Carlos Santana may well be the greatest guitar player alive today. In fact, of my personal list of the five greatest guitar players in American history, Carlos is the only one who is still alive.
Early death due to substance abuse seems to be an occupational hazard. It’s even hit my own family; my second cousin’s father was a sax player in Burt Bacharach’s band, and he died of complications of alcoholism.
Carlos, though, seems to be thriving. He has a unique style with the guitar, one that has changed over the years, becoming more complex and, at times, more mellow. I listen to him a lot, even though a lot of his work is performed with lyrics in Spanish, which I don’t savvy. But you don’t have to understand the words to enjoy great tunes. So, with no further ado, here are six great pieces from Santana.
Corazon Espinado. From the 1999 album “Supernatural,” this song, “Thorned Heart” in English, features Carlos accompanied by the Latin rock band Maná. This one has perhaps the most Latin beat of any of the songs on this list, with the possible exception of "Oye Cómo Va." I almost wore out my CD of “Supernatural” back in the day, and to this day my kids, thanks to many long road trips, can sing every song on that album from memory.
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While My Guitar Gently Weeps. A remake of a Beatles tune, this is from a 2010 album, “Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time.” The singer is one India Arie, with whom I’m not familiar but her deep, rich voice and Carlos’ guitar work (far surpassing any of the Beatles) puts a whole new take on this great old song.
Smooth. This is a fun piece from (again) the 1999 album “Supernatural,” featuring vocalist Rob Thomas. Again, someone I’m not familiar with, but Carlos seems to know how to pick people to work with. “Smooth” lays out some of Carlos’ guitar along with a great backup band and a fun video with lots of pretty girls in a bright urban setting. I’m no fan of cities, but were I walking along this street, I’d have stopped to listen.
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Black Magic Woman. For this we go back to 1970 and “Abraxas,” which, if I had to pick one album as Santana’s best, would be it. We should also note that while this is one of Santana’s most well-known songs, it’s a remake; Fleetwood Mac, of all groups, recorded it in 1968. The song was written by a Brit, Peter Green, but Santana made it his own.
Oye Cómo Va. Originally written and performed in 1962 by cha-cha artist Tito Puente, “Oye Cómo Va” (Listen How it Goes) was picked up on Santana’s 1970 album (again) “Abraxas,” in a very stepped-up version from the Tito Puente original. Santana brought a vibrant, youthful vibe to the song, and I remember even in the late 70s’ when I was a teenager it still got a lot of play on FM radio.
Winning. Given recent events, “Winning” seems especially appropriate. This was originally released on a 1976 album of the same name by one Russ Ballard, but Santana grabbed it up for his 1981 album “Zebop!” It’s just as much fun now as it was then – and yes, we all love winning.
Carlos Santana was and is great. His emphasis was always on the music, developing his own style, and he did it – does it well. I was fortunate to see him play live once, in 1991 when he opened for the Grateful Dead in Denver’s original Mile High Stadium – and he stayed on stage to play with the Dead for a while too. What a great show!
Have you readers any Santana favorites of your own? As ever, the comments are all yours.
