Santana: Caravenserai (1972)

I became a fan of Santana with the release of their debut album Santana way back in 1969. Caravenserai was a bit of a change in direction from the three previous Santana albums which were more of a rock format. This album was the first among a series of Santana albums that were known for their increasing complexity and a move towards a more experimental jazz sound.

The original Santana band split up in 1972. Percussionist Mike Carabello and bassist Dave Brown were the first to go, and they were replaced on Caravenserai by James Mingo Lewis and Doug Rauch, respectively. Organist/singer Gregg Rolie and the recently-added guitarist Neal Schon played on Caravanserai but were soon to follow; according to the liner notes of the 2003 remaster, they had creative differences with Carlos Santana about the future direction of the band. Carlos Santana had recently taken an interest in John Coltrane and the electric music of Miles Davis. He wanted to pursue jazz-fusion, whereas some others in the band preferred to make music that was more traditionally rock-based.

Despite the conflicts within the band I think that Caravanserai is a really good album; in fact, I would say that Caravanserai is one of the only Santana albums that is strong just about all the way through. I can perfectly understand any skepticism on the part of those who know some of Santana's music but who haven't heard Caravanserai, but album's fusion really does sound fresh and alive. Perhaps that's because the group didn't veer too far off course and appears to have concentrated on developing and perfecting strands of their existing style instead of attempting to simply copy their influences. Not every track is great and the album does lose a bit of steam toward the end, but for the most part I remain very enthusiastic about Caravanserai and I think it definitely belongs in the collection of anybody who is into jazz fusion.

Many of the tracks on Caravanserai meld into each other, creating a sense of continuity and flow. The album, predictably, is mostly instrumental, but a few tracks do have vocals. Surprisingly these songs are among the best of their kind that Santana had yet recorded; true, "Stone Flower" is a cover of the Brazilian jazz standard, but it's a fantastic rendition. "All the Love in the Universe" is one of Carlos Santana's best originals, and "Just In Time To See The Sun" makes for a very solid two-minute intro to "Song of the Wind," an excellent instrumental which features some divine lead guitar playing by Santana. As for the other highlights, "Waves Within" also has some really good lead guitar and on "Look Up (To See What's Coming Down)" the band explodes into a hard funky groove that is totally irresistible.

One key to the album's success (and probably a result of the splitting of the original band) is that the focus here is on Carlos Santana. He is the only real soloist on the album, as Greg Rolie and the rest of the band are there mostly to provide atmosphere and rhythms. While this may result in music that is somewhat less complex than the work of other jazz fusion ensembles, it does not detract at all from its impact.

Track Listings:

1. Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation - 4:31

2. Waves Within - 3:54

3. Look up (To See What's Coming Down) - 2:57

4. Just In Time To See The Sun - 2:13

5. Song Of The Wind - 6:08

6. All The Love Of The Universe - 7:39

7. Future Primitive - 4:13

8. Stone Flower - 6:13

9. La Fuente Del Ritmo - 4:34

10. Every Step Of The Way - 9:02

Personal:

Carlos Santana - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion

Neal Schon - Guitar

Lenny White - Castanets

Gregg Rolie - Piano, Organ

Armando Peraza - Bongos, Percussion

Tom Coster - Piano

Rico Reyes - Vocals

Hadley Caliman - Saxophone

Mike Shrieve - Drums

Doug Ranch - Guitar, Bass

Tom Rutley - Acoustic Bass

James Mingo Lewis: Vocals, Piano, Bongos, Congas, Percussion

Producer(s):

Carlos Santana, Michaei Shrieve

Album description in italic courtesy Ground and Sky.