Abraxas (album)
| Abraxas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Album cover, from a painting by Mati Klarwein |
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| Studio album by Santana | ||||
| Released | September 1970 | |||
| Recorded | April 17–May 2, 1970 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | Latin rock, chicano rock, jazz-rock, psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 37:32 | |||
| Label | Columbia KC-30130 |
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| Producer | Fred Catero, Carlos Santana | |||
| Santana chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Abraxas | ||||
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Abraxas is the second studio album by the Latin-influenced rock band Santana. Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, Santana (released in May 1969), and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed-up with Abraxas in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.
Contents |
Name [edit]
The title of the album, which features Mati Klarwein's 1961 painting Annunciation on the cover,[citation needed] comes from a line in Herman Hesse's book Demian, quoted on the album's back cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...." The word "Abraxas" has use within Gnostic cosmology.[1]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [2] |
| Rolling Stone | favorable[3] |
Music [edit]
Abraxas features a mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as showcased electric guitar, organ and heavy drums. The album also demonstrates Santana's stylistic versatility, including tracks such as "Samba Pa Ti" (a classic slow-burning piece)[4] and "Incident at Neshabur", both being instrumentals. The latter has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion — congas, bongos and timbales, as well as a conventional rock drum setup, expanded Santana's foray into Latin rhythm.
Legacy [edit]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 207 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The instrumental"Samba Pa Ti" ("Samba for You") was covered by José Feliciano, who added lyrics, and also by Angelique Kidjo, who put lyrics in Yoruba on her album Oyo. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby's book, 31 Songs. It was used in the UK as the background music for TV ads for Marks and Spencer food in 2006. It was also featured as the ending song in the Cold Case episode, "Dead Heat", which aired November 8, 2009.
Track listing [edit]
| 1998 remastered edition | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" (Instrumental) | Mike Carabello | 4:51 | |||||||
| 2. | "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" | Peter Green/Gábor Szabó | 5:22 | |||||||
| 3. | "Oye Como Va" | Tito Puente | 4:16 | |||||||
| 4. | "Incident at Neshabur" (Instrumental) | Alberto Gianquinto, Carlos Santana | 4:57 | |||||||
| 5. | "Se a Cabo" | José Areas | 2:50 | |||||||
| 6. | "Mother's Daughter" | Gregg Rolie | 4:25 | |||||||
| 7. | "Samba Pa Ti" (Instrumental) | Santana | 4:54 | |||||||
| 8. | "Hope You're Feeling Better" | Rolie | 4:11 | |||||||
| 9. | "El Nicoya" | Areas | 1:30 | |||||||
| 10. | "Se a Cabo" (Live) (1998 Edition) | 3:47 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Toussaint L'Overture" (Live) (1998 Edition) | 4:52 | ||||||||
| 12. | "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (Live) (1998 Edition) | 4:57 | ||||||||
While the original track listing lists track 5 as "Se a Cabo", the correct Spanish spelling for the phrase is "se acabó", meaning "it's over".
Versions [edit]
- In 1990 CBS/Sony published a remastered edition on Audio CD (Universal Product Code: 7464301302 ).
- In 1991 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 552).
- In 1998 Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se A Cabo", "Toussaint L'Overture" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on April 18, 1970.
- In 1998 SME records in Japan, part of Sony Music, also released the remastered version as an SACD. This disc is stereo only, and furthermore, it is a single layer SACD, which means that ordinary CD players will not play it. This disc contains the same bonus tracks as the ordinary 1998 remastered CD.
- In 2008 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc II (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 775) & GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog LP 180g Series (MFSL305).
Personnel [edit]
- Carlos Santana – lead guitar, backing vocals, producer
- Gregg Rolie – keyboards, lead vocals
- David Brown – bass, engineer
- Michael Shrieve – drums
- José "Chepito" Areas – percussion, conga, timbales
- Mike Carabello – percussion, conga
Additional personnel [edit]
- Rico Reyes – percussion, backing vocals
- Alberto Gianquinto – piano on "Incident at Neshabur"
- Steven Saphore – tabla
- Robert Venosa – artwork, graphic design
- John Fiore – engineer
- Mati Klarwein – illustrations
- Robert Honablue – mastering engineer original recording
Chart tables [edit]
Album [edit]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS | AUT | FRA | NLD | NLZ | NOR | SWE | SWI | UK | |||||||||||||
| 1970 |
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1 | 1 | — | 7 | 7 | — | 3 | — | — | 7 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Singles [edit]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock | US AC | US AP | AUS | NLD | GER | NZL | SWI | UK | |||||||||||||
| 1970 | "Black Magic Woman" | 4 | — | — | — | 15 | — | 14 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1971 | "Oye Como Va" | 13 | — | — | — | 13 | 16 | 29 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Hope You're Feeling Better" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Certifications [edit]
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[5] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[6] | Platinum | 300,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[7] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[8] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
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*sales figures based on certification alone |
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References [edit]
- ^ Cf. Hippolytus, Refutatio, vii. 14; Irenaeus, Adversus hæreses, I. xxiv. 7
- ^ Henderson, Alex. Abraxas (album) at Allmusic. Retrieved 2005-09-15.
- ^ Nash, Jim (December 24, 1970). "Santana Abraxas > Album Review". Rolling Stone (73). Archived from the original on 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
- ^ 31 Songs by Nick Hornby
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Santana – Abraxas". Music Canada.
- ^ "French album certifications – Santana – Abraxas" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ^ "British album certifications – Santana – Abraxas". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Abraxas in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
- ^ "American album certifications – Santana – Abraxas". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
| Preceded by Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival |
Billboard 200 number-one album October 24–30, 1970 November 28, 1970 – January 1, 1971 |
Succeeded by Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin All Things Must Pass by George Harrison |
| Preceded by Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album February 22–28, 1971 |
Succeeded by Pendulum by Creedence Clearwater Revival |
- Albums certified triple platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
- Albums certified platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
- Albums certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
- Albums certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Santana (band) albums
- 1970 albums
- Columbia Records albums
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
- Albums produced by Carlos Santana
- Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab albums
- Jazz fusion albums
- English-language albums
- Spanish-language albums
- Albums produced by Fred Catero
- Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios
- Albums with cover art by Mati Klarwein
