THE CD: “Santana III” (Columbia/Legacy)
THE PERFORMER: Santana

This double CD bookends the original studio album with a live set recorded at the Fillmore West on July 4, 1971. Nearly two years after their Woodstock debut, the band had changed in a big way with the addition of guitarist Neil Schon and perscussionist Thomas “Coke” Escovedo.

First, the live cuts. The band cooks thru “Batuka” and “Toussaint L’Overture,” but by the time they roll out their signature smash, “Black Magic Woman,” the band sounds tired. Things do perk up with “Incident at Neshabur.” “In a Silent Way” proves once again how these guys could jam.

The studio cuts sound as good as ever, with fire and emotion from the guitar of 15-year-old Schon. (Schon and Rolie, by the way, went on to further fame and fortune in Journey.) “Everything is Coming Our Way” is powerful, with a happy yet haunting vocal from Santana.

There are also four bonus tracks from 1971: “Gumbo,” “Folsom Street - One,” “Banbeye,” and “No One to Depend On.” Of these, “Gumbo” really cooks. Crank it up.

– Paul Gartner

This entry was posted on Monday, February 13th, 2006 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.