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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWhat Santana would you take on a road trip?
Help! The girlfriend and I are headed to Portland Sunday. What Santana would be good to put on road trip CDs? (Any other music selections welcome.)
malthaussen
(17,209 posts)F4lconF16
(3,747 posts)My undying gratitude for your words of helpfulness.
Or word, I guess.
malthaussen
(17,209 posts)The whole opera of Santana is good enough that you could just blindfold yourself and pick at random, but FWIW, I thought his version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" kicked some serious butt.
-- Mal
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Number9Dream
(1,562 posts)And if you like that, F4IconF16, you might try some Spanish flavored Al Dimeola... Perhaps "Electric Rendezvous":
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)So many of these "reunion" projects are a disappointment, for a number of reasons. Sometimes the muse has flown off for good, other times the band members can no longer stand the sight of each other. "RTF Returns," on the other hand, SMOKED. Anyone who spent countless hours lost in the soundscapes of "Where Have I Known You Before" and "Romantic Warrior" needs to hear this one.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Wow!
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Get all three of these CDs and listen to them all on the way to Portland. Guaranteed.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)Second choice is "Moonflower."
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)While I do like Lotus, I prefer the studio material.
I have only seen Santana twice but widely separated in timeonce in the mid 1970s and once in the late 1990s. I enjoyed every note. I think maybe it depends on which you are most used to listening to.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)...it was an event. You probably remember that the original was a 3-album Japanese import-only release. There was a steady progression following "Santana III" (Caravanserai->Welcome->Borboletta) that raised the band from what was already a solid Latin/Rock/Funk/Jam Band staus to something really unique, sort of a more thoughtful and less bombastic Mahavishnu Orchestra, or even fusion-era Miles Davis, and I'm not just saying that because Carlos teamed with John McLaughlin and also covered Miles' "In A Silent Way" .
"Lotus" was immediately embraced by FM radio. The winning moment in every music fan's life in Silicon Valley was either walking into a store that had a copy, or getting them to order / hold a copy for you. It was tight, dangerous music...and while shorter-lengthed "greatest hits" like "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman" do appear, it was the side-long stuff that demanded the most attention. The opening 33 minutes of CD1 (it's been a while since I owned the vinyl) is like the legendary "journeys" DeadHeads like to remember: "Meditation->Going Home->A-1 Funk->Every Step Of The Way->Black Magic Woman->Gypsy Queen->Oye Como Va"...it just flows ridiculously. The final track, the 16-minute "Incident At Neshabur," is the real show-stopper here. So based on that...and the request for the "best Santana for a road trip," and my own road trips of the last 3 years (California->Nevada->Texas->Nevada->Colorado->Nevada->South Carolina), I prefer "Lotus."
I have an appreciation for Carlos' career as a whole, but am less appreciative of the times when he was clearly chasing hits (songs like "Winning," and some of his cover versions like "She's Not There," even though they do have their time and place. That made "Moonflower" a little scizophrenic for me, as it had the commercial stuff AND the more free-form material on the same album. I love it, but my go-to Santana is usually Caravanserai, Welcome, Lotus, and Swing of Delight.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)I still have Caravanserai, Welcome, Borboletta and some others on vinyl. I have been going through my vinyl playing some older stuff.
F4lconF16
(3,747 posts)Thank you for that
redwitch
(14,945 posts)I saw them at the carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY for that tour. The lighting on Carlos while he played his extraordinary solos made it look like beams of light were shooting out of him. Now that I think back, they probably were.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)...I love the SONG, but I don't care how many times he's played it, he's never matched the nuances of this performance. The legend was built on tracks like this:
redwitch
(14,945 posts)Absolutely gorgeous! I need some good headphones so I can really savor this. Haven't heard it in forever. Thank you!
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Xyzse
(8,217 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,101 posts)I forget the name, but it came out around 1979. All the hits, some lesser known songs, and just a killer performance.
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)Not a huge seller but a great solo effort by Carlos. IMHO.