SANTANA — Welcome (review)

SANTANA — Welcome album cover Album · 1973 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Sean Trane
After the incredibly succesful Caranserai and heavenly collab with fellow Sri Chimnoy adept John McLaughlin, Carlos Devadip saw his group starting to fizzle out: Greg Rommie and Neil Schon had left (they will later found Journey as a jazz-rock group that will veer towards the execrable AOR group during the 80’s) and Carlos went towards jazz singer Leon Thomas (Basie and Pharoah Sanders vocalist) and a duo of keyboardist Kermode and the long-lasting Tom Coster.

While the opening Going Home is an impressive instrumental, it is not that succesful due to a wrong choice of synth, cheapening the overall ambiance. Leon Thomas’ voice (coupled with XXX in a duet) is doing nothing to restore the weak Surrender track or the downright half-mediocre When I Look Into Your Eyes, with its unexpected second funky part that compensate a bit. The only track to actually equal Caranvanserai on the first side is the instrumental Samba De Sausalito (a San Fran hippie suburb), which does bring some of the magic back.

The second side does start a bit more interestingly with the Mother Africa, with an inhabitual Santana feeling. The album is saved by the tremendous Flame Sky (everything indicates this was a leftover from Caravanserai including its title and the predecessor’s artwork): this 11-min+ corker is a real gem that seems so out of place on this album, even if by the energy level not present elsewhere on this album. The closer is also a worthy track and announces Carlos’ next solo venture with Coltrane’s wife Alice. Welcome is one of those reflective John Coltrane written when the great jazzman was at peace with himself. Coster makes a credible McCoy Tyner impression. While the track is slightly too sweet, it does represent well the spiorit of the album. The remastered version of this album is coming with a lengthy bonus track, the excellent, dreamy but rather out-of-place 6-min Mantra.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Puttin' On the Ritz Classic (1920s) Jazz
THE NEW WONDERS
Buy this album from MMA partners
異響同塵~Different echoes in the same dust~ Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TOSHI TSUCHITORI 土取利行
Buy this album from MMA partners
Brötzmann / Nilssen-Love : Butterfly Mushroom Avant-Garde Jazz
PETER BRÖTZMANN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Kranetude Avant-Garde Jazz
KATHARINA ERNST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Trance Map (Evan Parker - Matthew Wright) : Horizons Held Close Jazz Related Improv/Composition
EVAN PARKER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Wet Weather Wet
THE WRONG OBJECT
js· 15 hours ago
Michael Kiwanuka - Lowdown (parts i and ii)
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
js· 15 hours ago
Who Needs You (Billie Holiday-Jeanne Burns) by Ineza with Alex Webb & The Copasetics
INEZA (INEZA KERSCHKAMP)
js· 1 day ago
Notbad
PEELA
js· 1 day ago
3Below "Live In Mérida" -- Manring, Gunn, Arreola, Pina
3BELOW
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed