Over Half-A-Century Of Santana’s Abraxas
Cover Art: Mati Klarwein — “Annunciation"
Photo: Debbie Condon
San Francisco-based Latin American progressive and psychedelic rock group, among other enlightening elements of cultural consciousness, Santana quickly followed up on their 1969 self-titled debut with their spiritually sophisticated sophomore album “Abraxas"in the fall of 1970, shortly after their groundbreaking performance at Woodstock the previous year. Originally formed in 1966 under the name Santana Blues Band, the cosmic collective eventually shortened its name to simply Santana in 1967, and within a few years became a creatively charged unit of universal connection to the people during some of the most trying times, to say the least, in the revolutionary eras of the 1960s and 1970s. Inspired by the great Hermann Karl Hesse and his 1919 book “Demian,” Carlos Santana confidently stood at the psychedelic peak of a melodic mountain of meditative madness, where electrifying eagles soar, and rare realms of dystopian delights swell in the afterglow of a generation’s struggle for something great. Setting up as the soundtrack to the beginning of a brand new decade, Santana and his poetic posey of transcendental talent set out to record perhaps their most epic body of work before later releases such as “Santana III” and “Inner Secrets,” to name a few, hit the aluminum aisles of record stores around the world. “Abraxas" is prophetic proof that the band had come into its own with esoteric evidence in the juxtaposition of their jams, and the liberating language between each of the members that helped in bringing the meditative magic within the galactic grooves of the album’s DNA.
“We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, we called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas…”
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Recorded at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco and Pacific Recorders in San Mateo, California, where the group’s first album was made, in the spring of 1970, and later released that fall, Santana’s particular interest and influence at the time were heightened by the original lineup of Fleetwood Mac frontman Peter Green, which is quite fascinating as his merciless methods and tonal techniques can be heard throughout the record, it should also be noted that Santana’s sonic signature had already transcended the technicalities, and cascading cosmos of his peers, and contemporaries during the age of “Guitar Gods". Unlike the band’s self-titled, which featured only a few covers, the band’s feverish follow-up contained a handful from the likes of Peter Green, of course, Gábor Szabó, and Tito Puente, as well as cosmic contributions from the group’s very own members, and family, Michael Carabello, Alberto Gianquinto, José Areas, and Gregg Rolie, which ultimately brings these spiritual songs to the streets of San Francisco where they would flourish in the subconscious minds of fans both old, and new for over half a century. Featuring tracks like “Incident at Neshabur,” “Mother’s Daughter,” the album’s brilliant opener “Singing Winds, Crying Beasts,” and “Hope You’re Feeling Better,” the album’s overall operating system is like some mythological memory of a melody burning across the stratosphere of the city’s creative core, and Santana, as a whole, is a universal truth that has stood the test of time, decade after decade, with their fiery formation and intense intimacy as one of the greatest bands of their generation. Let this album, as well as their entire discography, show just how incredible the human spirit truly is, as we continue to move forward during these trying times.
