CARLOS SANTANA
Supernatural (Arista)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Usually Santana albums start out slow and spacey, gathering mystical energy before breaking into his trademark hot Latin grooves, but not so here. From the first note of Supernatural, Santana just GOES FOR IT. He achieves what he's going for too; Supernatural is a terrific album, his best original album in years.

At first glance what's unique about Supernatural is the array of guest stars Santana's assembled here: Lauryn Hill, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Everlast, Mana, Rob Thomas, Dave Matthews and another late 60's guitar god, the venerable Eric Clapton himself. Musicians backing them include Chester Thompson on drums and keyboards, Tony Lindsay on vocals (on tracks without guest stars), Raul Rekow on congas, Karl Perazzo on timbales, Benny Ritveld on bass and Rodney Holmes also on drums. The Dust Brothers are credited with some production help among many others. But a stellar roster like that doesn't always guarantee success. Not to worry. Santana takes off from the mutual inspiration and goes blasting through electric solos in almost every song with the energy of a teenager. If Eric is Slowhand, then Carlos must be Burnhand. His notes fly around like water sizzling on a hot frying pan. Whoo-hoo! This is a fiery, modern album, sure to endear Santana to legions of younger fans and still please the old ones who always liked him for that heat.

I'm having trouble deciding which is my favorite track. There's Yaleo, the blistering love song that's the opening track. Then there's Put Your Lights On, featuring Rob Thomas on a spiritual call to arms. Wishing It Was has jazzman Don Cherry's son, Eagle-Eye, singing great whimsical lyrics like "Pain never makes me cry, but happiness does." Corazon Espinado or "Broken Heart" if I translate loosely, lays down a catchy danceable cha-cha beat under lyrics sung by Mana. El Farol is an instrumental in the mold of Treat or Samba Pa Ti and carries on their soulful tradition admirably. Maybe my favorite is Migra, a song about immigration that starts with a chant and then alchemically welds some mariachi horns onto wild wah-wah riffs that sound like Carlos is channeling Jimi Hendrix. It sounds unlikely but it WORKS. I can only imagine what a great song this must be live.

If I must put on my official critic's hat I can make only a couple minor quibbles. On not one but two tracks, Carlos is mentioned by name in the lyrics. I know a lot of modern artists do that but I already know who made the record--I don't need it. I fear it will make those otherwise great songs age more quickly. The only other complaint is that a couple of the best songs, in particular, El Farol and The Calling (with Clapton) fade out, leaving you feeling they are unfinished. Maybe it's a backward way of saying I didn't want this thrilling album to end. Oops, the critic's hat fell off; I'm gushing again. Get the album. Viva Carlos Santana!

Tracks:

Yaleo; Love Of My Life; Put Your Lights On; Africa Bamba; Smooth; Maria; Do You Like The Way; Maria Maria; Migra; Corazon Espinado; Wishing It Was; El Farol; Primavera; The Calling

© 1999 - Rusty Pipes