Abraxas (album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (C+)[2] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[3] |
| Warr.org | (not rated)[4] |
Abraxas is the second studio album by the latin band Santana. Consolidating their live success at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, and the interest generated by their first album the band took some time to issue a follow-up. Released in September, 1970, the album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences made it a classic that defined Santana's early sound, and showed a musical maturation from their first album.
Background
The name Abraxas is originally taken from Gnostic cosmology. The title of the album comes from a line from Herman Hesse's book Demian.
Track information
"Samba Pa Ti"
"Samba Pa Ti" translated into English means "Samba for You".
This instrumental was covered by José Feliciano, who added lyrics. 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.
Cover art
The album's cover features the 1961 painting Annunciation, by Mati Klarwein.
Legacy
Abraxas features a mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as overdriven 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)[5] 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, make this Santana's first foray into true Latin rhythm. In 2003, the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" | Carabello | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" | Green/Szabo | 5:19 |
| 3. | "Oye Como Va" | Puente | 4:17 |
| 4. | "Incident at Neshabur" | Gianquinto, Santana | 4:57 |
| 5. | "Se a Cabo" | Areas | 2:51 |
| 6. | "Mother's Daughter" | Rolie | 4:26 |
| 7. | "Samba Pa Ti" | Santana | 4:45 |
| 8. | "Hope You're Feeling Better" | Rolie | 4:11 |
| 9. | "El Nicoya" | Areas | 1:29 |
| 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 |
Versions
- In 1990 CBS/Sony published a remastered edition on Audio CD (Universal Product Code: 7464301302 ).
- 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 & LP.
Personnel
- Carlos Santana – Guitar, 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
- Rico Reyes – Percussion, Vocals
- Alberto Gianquinto – Piano on "Incident at Neshabur"
- Steven Saphore – Tabla
- Robert Venosa – Artwork, Graphic Design
- John Fiore – Engineer
- Mati Klarwein – Illustrations
- Victor Gonzalez – Bass Guitar
Chart tables
Album
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS | AUT | FRA | NLD | NLZ | NOR | SWE | SWI | UK | |||||||||||||
| 1970 |
|
1 | 1 | — | 7 | 9 | — | 3 | — | — | 7 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Singles
| 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 was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Certifications
| Certification |
|---|
References
- ^ Henderson, Alex (2011 [last update]). "Abraxas – Santana | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Christgau, Robert (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: Album: Santana: Abraxas". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Nash, Jim (2011 [last update]). "Santana: Abraxas : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "Santana". warr.org. 2007 [last update]. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ 31 Songs by Nick Hornby
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Database Search: "Abraxas"". Recording Industry Association of America. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ^ "BPI – Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. 2000-04-14. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "French certifications – Santana certifications search". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help)
