Carlos Santana practically invented "Latin Rock" in the 1960's. He had started out as a blues and jazz influenced musician, but in San Francisco he met Latino and African drummers who beat different rhythms. Hanging around the developing hippie scene in San Francisco, he and his band noticed that girls would spontaneously dance in new and interesting ways to the exotic sounding rhythms--usually with much more hip gyration. He and the band liked this from a stage's eye view, and so the fusion stuck.
The band Santana made its national stage debut at Woodstock in 1969. Three successful albums later, the band had begun to fray, with Carlos wanting to move more towards jazz. Caravanserai (1972) was the last Santana album that I liked. Half the band left him afterwards and later formed the core of the band Journey.
A favorite track from Caravanserai, called Waves Within:
Even though there are many who would disagree, I'm very fond of Supernatural. Yes, there are guest stars on most every track, but that's what makes it cool. The early Santana is more classic Carlo Santana, but I think that he's still valid.
Thanks for that comment, LL. I was looking for opinion of his later stuff because I lost track of his work and couldn't really say anything truthfully.
A boyfriend from the late 70s exposed me to classic rock, and I am forever grateful. CSNY, The Band, Heart, Seger, Skynyrd, Zeppelin, etc. Along with the Santana standards, I loved the Moonflower album. A favorite.
Even though there are many who would disagree, I'm very fond of Supernatural. Yes, there are guest stars on most every track, but that's what makes it cool. The early Santana is more classic Carlo Santana, but I think that he's still valid.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that comment, LL. I was looking for opinion of his later stuff because I lost track of his work and couldn't really say anything truthfully.
ReplyDeleteA boyfriend from the late 70s exposed me to classic rock, and I am forever grateful. CSNY, The Band, Heart, Seger, Skynyrd, Zeppelin, etc. Along with the Santana standards, I loved the Moonflower album. A favorite.
ReplyDelete