SANTANA
Abraxas
as reviewed by Jack Crompton at Amazon.com, May 1, 2008
Infectiously Exotic.
Like many others of my generation, Santana caught my eyes and ears at the historic Woodstock Festival which motivated my speedy purchase of their debut record, ‘Santana’. But it was the follow-up recording, ‘Abraxas’ that has proved to be the most enduring over time.
Several of their all time most memorable tracks are on this record: ‘Black Magic Woman’, ‘Oye Como Va’, ‘Incident at Neshabur’, and the beautiful ‘Samba Pa Ti’. Over the years, Carlos Santana has certainly paid his dues to earn his recognition. He is a guitarist who has created a style all his own built upon his own heartfelt passion for the music. It comes through his fingers with great emotion, and that has created his trademark sound.
Certainly, I could have easily selected a ‘greatest hits’ compilation for my favorite Santana record, and included other wonderful tracks like ‘Aqua Marine’ and the classic ‘Europa’ but there is just something about this one, ‘Abraxas’, that makes it special indeed. It came out at a time (1971) that contains powerful memories for me. And the cover art is classic.
It is interesting to see how things run in cycles and Santana become popular again in the early part of this millennia with his reinvention and collaboration with other ‘contemporary’ pop artists. All the better for him. But to me, he’s never surpassed his earliest work. ‘Abraxas’ stands as proud testimony to that fact.
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