As demonstrated at the first Woodstock in '69, the original Santana band was a killer live unit, fundamentally a soul band that played hardcore African and Latin/Caribbean polyrhythms (Mike Carrabello - conga and percussion, Jose Chepito Areas - timbales, conga, percussion, Mike Shrieve - drums, Coke Escovedo - percussion) for a rock audience. And Carlos Santana held it all together from the beginning with his straining, searching, perfectly-shaped (if occasionally pat) leads.
On Santana's first three albums (Santana, Abraxas, Santana lll), the band created a seamless groove out of the rhythms, Santana's rock guitar, and cool-zombie vocals, mostly from keyboardist Gregg Rolie (who later went on to wild commercial success with Journey). This combo of Afro/Latin jungle vibe and rock sensibility has not been equalled before or since.
"Evil Ways" and "Black Magic Woman," from the first album and Abraxas, respectively, are companion pieces propelled by the voodoo rhythms of seduction and darkness. Singer Rolie's vocals are perfect because he sounds like a man under a spell. On these songs Santana succeeds in having it both ways: the seduction and allure of "evil" rhythms within cautionary tales decrying the usage of those rhythms by evil women.
"Evil Ways" holds out the hope that the woman can change: "You've got to change your evil ways, baby," but the singer's tone holds no real hope that this admonition will have any effect. Even as Rolie sings, chantlike, he is under the woman's rhythmic spell, an offcenter heartbeat. Notice the "baby" at the end of every line whether it fits lyrically or not. Rolie is already compelled to follow the woman's seductive, black-hearted groove, even within his plea for her to cease and desist.
Sex, magic and rhythm are a potent combination. Just ask alarmist author David Tame:
"Were we to scour the globe in search of the most aggressively, malevolent and unmistakably evil music in existence ... nothing would be found anywhere to surpass voodoo ... Still practiced in Africa and the Caribbean specifically as the rhythmic accompaniment to satanic rituals and orgies, voodoo is the quintessence of tonal evil ... Its multiple rhythms, rather than uniting into an integrated whole, are performed in a certain kind of conflict with one another." (The Secret Power of Music)
Fleetwood Mac's original "Black Magic Woman," being a sinuous blues number, didn't feature the dreaded polyrhythms of the occult, so its power was subdued, but when Santana's voodoo drums got hold of it, Tame's occult power was unleashed:
Article comments
1 - Robert Brandt
Very nice, Eric. Lots of people my age and younger lately have forgotten that Carlos has been at it a while.
I've always thought the Caravanserai/Lotus/Welcome period is criminally overlooked. Many who write about it today sort of dismiss it as fusion-ish excess. Caravanserai in particular was great; a transitional record that also hinted at what might have happened had the "old band" stayed intact.
Also, if anyone has a way to check out the Santana/McLaughlin live stuff, get to it. There's a few bootlegs around where the playing is beyond description.
2 - ClubhouseCancer
I never considered myself a big Santana maven, but I've been loving these reissues.
The live one sounds great, and the percussion sounds much less like a dense but undifferentiated groove and more like a bunch of individual musicians. You don't mention the 68 Live Fillmore one, but that one really rocks, too.
Caravanseria was a real revelation. There are some real complex ideas, sweetly stated, on that one. Dense, funky, and cerebral too. And that guitar sound. Soooo 1972.
3 - Eric Olsen
Thanks Robert and CC, very glad you are into it - the Santana comeback is worth putting up with if only for the attention shone on the classic stuff.