Caravanserai (album)

Caravanserai
Studio album by Santana
Released	October 11, 1972
Recorded	February 21–May 5, 1972
Genre	Jazz fusion, latin rock
Length	51:21
Label	Columbia
Producer	Carlos Santana, Mike Shrieve
Santana chronology
Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live! (1972) Caravanserai (1972) Love Devotion Surrender (1973)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	B−
Rolling Stone	(not rated)

Caravanserai is the fourth studio album by Santana released in October 1972. It marked a major turning point in Carlos Santana's career as it was a sharp departure from his critically acclaimed first three albums. Original bassist David Brown left the group in 1971 and was replaced by Doug Rauch and Tom Rutley, while original percussionist Michael Carabello left and was replaced by Armando Peraza. Keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie, who was having a falling-out with Santana, was replaced by Tom Coster on a few songs. Caravanserai reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart in 1972.

The sound contrasted greatly with Santana's trademark fusion of salsa, rock, and jazz, and concentrated mostly on jazz-like instrumental passages. All but three tracks were instrumentals, and consequently the album yielded no hit singles. The album is the first among a series of Santana albums that were known for their increasing musical complexity, marking a move away from the popular rock format of the early Santana albums towards a more contemplative and experimental jazz sound. While Caravanserai is regarded as an artistic success, the musical changes that began on its release in 1972 marked the start of a slide in Santana's commercial popularity.

It was the last Santana album to feature Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon, who went on to form Journey the following year.

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.

The album was remastered in 2003 for Columbia Legacy.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation" (Rutley/Schon/Shrieve) – 4:28
2. "Waves Within" (Rauch/Rolie/Santana) – 3:54
3. "Look Up (To See What's Coming Down)" (Rauch/Rolie/Santana) – 3:00
4. "Just in Time to See the Sun" (Rolie/Santana/Shrieve) – 2:18
5. "Song of the Wind" (Rolie/Santana/Schon) – 6:04
6. "All the Love of the Universe" (Santana/Schon) – 7:40

Side two

1. "Future Primitive" (Areas/Lewis) – 4:12
2. "Stone Flower" (Jobim/Santana/Shrieve) – 6:15
3. "La Fuente del Ritmo" (Lewis) – 4:34
4. "Every Step of the Way" (Shrieve) – 9:05

Publishing

• Tracks 1-6, 7, 9, 10 Copyright Petra/Chrysalis Music Ltd.
• Track 8 Copyright Corcovado Music Corp. (MCPS) & Britico

Personnel

• Carlos Santana : lead guitar (2-4,8,9), guitar (5,6,10), vocals (6), percussion (1,8)
• Neal Schon : guitar (1,3-6,8-10)
• Gregg Rolie : organ (2-6,8,10), piano (6), vocals
• Michael Shrieve : drums (1-6,8-10), percussion
• José "Chepito" Areas : percussion, congas (7), timbales (2-4,6,7,9,10), bongos (8)
• Douglas Rauch : bass (2-6), guitar (2,3)
• Tom Rutley : acoustic bass (1,6,8-10)
• James Mingo Lewis : percussion (1,8,9), congas (2-10), bongos (7), vocals (6), acoustic piano (9)
• Armando Peraza : percussion (8), bongos (9)
• Douglas Rodrigues : guitar (2)
• Wendy Haas : piano (1,8)
• Hadley Caliman : saxophone intro (1), flute (10)
• Rico Reyes : vocals (6)
• Lenny White : castanets (6)
• Tom Coster : electric piano (9)
• Tom Harrel : orchestra arrangement (10)

Production

• Produced By Carlos Santana & Mike Shrieve
• Recorded & Engineered By Glen Kolotkin & Mike Larner