<\/p>\n
Reunions are typically more fun for the players than the audience. The players get to hang with their old band, relive the glory days, and hopefully make a buck or two off their followers\u2019 nostalgic impluses. New music\u2014if that\u2019s even part of the deal\u2014is often almost an afterthought, and typically results in reviewers pulling out phrases like \u201clukewarm rehash\u201d (ironic since the phrase also describes itself). The point is, reunited bands can\u2019t just rely on rose-tinted memories of the past; to succeed in making worthwhile new music, there has to be an urgency and friction amongst the players right now, in the present moment, that generates real heat.<\/p>\n
The group guitarist Carlos Santana founded in 1966 as the Santana Blues Band has always had a fluid lineup, rarely keeping the same players on board for more than an album or two. Having scored an unexpected late-career hit with 1999\u2019s guest-star-filled Supernatural<\/i>, Santana appeared content to repeat that formula over the decade that followed, relying mostly on outside songwriters, producers and singers and lapsing more and more into formula pop rather than the fiery Afro-Cuban blues-rock that made him famous in the first place. A similar all-star approach focused on Latin music, 2014\u2019s Corazon<\/i>, seemed to reinvigorate Santana a bit, but he was still a maestro in search of a band.<\/p>\n
Of all the lineups Santana featured over the years, the group that made Santana III<\/i> in 1971 might be the most revered; it was a memorable album delivered by what turned out to be an all-star band. After playing on that disc and one more (1972’s jazz-tinged Caravanserai<\/i>), vocalist\/organist Gregg Rolie and teenaged guitar prodigy Neal Schon left to form Journey, the band Schon still leads to this day. Founding Santana conguero\/percussionist Michael Carabello departed immediately after III<\/i>, while founding drummer Michael Shrieve stuck around for a couple of additional albums before also moving on to a very successful career of solo and session work. (These five reunited once before without Santana himself in 1997, calling themselves Abraxas Pool after the group\u2019s prior 1970 album Abraxas<\/i>.)<\/p>\n
After years of cajoling from Schon, Carlos finally agreed to a full reunion of the survivors from the Santana III<\/i> lineup\u2014joined by latter-era Santana stalwarts Benny Rietveld (bass) and Karl Perazzo (percussion)\u2014to see what fresh magic they might be able to conjure up together. The end result, the aptly-named Santana IV<\/i>, is a joy-filled surprise, a reunion album that catches fire from the start and never once lapses into nostalgia, even as it revisits familiar musical territory.<\/p>\n
Taking its cues from past classics like \u201cJingo\u201d and \u201cOye Como Va,\u201d the African chant \u201cYambu\u201d opens things up with a heady dose of tribal thump and Rolie\u2019s vintage Hammond organ, raising expectations with its vigor and vibrancy before \u201cShake It\u201d comes along with an even heavier attack that confirms that the boys mean business. This isn\u2019t just a friendly nostalgia wallow; everyone brought their \u201cA\u201d game, and came to play. \u201cShake It\u201d is a heavy, tasty jam with Rolie singing his heart out while Santana and Schon duel to a draw with the rhythm section egging them on from underneath.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnywhere You Want To Go\u201d is a Rolie tune that\u2019s clearly intended as a radio single and is impressive at that, with a steady backbeat, a sturdy hook and ferocious dueling Santana\/Schon solos in the fifth minute. If only there had been an outside producer in the picture to advise them against the lounge-worthy spoken-word intro; it\u2019s the only blemish on this strong cut. <\/p>\n
\u201cFillmore East\u201d follows, an instrumental tribute to Santana \/ Journey manager Bill Graham that showcases the two guitar-slingers. Santana\u2019s playing is throaty and wildly expressive, while Schon\u2019s is nimble and precise, with phenomenally clean tone; when they start playing off each other, it\u2019s a beautiful thing. This long, smoldering, intense instrumental leaves abundant room to solo, but never devolves into a contest based on speed or flash; it\u2019s all about feel, and it\u2019s flat-out gorgeous.<\/p>\n
Having re-established the band\u2019s chops in every facet of their game with this opening quartet of songs, the boys proceed to deliver what\u2019s legitimately the best Santana album in almost four decades.<\/p>\n
Two tracks featuring special guest Ronald Isley on lead vocals emphasize the searching, spiritual side of the group. \u201cLove Makes The World Go Round\u201d opens with classic Santana sizzle\u2014guitars, organ, fast-paced percussion\u2014and Isley\u2019s soulful, rather Greg Walker-esque lead vocal, before Schon, Rolie and Santana each unleash tight, smoking solos. \u201cFreedom In Your Mind\u201d offers an alternate take on the same basic template. <\/p>\n
From there you get more\u2014much more\u2014of each of the above. There are fiery full-tilt jams (\u201cChoo Choo\/All Aboard\u201d), dreamy instrumentals (\u201cSuenos,\u201d which cheekily opens with two bars of the Bond theme), and tasteful ballads (\u201cBlues Magic\u201d). <\/p>\n
The joyous, celebratory \u201cCome As You Are\u201d probably should have been the closer, a rhythm section workout decorated with rangy solos from the entire firm of Rolie, Schon and Santana. Seems the boys couldn\u2019t resist adding one more, though, and the closing slow-burner \u201cForgiveness\u201d is a good one, starting out with Santana playing low, rumbly and distorted while Schon takes the high warbly notes. It wraps seven and a half minutes later with percussion flourishes capping off what was clearly a very enjoyable collaboration.<\/p>\n
Not everything here matches the standard the album sets early on; neither the cheesy come-ons found in the lyrics of tracks like \u201cCaminando\u201d nor the rather formulaic approaches taken on cuts like \u201cLeave Me Alone\u201d and \u201cYou And I\u201d add much to the conversation. And the number of extended instrumental bits may test the patience of listeners who prefer songs to jams; again, an outside producer might have helped tighten things up, though it can be hard to argue with the velocity-driven logic of a gifted band with a pair of ace guitarists up front. <\/p>\n
Uncharacteristically for such ventures, Santana IV<\/i> is more than just a reunion, it\u2019s a true sequel, and overall a damned impressive one, an energetic, powerful set fueled by genuine heat and soul. Forty-five years later, this band clearly still remembers what made them special in the first place.<\/p>\n
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