before Carlos Santana and his Woodstock-era buddies, Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, Michael Shrieve and Mike Carabello, joined forces again and recorded an album in the classic style that made them famous in the late sixties and early seventies: African-Latin-Caribbean rhythms, bluesy-psychedelic guitar variations with the occasional dash of jazzy improvisation. The album title, »Santana IV«, is no random pick, since exactly forty-five years have passed since »Santana III« (1971), the last time that lineup played together (»Caravanserai« doesn’t count, because it no longer featured the original bassist). The idea for a reunion between Carlos and Neal Schon actually took shape back in 2013.
The seed of Santana’s twenty-third studio album grew out of a fairly innocent suggestion from Schon, who proposed to Carlos that they join musical forces again after all this time and create a new joint project. Carlos then told the guitarist of AOR legends Journey, a man who’s been around the block and then some, that the best thing would be to bring together all the surviving members of the classic Santana lineup. To the general surprise and delight of longtime fans, that was followed by the recording of new material in 2014 and 2015. The classic lineup was joined by two members of the modern version of Santana, bassist Benny Rietveld and percussionist Karl Perazzo. Original bassist David Brown sadly died back in 2000, while the Nicaraguan percussionist, also an original member, Jose ‘Chepito’ Areas, decided not to take part in the reunion.
The result is sixteen new songs that, despite the modern production and a few ‘more contemporary’ ideas, mostly follow the sonic vision of the most revered version of the legendary band, the one that won fans’ hearts back in 1969 with its performance of »Soul Sacrifice« at the Woodstock festival. That means the venomous guitar partnership between Carlos and Neal is back, never shy about wild improvisation, while the ideal company for it is Rolie’s roaring Hammond organ and wildly dynamic rhythms on the border between rock, blues, jazz fusion and Latin-African ethnic music. Most of the non-instrumental songs are sung by the original lead singer, that is Rolie, while singer Ronald Isley guests on two tracks. Honestly, there’d have been nothing wrong with Schon, who shines from song to song, playing all the guitar solos on the album himself, since the student surpassed the teacher long ago, but the chief of the band shouldn’t stay too far in the background, so it’s only right that Carlos proves more than once that his melancholic guitar improvisations are far from ‘old hat’.
Nostalgics will get the most out of songs like »Filmore East«, »Love Makes The World Go Round«, »Freedom In Your Mind«, »Blues Magic« and »Leave Me Alone«, which are soaked from start to finish in the old-school Latin rock spirit of the classic Santana incarnation. Even the tracks with commercial potential, like the ultra-melodic »Choo Choo« with its almost danceable rhythm, hold up to the classic Santana sound and approach. Fans of Latin melancholy will be in seventh heaven listening to »Suen os«, which, amid lavish symphonic arrangements, features a completely characteristic yet still moving Carlos guitar solo.
Devotees of Latin rock fusion will be thrilled by »Caminando«, which positively brims with passionate Latin rhythms and killer guitar solos, with the added bonus of a mighty vocal performance of a kind that’s been missing for far too long. The most interesting thing about »Santana IV«, though, is undoubtedly that the songs with vocals are every bit as good as the instrumentals, if not stronger in terms of atmosphere, which hasn’t happened with Santana in a long time. On top of that, there isn’t a single bad, boring or even mediocre composition on the album, which, given the remarkable stylistic variety and the great fire with which the lion’s share of the songs is played, is also highly commendable. The Woodstock-era Santana magic, then, lasts from start to finish.
The Latin fever in Santana’s sound on »Santana IV« is back to sounding just like their glory days, so longtime fans of the legendary guitar veteran who haven’t given up on him yet can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Already with the release of the excellent instrumental fusion album »Shape Shifter« (2012) it was clear that Carlos was being drawn back to his roots, but after the unexpected release of the commercial dud »Corazon« (2014), it seemed the legendary guitarist had ‘gone downhill’ again and that future records would feature assorted kitschy rappers and long-legged pop divas blessed by MTV-style corporate benediction.
Well, with »Santana IV« Carlos has finally redeemed himself and taken pity on the longtime fans who’d already written off any chance of the classic Woodstock-era band rising again, and he’s made a very good album that comes close to the old songwriting standards, which, in the company of old musical acquaintances, isn’t particularly surprising at all. The bigger surprise would have been if such musicians had somehow flopped and failed to live up to their respectable legacy, which, on classics like »Santana« (1969), »Abraxas« (1970), »Santana III« (1971) and »Caravanserai« (1972), is forever inscribed in the golden annals of classic rock and fusion. Given past bad experiences with Carlos’s songwriting consistency and his susceptibility to commercial temptations, the big question is how long all of this will last (at such a high quality level), so may the Latin fever of »Santana IV«, which has revitalized the whole band, go on as long as possible.
Lineup
Carlos Santana – guitar, backing vocals
Neal Schon – guitar, backing vocals
Gregg Rolie – keyboards, lead vocals
Michael Shrieve – drums
Michael Carabello – congas, percussion
Karl Perazzo – percussion
Benny Rietveld – bass guitar
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Ronald Isley – lead vocals (5,6)
Production
Santana
Track list
1. Yambu
2. Shake It
3. Anywhere You Want To Go
4. Fillmore East
5. Love Makes The World Go Round
6. Freedom In Your Mind
7. Choo Choo
8. All Aboard
9. Sueños
10. Caminando
11. Blues Magic
12. Echizo
13. Leave Me Alone
14. You And I
15. Come As You Are
16. Forgiveness
