774 Santana - Supernatural (1999)

 774 Santana - Supernatural (1999)

Studio Album - Latin Rock



About the Act:

Santana is a American Latin Rock band fronted by guitarist and vocalist Carlos Santana. Carlos is of Mexican origin, and the band's sound, while having evolved through the years, has always had an element of Latin America about it. They have been constantly active since 1966, and are still producing albums and touring. They have had quite a large turnover of members, with the only constant being Carlos. 

About the Album:

After big success in the late 60s, Santana settled into a less high-profile existence. Eventually, Carlos got sick of being less popular and approached the guy who had originally signed them to their label (Colombia) and persuaded him to sign them to his new label, Arista, and to get involved in a big push for popularity with more accessible songs and guests. The result was this album, the eighteenth by the band. The move worked, it was hugely successful, selling in excess of 30 million copies worldwide.

My History with this Album:

I have had a copy of this album since around its release, and have played it quite a few times.

Review:

This album is a collection of tracks that really have the two threads running through them, Carlos Santana's guitar, and Latin Beats. There is an eye-watering collection of guests, mostly vocalists, but Eric Clapton turns up on guitar, too, for the last track. The vocalists suit the songs they have been picked for, and add a thick chocolatey layer of cool to the whole thing. Musically, as well as the Latin influences there is a lot of Rock, and some Blues, and a strong helping of hip-hop too (there is even some rapping in one track). It is expansive, warm, beautifully manicured in its production, and very engaging. The disparate musical elements are used to good effect, and it keeps moving on, changing textures, building, doing breakdowns, changing tempo, adding or removing rhythms. The songs are not deep and thought-provoking and some are in Spanish, it's the music that is the draw here and it is excellent.

I love this album, I love all the songs, but I especially love Smooth (which was a single) and Put Your Lights On, which is just an awesome and cool pop song, very singable, memorable and catchy. It sounds like a lot of time, care, effort and money went into this album, and it feels iconic and sounds great. The fact that I love the guitar tone that he gets helps, but there is so much to like here. Normally I listen to an album once or twice, for reviewing. This one got three listens just 'cos. 

8.6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/10aiDpdFGyfCFEcqpx6XTq

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UWPlRIl68pCXAReoEp1ti75dqKJ4eRj

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural_(Santana_album)



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