Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/31/1998
Run Time: 37:18
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," embracing 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
;)
Listen
