NEW ON CD
Past, present meet with
2 new Santana albumsToday's new releases are highlighted by two from Santana: one, the latest, titled "Shaman," and the other a double-CD, 33-track "Essential Santana" set that traces the history of both the legendary San Francisco band and Carlos Santana's own solo projects.
The first single/video from "Shaman," "The Game of Love" featuring Michelle Branch, has been out since last month. Following the successful formula from the previous album "Supernatural," there are plenty of collaborations on the new album, including "You Are My Kind" with Seal, "Amoré (Sexo)" with Macy Gray, "America" featuring P.O.D., a pairing with Dido on a song titled "Feels Like Fire," "One of These Days" with Ozomatli, and Placido Domingo guesting on "Novus."
Santana's current band is also featured on the album and will be joining him on the upcoming tour in support of "Shaman." Our own Benny Rietveld currently holds down the bass position, playing with longtime band keyboardist Chester Thompson, legendary drummer Dennis Chambers, percussionists Raul Rekow and Karl Perazzo, and vocalists Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay.
The double-CD anthology presents classic album tracks and chart singles, from 1969's "Jingo," "Evil Ways" and "Soul Sacrifice" up to a special 1989 bonus, "The Healer," from the late blues legend John Lee Hooker's comeback effort.
The anthology chronologically presents all the important songs Santana recorded for Columbia: "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," "Oye Como Va" and "Samba Pa Ti" from the classic 1970 "Abraxas" album; "Everybody's Everything," "No One to Depend On," "Toussaint L'Overture" and "Guajira" from the 1971 "Santana III" album; live versions of Miles Davis' "In a Silent Way" and "Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)" from the rare "Fillmore: The Last Days" and "California Jam" albums, respectively; and singles and album tracks from the late '70s to early '80s.
By Gary C.W. Chun
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