Audio CD review:
Santana - Love Devotion Surrender

Santana - Love Devotion Surrender

Band: Santana Title: Love Devotion Surrender Rating: Release Date: 30 September, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: A Love Supreme 2: Naima 3: The Life Divine 4: Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord 5: Meditation 6: A Love Supreme (Alternative - Take 2) 7: Naima (Alternative - Take 4)

Customer Reviews Another lost classic And who's guest-starring? That's right, John McLaughlin!! Yeah, he's cool. So here we go, continuing in the direction of Santana's extremely underrated fusion phase. Anyway, this whole shamalamadingdong starts off with a pair of excellent Coltrane covers - neither are better than the originals, but they both excel. First, "A Love Supreme" (only part one, not the whole thing) is awesome, with the two guitarists trading some truly fine licks; "Naima" is pretty lovely remade for acoustic guitars. Neither of these guys are known for their acoustic work, but they both can play those things rather well. Better than I can, at any rate. I find it odd that they cover Coltrane extensively on a fusion album, when Coltrane's more of a free-jazz guy, but Trane's my favorite artist, so I can't complain. After that is the only weak spot on the album. "The Love Divine" is obviously an attempt by McLaughlin to recreate "Ascension" or "Selflessness", but it's boring. And chaos isn't supposed to be boring! That's not how it works! God, I swear. . . But the song after that is my favorite: "Let Us Go into the House of the Lord. John and Carlos convey so many different emotions through their guitars on that one, it's amazing. It's like we've got two John Coltranes (of course, guitar-slingin' John Coltranes) on the same album! That is Santana. That is jazz. Now, there's one last song, but it doesn't do much for me. "Meditations" is. . . well, it's easy on the ears, I guess. The good news is that "The Love Divine" is the only pile of goat droppings on the album, and even then it's much better than "Open Invitation". . The day the Guitar Gods walked the Earth These are the men who started it all. This is the go to CD for students of Jazz Rock fusion. When this music was recorded Guitar Gods truly walked the Earth. With a little help from Larry Young and Billy Cobham, Carlos and Mahavishnu blast off and take you on a musical ride that is out of this world. . Blew My mind at Age 12 None of my friends understood it, and quite honestly I didn't either, except that it took me to a different place musically and spiritually. I bought this LP in 1973 when I was 12 years old. I had no idea at the time that this piece of music was a tribute to John Coltrane. All I know is that the guitar work, the organ, and percussion were and still are overwhelmingly powerful. By the way -- I was listening to The Carpenters just prior to purchasing the LP so many years ago. If you are Santana or McLaughlin fan, and want to appreciate a soaring and scorching musical triumph, then you must include this masterwork. This album along with Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow" prepared my ears and soul for a lifetime of jazz appreciation. Make some tea, put on some earphones, crank the volume, and make sure that you are not operating heavy or dangerous machinery. . . You can see a complete list of all Santana discography, or go back to the Santana tabs