Santana, Caravanserai

Santana MkI folded with Caravanserai. Epochal shifts in particularly Michael Shrieve and Carlos Santana's influences and shared desired musical directions left some of the other members of the group behind, who were more than happy to consolidate and expand on their momentous popularity and fortune. Guitarist Neal Schon and organist Gregg Rolie soon left and formed the commercially aligned Journey. But Jazz Fusion was the new Rock and Roll in Shrieve and Santana's ears, and the band's melting pot of latin american rhythms, funk, rock and Carlos Santana's melodic playing, telling the story like it is, all lent themselves beautifully to an exciting prospect of exploring this new territory. There was another more base reason for the shift. Santana attributes redefining his lifestyle in alignment with the redirection of his music in all likelihood saved his life from the associated excesses of their overnight success following Woodstock.

This fourth studio album therefore is very much the love-child of Michael Shrieve and Carlos Santana. The writing credits are distributed more evenly than that would suggest, but the more abstract sonic and harmonic structures, rich Eastern spiritual texturing and orchestral layering are novel to the previously raw and driving Santana sound. Very much part of the fuller Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz sound was the introduction of master percussionists Armando Peraza and Chepito Areas. The re-shuffle also included bringing in Gabor Szabo's pianist Tom Coster and versatile session bassist Doug Rauch (Carly Simon, Papa John Creach, Betty Davis). All the players extend themselves and there are moments of collective genius. Ironically Schon and Rolie contribute massively to the cohesion and to the album's conceptual single cut feel, sourcing the band's evolution with telepathic crest-of-the-wave coordination.

The distinct song structures of Abraxas and Santana III are gone, and a largely instrumental conceptual fluidity replaces it in homage to the new listening sphere of Shrieve and Santana; Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Charles Lloyd and Gabor Szabo. Nonetheless, this is primarily a trademark Santana album. Carlos Santana's luxuriant middle register tonality croons the melodies before spiralling off into superlative cosmic realms. Shrieve's revolutionary afrobeat playing skips along as the perfect undercurrent. A cross between Tony Allen and Tony Williams, cymbals chop to the heart of the rhythm, the snare thwaps at the underbelly of Rauchs mimimalist bobbing baselines. The interplay about Rauch's simple 2-note ostinato on the vocal track All The Love Of The Universe is sublime.

The new liner notes are not exceptional. Sometimes less is best, and you will not find much more than you have read here, new photos included. There was also no excess audio material for inclusion on the remastering. But Caravanserai is perfect as it is. And now with modern technology, it is even more so.