Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Santana
Label: Starfaith Records
Release: 2012
Length: 57:22
Rating: 4.5/5
Carlos Santana, the legendary Mexican-American guitar virtuoso, really doesn’t need any big introduction after so many years of success, since he carved his name among the immortal music legends with his band Santana back in the early seventies. With his unique blend of Latin melody, Cuban-African rhythms, jazz and guitar-driven rock, after years of fumbling around with overly commercial projects that often lacked the authentic, original spirit of this legendary band, he’s come back ‘from the dead’ on »Shape Shifter« in truly magnificent fashion, spreading the wings of untamed Latin rock artistry wide once again.
On the latest, already twenty-second studio outing from this legendary band, after a long stretch and four more or less thoroughly commercially salted projects with a pile of deep-pocketed guest singers (»Guitar Heaven« from 2010, an album of covers, can hardly be counted among the regular studio releases), the most deserving of attention being »Supernatural« (1999), Mr. Santana has once again made an almost exclusively instrumental, fusion-minded album (the only exception is the track »Eres La Luz«, featuring two guest vocalists) with classic Santana Latin guitar finesse and Caribbean rhythmic seasoning with a pinch of jazz. In other words, it’s almost on par with his best work from the early seventies. It’s also the first Santana album released on Carlos’s new label, »Starfaith Records«.
The title track and opener features shamanic rhythms and authentic vocalizations of Native North Americans, which conjure up a proper ‘Wild West’ atmosphere. The maestro’s melancholic guitar passages blend wonderfully with the warm, organic sound of Hammond organs, courtesy of old hand Chester Thompson (not to be confused with the famous drummer of the same name, Chester Cortez Thompson), while the dynamic rhythmic drive comes primarily from drummer Dennis Chambers, another longtime Santana collaborator who’s been working with Carlos since 2004. Besides keyboard master Thompson, Carlos’s son Salvador also pitched in on the rich orchestration. Music gourmets will have a field day with a veritable palette of gastronomic solos on the maestro’s guitar, as well as the retro sound of Thompson’s Hammond organs, of which there’s truly plenty on »Shape Shifter«. The symphonic arrangements on the individual tracks are richer than they’ve been in ages.
The melodramatic »Dom« also recalls the best Santana days, with the inconsolable sound of Carlos’s guitar soloing crossing the wide-open spaces of Latin melody, generous orchestration and dynamic rhythmic flourishes. »Nomad« edges toward hard rock, with classic fusion guitar finesse and the obligatory red-hot solo. Carlos’s band hasn’t sounded this punchy in ages, partly thanks to the uncompromisingly blazing Hammond organ passages, and that deserves another round of applause. And the nice surprises are far from over. »Metatron«, with its solemn vibe, brings a lovely ambient turn and presents Carlos once again as one of the most refined guitarists of all time. The symphonic textures of the Hammond organs are finger-lickin’ good once more, and the spirit of the classic early-seventies Santana dances its wonderful shamanic dance again.
»Angelica Faith« is another ambient-rich piece with a heap of subtle passages on guitar and piano, just perfect for some summer-holiday daydreaming in the middle of the Caribbean at sunset. »Never The Same Again« is a complex yet astonishingly melodic, fusion-leaning piece with gorgeous orchestral arrangements and rhythmic motifs, all held together by Carlos’s exceptional feel for guitar sensibility. »In The Light Of A New Day«, with its fluid orchestration and inconsolable-sounding guitar treats, is a poignant collage of pure Santana melancholic ether that brings back long-gone times when making music with soul was still perfectly normal.
»Spark Of The Divine« is a short but sorrowful number of mighty orchestration, led by a heart-wrenching guitar solo with the obligatory world-music aftertaste. »Macumba In Budapest« has colorful Cuban percussion rhythms, poignant symphonic arrangements and hypnotic-melancholic guitar passages of the kind only Carlos Santana can deliver. Worth noting here: on release, »Shape Shifter« did best on the Hungarian charts. »Mr. Szabo« is dedicated to the important Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo, one of Carlos’s youthful guitar idols. Interestingly, the track has a rhythmic structure similar to Szabo’s 1966 classic »Gypsy Queen«, which Santana in 1970, together with the Fleetwood Mac hit »Black Magic Woman«, turned into an unforgettable ‘dualistic’ rock classic.
»Eres La Luz« is a Latin pop-rocker with two different guest vocalists, and by far the most commercial piece on »Shape Shifter«. While Andy Vargas sings in Spanish, Tony Lindsay follows in English, and together, over danceable Caribbean rhythms, they deliver the authentic, hot-blooded Latin vibe that’s part of Santana’s long tradition. The romantic »Canela« is another triumph of arranging subtlety and guitar sensibility, and with the help of the warm Hammond sound it feels like Carlos and his fellow instrumentalists have soaked up the spirit of the musically adventurous seventies all over again. In the second half comes an unexpected swerve into a jazzy-Latin section with blazing piano arrangements and Cuban rhythms. And of course Carlos’s fiery, hellishly fast guitar solo isn’t missing this time either. The closer, »Ah, Sweet Dancer«, a melancholic, jazz-spiced finale with tender piano, swells of mighty orchestration and Carlos’s inconsolable guitar curlicues, makes for the perfect ending to this excellent album.
Carlos Santana wouldn’t be Carlos Santana if he hadn’t used »Shape Shifter« to promote his ‘righteous’ worldview too. As its cover already makes plain, the album is dedicated to Native North Americans, to whom the US government only officially apologized in 2009, a year after the Australian government apologized to its Indigenous people. In his message Carlos expressed the wish that all the remaining governments around the world, which carry the heavy historical burden of debt to centuries-oppressed indigenous populations, would do the same.
The Shaman is back with the album that fans of his unique guitar technique and distinctive musical language had to wait quite a long time for, and he’s delivered a top-notch Latin rock fusion achievement. The only ones likely to turn up their noses at »Shape Shifter« are, predictably, representatives of the modern consumerist so-called MTV generation, who’ll miss guest vocals from gold-chain-draped rappers and kitschy pop stars, people Carlos, let’s hope, won’t be hanging out with much anymore.
Lineup
Carlos Santana – guitar
Andy Vargas – vocals on ‘Eres La Luz’
Tony Lindsay – vocals on ‘Eres La Luz’
Chester Thompson – keyboards
Dennis Chambers – drums
Benny Rietveld – bass guitar
Salvador Santana – keyboards
Raul Rekow – congas
Karl Perazzo – percussion
Production
Carlos Santana
Tracklist
1. Shape Shifter
2. Dom
3. Nomad
4. Metatron
5. Angelica Faith
6. Never The Same Again
7. In The Light Of A New Day
8. Spark Of The Divine
9. Macumba In Budapest
10. Mr. Szabo
11. Eres La Luz
12. Canela
13. Ah, Sweet Dancer
