The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper

   When in July 1968 was released Super Session album being an outcome of joint project by Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills, it became immediately the success. Shortly it occurred to be the precise indication of the direction toward the new era in rock music. The idea of connecting folk blues with improvised instrumental music and psychedelic rock was revolutionary and in next months it was implemented by many artists with different results. On the wave of artistic and commercial success of Super Session album, Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper played with the band series of concerts at the Fillmore West. Live recorded during September 26 to 28, 1968 material was released as double album next year.
The title of double LP life recording, The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper shows the story of how it was created. The title adventures are main subjects in narration on how album was recorded. With Al Kooper playing organ, ondioline (second solo in Dear Mr. Fantasy), piano and singing, Mike Bloomfield playing guitar and singing, there were two more band members John Kahn playing bass guitar and Skip Prokop on drums. In concert performances some more musicians were engaged like Elvin Bishop and Carlos Santana on guitars. Those two were listed on album cover. But it is unclear what kind of appearance made Steve Miller and Dave Brown. What can be interesting for trivia chasers, second song on side three, called Sonny Boy Williamson is Carlos Santana’s recording debut. 

The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (1969)

   In linear notes Al Kooper explained lineup changes. When after first two days of insomnia Mike Bloomfield was taken to hospital, “in an amazingly short time Elvin Bishop, Carlos Santana, Steve Miller and Dave Brown had volunteered their services and had arrived at the Fillmore”. In effect three days of San Francisco performances become the document of music seen in wide cultural aspect. Producers made it CBS feature product with cover painting by great Norman Rockwell. In 1969 Rockwell was already recognized painter, illustrator and the master of Americana, raising his voice in public discourse towards political and social issues. Wikipedia author states CBS Art Director, John Berg grab the painting to hang it on the wall, but later sold it against the Kooper’s will.
   Program of double record set is both nice artistic exposure and documentary of the project. Songs and themes iconic for the music of late sixties, like Green Onions by Booker T. Jones or Sonny Boy Williamson by Jack Bruce and Paul Jones, This gave the firm base for jamming in a new way.  Base for soloing was rather folk blues and jazz than rock and roll expressions. The same rules applied to vocals where rough style expression was more important than singing skills. In best part of recorded material this album is pith and marrow for spirit of the sixties and a foundation of modern blues-rock style. Four stars for its perfection and spirit.

Carlos Santana – 25 Hits

Santana was iconic name for early fusion rock. Thank to bright personality of Carlos Santana and famous group bearing his name from the guitarist, Latin music became one of essential elements in rock fusion style. Great success of the group during Woodstock Festival and phenomenal popularity of first two records were starting point for the history of later albums worrying decline. Older albums were still in the spotlight of record shopping customers but newer were bought more by force of habit. From the other hand music market and specially pop music market in mid-seventies became very unstable. Trying to sustain interest in aging Santana’s records CBS published older and still unbeatable songs on album Greatest Hits in 1974 and four years later, in 1978 the double LP album 25 Hits. In the seventies record industry has still giving a chance to promote valuable phenomena in their marketing policy.
Republishing Santana’s hits was like giving this music the second chance. With generally the same quality of pressing as originals, both compilations have the same sound space as earlier editions. And both became perfect opportunity for renewing the way Santana was perceived. Between late sixties when Santana was a kind of musical and ideological phenomenon and second half of seventies many has changed. First of all there was new generation of disco and punk rock fans who seen Santana as too hermetic. Carlos Santana’s guitar solos were still interesting but for gradually smaller part of audience. No wonder these two albums have place in official artist’s discography. It’s understandable, these compilation was planned as the next success of the group. And this plan worked with almost immediate success – only in US first Santana hits album has been sold in 7 millions of copies.

Carlos Santana – 25 Hits (1978)

Success of second album was not so remarkable although it was noted on bestseller charts and sales in France earned a golden record. It’s interesting question, why only first of these two albums have its place in discography on official artist’s page. Almost complete material from first anthology has been moved to double album, the two songs omitted were Hope You’re Feeling Better from Abraxas and Everything’s Coming Our Way from Santana III album – maybe not number one hits, but pretty good music to return to, and maybe to keep in mind. In other words, it’s difficult to adjudicate if publisher choices are kind of testing alternative collection of songs or this is just an attempt to collect some more money out of popularity of previously published pieces or even to earn on artist fame. Especially for critics who are trying to find more rational criterion for a medley than popularity of every song.
The 25 Hits set could has been a great introduction to a young audience into the world of Santana’s music. Various songs from eight previous albums, and not all of them were number one hits, set in new context, gave listeners a great possibility to renew Santana’s creative image. Interesting combination of the program allows to redefine one’s approach to the style of Carlos Santana. It’s interesting producers of 25 Hits album considering Santana’s songs found that the older they are, the better they are. Probably not by accident they used as much as six songs from debut album Santana and from first three Santana albums comes more than half of material published here. A little bit pressure they also applied to the newer songs especially these promising more commercial potential from 1976 albums Festivàl and Amigos. No songs from the most recent album Moonflower (1977) also points to the marketing key of tracks selection.

