Poplife Pick: "Abraxas" (1970)
The San Francisco Bay Area rock
scene of the late '60s was one that encouraged radical
experimentation and discouraged the type of mindless conformity
that's often plagued corporate rock. When one considers just how
different Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and the
Grateful Dead sounded, it becomes obvious just how much it was
encouraged. In the mid-'90s, an album as eclectic as Abraxas
would be considered a marketing exec's worst nightmare. But at
the dawn of the 1970s, this unorthodox mix of rock, jazz, salsa
and blues proved quite successful. Whether adding rock elements
to salsa king Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va," tembracing
instrumental jazz-rock on "Incident at Neshabur" and "Samba Pa
Ti" or tackling moody blues-rock on Fleetwood Mac's "Black
Magic Woman," the band keeps things unpredictable yet
cohesive. Many of the Santana albums that came out in the '70s
are worth acquiring, but for novices, Abraxas is an excellent place
to start. [Columbia/Legacy's 1998 reissue of Abraxas featured
three previously unreleased tracks -- "Se A Cabo," "Toussaint
L'Overture," "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" -- which were
all recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall on April 18, 1970.] --
Alex Henderson, All-Music Guide
|
