Abraxas (album)

Abraxas
Album cover from a painting by Mati Klarwein
Studio album by Santana
Released	September 1970 (1970-09)
Recorded	April 17–May 2, 1970 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre	Latin rock, chicano rock, jazz-rock, psychedelic rock
Length	37:32
Label	CBS KC-30130
Producer	Fred Catero, Carlos Santana
Santana chronology
Santana (1969) Abraxas (1970) Santana III (1971)
Singles from Abraxas
"Black Magic Woman" Released: 1970 "Oye Como Va" Released: 1971 "Hope You're Feeling Better" Released: 1971

Abraxas is the second studio album by latin rock band Santana. Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, Santana (released in May 1969), and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed-up with Abraxas in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.

Name

The title of the album, which features Mati Klarwein's 1961 painting, Annunciation, on the cover,^[1] comes from a line in Hermann Hesse's book, Demian, quoted on the album's back cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...." The word "Abraxas" has use within Gnostic cosmology.^[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	C+[4]
Rolling Stone	favorable[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Music

Abraxas features a mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as showcased electric guitar, organ, and heavy drums. The album also demonstrates Santana's stylistic versatility, including tracks such as "Samba Pa Ti" (a classic slow-burning piece)^[7] and "Incident at Neshabur", both being instrumentals. The latter has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion — congas, bongos and timbales, as well as a conventional rock drum setup, expanded Santana's foray into Latin rhythm.

Legacy

In 2003 the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[8]

The instrumental, "Samba Pa Ti" ("Samba for You"), was covered by José Feliciano, who added lyrics, and also by Angélique Kidjo, who put lyrics in Yoruba on her album Oyo. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby's book, 31 Songs. It was used in the UK as the background music for TV ads for Marks & Spencer food in 2006. It also was featured as the ending song in the Cold Case episode, "Dead Heat", which aired November 8, 2009.

Track listing

Later re-issues

While the original track listing lists track 5 as "Se a Cabo", the correct Spanish spelling for the phrase is "se acabó", meaning "it's over".

Versions

• In 1990 CBS/Sony published a remastered edition on Audio CD (Universal Product Code: 7464301302 ).
• In 1991 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 552).
• In 1998 Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se A Cabo", "Toussaint L'Overture" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on April 18, 1970.
• In 1998 SME records in Japan, part of Sony Music, also released the remastered version as an SACD. This disc is stereo only, and furthermore, it is a single layer SACD, which means that ordinary CD players will not play it. This disc contains the same bonus tracks as the ordinary 1998 remastered CD.
• In 2008 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc II (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 775) & GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog LP 180g Series (MFSL305).

Personnel

• Carlos Santana – lead guitar, backing vocals, producer
• Gregg Rolie – keyboards, lead vocals
• David Brown – bass
• Michael Shrieve – drums
• José "Chepito" Areas – percussion, conga, timbales
• Mike Carabello – percussion, conga

Additional personnel

• Rico Reyes – percussion, backing vocals
• Alberto Gianquinto – piano on "Incident at Neshabur"
• Steven Saphore – tabla
• Robert Venosa – artwork, graphic design
• John Fiore David Brown – Audio engineer
• Mati Klarwein – illustrations
• Robert Honablue – mastering engineer original recording

Chart tables

Album

Singles

Certifications

In popular culture

The album is referred to in the 2009 Coen Brothers movie A Serious Man.

References