Santana – Abraxas

The second album of Santana group has been released in September 1970, a little bit more than a year after their debut album. On the new album Abraxas, group still presented quite new face. Their sound, rhythm and style were real groundbreaking combination so shortly it has been named just „Santana style” and copied by many other groups. The beginnings of the style came from San Francisco fusion joining the psychedelic rock of the sixties with some idiomatic motives of latin jazz and rhythmic patterns of salsa, blues and gospel. A lots of inspirations gave this music great variety of meanings and the tittle „Abraxas” shines a light  for connections to esoteric, even some sort of Gnostic ideas.
Literary inspiration of the title came from Hermann Hesse’s novel Demian and short fragment is cited on the back side of the 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...”. Directly related to this inspiration is cover art featuring Mati Klarwein’s 1961 painting Annunciation. This cover design and Hesse’s works became inspiration for whole generation.
Sound profile of the group in Woodstock era was presented on first two albums. It can be considered in four main aspects – rich and tense guitar solos by Carlos Santana, rhythm and blues Hammond B-3 organ played by Gregg Rolie, vocals in San Francisco psychedelic style and huge rhythm section of bassist Dave Brown, drummer Mike Shrieve plus two conga and percussion players Mike Carrabello and José Chepito Areas.

Santana – Abraxas (1970)

Characteristic feature of first Santana line-up’s music is that nothing is fully obvious. Rhythm section based on sharp, energetic percussion drive by Shrieve’s drums and steady, sometimes even lazy Brown’s bas guitar makes a lots of crossing and syncopated structures but isn’t apparently Latin kind of rock or all the more jazz-rock. It would be enough interesting if it was attempt of being somewhere between styles and cultures. The same with the harmonic structures which sound quite progressive yet they are predominantly blues with some straight adds.
Guitar solos by Carlos Santana were unprecedented in rock music contribution to the style of the group and its true hallmark. His precise and bright sound was counterbalance for dark vibrating Rolie’s Hommond. Clear and very precise guitar phrases became the center of musical narration. Although guitar was in center of rock since it’s very beginning, this kind of playing was something new and original. Great hits of this album were Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen by Peter Green and Gabor Szabo or Oye Como Va by Tito Puente but revolutionary number one hit for decade occured Carlos Santana’s Samba Pa Ti – nice and easy piece with charming phrases and carefully slow and mild accompaniment. It is one of most beautiful melodies in history of rock music, used in endless repetitions and covers. José Feliciano even sung this theme with his own words. In a short time this tune became obligatory for young guitar players and every high school party. On the opposite side of the Santana group’s style was situated Gregg Rolie’s Hope You’re Feeling Better with fiercely intensive rhythm section and one more great guitar solo.

Santana I

   Since the beginning San Francisco has been the cultural and intellectual center of American West. Especially in postwar era this metropolitan city was radiating with creative ideas and outstanding personalities. One of most respected musical names came out from Bay Area in late sixties and increasingly popular until today is Santana, even if average listener doesn’t associate this name with the city. Some people confuse the name of the group with the name of its leader who recorded also independently as Carlos Santana, who has formed in 1967 as Carlos Santana Blues Band. Santana’s songs performed by the band were the ticket to the world of universal appreciation.

   And name of Santana shortly became one of most recognizable names in musical business. Success did not come right away. After their first audition Chet Helms, who was a cultural figure in San Francisco of the hippie era, stated that there is no room on rock scene for the Latin rock. He advised Santana that it would be better if he can keep his work with the dishes in Tick Tock’s Drive-In.

   Two years later musicians were appointed to play Woodstock festival and CBS, anticipating their success recorded in May the debut album of Santana and in one month finishing editorial process. Santana performed August 16, the second day of the festival, for huge crowd. The result was almost instant success of the debut album released shortly after festival, picking at number 4 on Billboard 200. Although first single Jingo didn’t met supposed feedback, second single Evil Ways was included in U.S. Top Ten. After thirty years Santana hits 150^th position in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 500 greatest albums of all time.

Santana (1969)

   End years of sixties decade were the time when revolutionary recordings and artistic events were released almost every month. And it’s really hard to say if the first Santana album could be heard without Woodstock connection. But after festival announced as „3 Days of Peace and Music” even subtle association with this event gave the album power of political statement. Santana’s music was strongly connected with Mexican rhythms and melodic idiom and in context of antiwar and antiestablishment demonstration new idea o cross-cultural connection has the power of demonstration for freedom. And this is primary value fusion music has its roots. Later the idea of music based on explicit cross-cultural or multicultural links has been called „world music” and specific sound of Santana group was copied by dozens of other groups and musicians.

   Instrumental composition Waiting opens A-Side with great organ solo by Gregg Rolie and guitar solo by Carlos Santana, making basic exposition of group’s style. And since this very first piece it’s more fusion music than just Latin rock. All elements from Afro-Cuban beat to sharp, electrizing dialogue between soloists are melted in the whole which is almost homogenous. And almost gives some place for individual character of every artist.

   In Evil Ways we have another solo sequence, blues organ and ecstatic guitar are enriching this hit song. Some songs are clearly following the psychedelic style of San Francisco, like Shades of Time where only thick Cuban percussion section makes listener remember he is listening modern Latino rock. The same in Persuation where vocals and solo instruments are is perfectly in style of late sixties rhythm and blues. There is also piece perfectly fitting white blues of late sixties Just You Don’t Care with great solos and vocals of Santana and Rolie.

   What characterizes this music is explosive emotionalism and trance rhythmic continuity. This are very clear factors in completely instrumental Savor, for ending album Soul Sacrifice and partly vocal Jingo. Also in Treat after blues piano introduction group is creating strong rhythm line. This way of playing in upcoming years was treated simply as Santana style. And the first album of the group together with Santana’s performance in Woodstock were just fragments of basic floor for fusion music and crossover developing in next decades.