Santana "Sentient" 1987-2024(rec) 2025 (comp)***

Photos: Santana Live at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam. Tuesday 24 June, 2024

We recently went to Ziggo Dome for a Santana concert. It was the second time I saw the band live - the previous one was waaay back in 1991 at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium in Athens. I was mesmerized by Carlos' guitar, and still think of it as the best guitar playing I've ever witnessed live - and I've seen a lot of concerts starring a lot of famous guitarists. At the time I had recorded the concert on my walkman, and -despite the awful sound quality- every listen would reinforce that conviction. That cassette went wherever cassettes go when you're not paying them attention, but there's a better recording of that concert out there on youtube so you can judge for yourself. This time around, Carlos' playing was a little less impressive, but what do you expect? the man is 77 years old - it's difficult to grasp that he was only 43 back then, quite younger than what I am now, but it felt like I was seeing a legendary beast from a bygone age; Woodstock was like the Jurassic period to me, but I was less removed from it then than I now am from that warm Athens night when I first saw Santana live. And if Carlos' fingers are a tad less nimble than they used to be, Tuesday's concert didn't make for an inferior experience. First of all, this time Santana have a lot more hit songs than they did then; especially the ones from multi-Grammy Award winner Supernatural (1999), they played 5 off that one on the Ziggo Dome concert. Secondly, it's a terrific band: David Mathews was impressive on keyboards throughout, bassist Benny Rietveld played a masterful solo, the vocalists, percussionists, and the rest of the band were also great. But my girlfriend and I were most impressed by wife Cindy Blackman Santana on drums. So, at the end of the show, we went to the merchandise stall and got both Santana's latest vinyl and Cindy's new(ish) CD (to be presented next week)

First of all, "Sentient" may be Santana's newest LP, but it mostly contains older, semi-forgotten, recordings and collaborations, going back as many as long as three decades. Which one can guess by taking a look on the collaborators: Miles Davis (R.I.P.)? Michael Jackson (R.I.P.)? Actually, Miles was already dead when "Get On" was included on Paolo Rustichelli's Mystic Man (1996) which means tha Carlos and the Italian keyboardist were playing along to Davis' trumpet samples. Not bad, though. It's a chillout tune with a semi-electronic Latin beat and a small funky vocal sample. So far that sounds like something you might listen at a Balearic beach bar in the 90's - but the superb playing by the musicians elevates it tremendously. The LP contains another track from the same CD, "Vers Le Soleil". No Miles here - just Carlos and Paolo, relaxed vocals and dramatic synthesized strings. Both are "Sentient versions", meaning they've been reworked for inclusion here. I wouldn't know how much, but the new versions are great, especially Carlos' guitar which is just magical. Another reworked version is "Please Don't Take Your Love" featuring Smokey Robinson, originally recorded for the soul legend's comeback LP Time Flies When You're Having Fun (2009). Smokey's ageless vocal combines with Carlos' classy blues licks to create one of the highlights here. Opener "Let the Guitar Play" was released last year as a Record Store Day single, and features veteran rapper Darryl McDaniels (of Run-DMC) on vocal. I don't know why all those old rockers think they're modernizing their sound by adding unrelated rap segments; to be honest, I find it intrusive and would have prefered the track as an instrumental. "Whatever Happens" off Michael Jackson's last album Invincible (2001) features some nice acoustic guitar and intricate production. It wouldn't have sounded out of place on Supernatural. A second MJ composition "Stranger In Moscow" is included here in a, previously unissued, instrumental version recorded live in 2007 at a small club, backed by renowned drummer Narada Michael Walden and his band. Santana's guitar literally sings, as it copies the tone of MJ's vocal on the original ballad. A great gift for the diehard fan who may already own all the other, rare but previously released, pieces. Another previously unreleased track is "Coherence", credited to Santana and wife/drummer Cindy Blackman. It's an adventurous jazz fusion piece featuring great musical interplay between the couple. The vinyl version of Sentient closes with a masterful instrumental called "Blues For Salvador" from the eponymous 1987 album - I guess its inclusion is justified by the fact that it comes from a "solo" Carlos Santana LP, and thus new in the official Santana-the-band discography. As you may have already guessed, this is a hodgepogde of different styles, even more so than Santana's (in)famous string of commercial "collaboration" albums of the early 00's. It's nevertheless nice to bring all those scattered tunes together, and Carlos' playing is inspired throughout irregardless of song style. Not essential for the casual listener, but good for diehard fans who want to collect everything from their favorite artist, as wll as those who, like me, wanted a souvenir of the Oneness tour (although I believe the band didn't play any of these tunes live). The album cover you see here is exclusive to the European market - basically, it swaps the international edition's front and back covers. The CD version of the album contains extra tracks: two more Rustichelli collaborations called "Rastafario" and "Fool Moon", as well as "I'll Be Waiting", a soul ballad from Moonflower.

**** for Please Don't Take Your Love, Get On, Blues For Salvador

*** for Let The Guitar Play, Stranger In Moscow, Whatever Happens, Vers Le Soleil, Coherence