Named after their founder, Carlos Santana, the group began in San Francisco in 1966. There was no way they could escape the fusion, experimentation and radical looseness of music that came from those times in that place. My first taste of Santana was when I bought the original triple album of Woodstock when it was released in 1970. After a 3 minute 'Crowd Rain Chant' Santana came in with a live extended version of 'Soul Sacrifice' from their debut eponymous 1969 album. That was enough to make me go and buy 'Abraxas' when it came out later that year.
'Abraxas' was only the bands second album but hit #1 on the US album charts almost immediately. After leading off with 'Singing Winds, Crying Beasts', a Michael Carabello composition (he was the groups percussionist) the album then goes into probably two of Santanas best known tracks, 'Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen' and 'Oye Como Va'. Both of these songs though were cover versions. The 'Gypsy Queen' part of the track was written by Hungarian Gábor Szabó but 'Black Magic Woman' was by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac fame. It was played throughout 1968 and then put on their 1969 album 'English Rose'. Carlos Santana heard Peter play and wanted to include that song on this album. Fleetwood Mac's version got to #37 whereas Santanas cover single made it to #4.
The next track is another cover but this one goes further back. Originally written and recorded by Tito Puente in 1962, 'Oye Como Va' is probably one of the best known Spanish phrases next to Speedy Gonzales shouting "arriba, arriba … andale, andale".
My favourite track comes a little further into the album. 'Samba Pa Ti' is an instrumental by Santana and it has always reminded me of another Peter Green composition, 'Albatross', again from the early Fleetwood Mac days. I'm sure that musicologists and musicians will probably disagree with me and say the two pieces are totally dissimilar, but to me the beginning of 'Samba Pa Ti' takes me right back to listening to 'Albatross' on the transport cafe jukebox in my home town of Harrogate - a long way from the seascape of one and the Spanish influence of the other. Three songs from 'Abraxas' were released as singles in 1970/71 but 'Samba Pa Ti' didn't become a single until 1973. It was Santana's first single to chart in the U.K. making it to #27. In 1982 José Feliciano wrote lyrics to the tune, and with Carlos himself duetting, José recorded it on his album 'Escenas De Amor'.
I skipped their third album and went straight to the 1972 release 'Caravanserai'. I have to be perfectly honest, I think I bought this on the strength of the album cover and the exotic name. I knew nothing of the album tracks and in the interests of full disclosure, I wasn't initially impressed. It is acknowledged that this 4th album was a change from the previous 3 and contained more jazz, jazz fusion and experimental flavours than anything that came before. Alex Henderson commented "this pearl ... requires a number of listenings in order to be absorbed and fully appreciated". He is right. Almost 50 years later I dip back into this album and each time I gain a little more from it. Over the same 50 years a lot has changed. I've moved geographically closer to the source, Latin music in all it's forms has become more mainstream and familiar and as I've grown older my tastes have matured.
A great example of more recent (albeit already 20 years ago) music is the collaboration between Santana and Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty. 'Smooth' turned out to be a massive hit at the beginning of the 2000's, being the last #1 of the 1990's and the first of the 2000's, being #1 on the Billboard 100 for 12 weeks. It's also one of my wife's favourite songs, so how could I not mention it.
The current circumstances aside, Carlos Santana, the only original member of the group that bears his name, is still heading a powerful line-up of musicians continuing to innovate and entertain.
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