SANTANA — Welcome (review)

Album · 1973 · Fusion

4.5/5 · 2024-10-11
FunkFreak75

After Buddy Miles Live! After Caravanserai. After Love Devotion Surrender (with John McLaughlin and the remnants his now-fractured first lineup of The Mahavishnu Orchestra). Before Illuminations (with Alice Coltrane)--and before the three-disc live album, Lotus. This is Santana mid-jazz-rock fusion, the fusion lineup at its very best, but trying to orient themselves a little more toward radio-friendly songs. I'm shocked that this album did not spawn three or four radio hits.

Line-up / Musicians: - Leon Thomas / vocals (2,4,7), whistling (5) - Carlos Santana / electric & acoustic (2) guitars, bass & kalimba (6), percussion (1,7), vocals (2) - Tom Coster / Hammond (2,4,5) & Yamaha (1,4,6,8) organs, electric (3,7) & acoustic (6,8,9) pianos, percussion (3), marimba (6), string co-arranger (7) - Richard Kermode / Hammond (1,3,8), electric (2,4-7,9) & acoustic (5) pianos, Mellotron (1), percussion (3), marimba (4), shekere (4,6) - Doug Rauch / bass - Michael Shrieve / drums - Jose 'Chepito' Areas / timbales (2,3,6,7), congas (3), percussion (3,9) - Armando Peraza / percussion (1,3,9), congas (2,4-8), bongos (4), cabasa (5) With: - Flora Purim / lead vocals (5) - Wendy Haas / vocals (2,4) - John McLaughlin / guitar (8) - Douglas Rodriguez / rhythm guitar (4) - Joe Farrell / flute solo (4) - Bob Yance / flute (4,5) - Mel Martin / flute (4,5) - Jules Broussard / soprano saxophone (6) - Tony Smith / drums (3) - Alice Coltrane / arranger (1) - Greg Adams / strings co-arranger, orchestrator & conductor (7)

1. "Going Home" (4:10) opening with the sustained organ strains familiar to us from Caravanserai, the song slowly morphs into a church-like sound before a second organ programmed into a kind of bassoon sound joins in with flourishes from the percussionists and drums embellish and amplify. The melody coming from that bassoon-organ sounds Scottish. More like a dramatic intro than a real song. (8.75/10)

2. "Love Devotion And Surrender" (3:36) a mellow, almost relaxing opening to a song Carlos created in reference to (and reverence of) his sessions of the previous months that culminated in the creation of the Love Devotion Surrender album with John McLaughlin and half of his fractured Mahavishnu Orchestra. put on their collaborative album of earlier in the year. Great vocals from Carlos, Leon Thomas, and especially, Wendy Haas (who sounds a lot like Anneke Van Giersbergen). (8.875/10)

3. "Samba De Sausalito" (3:10) an awesome Latin percussion-and-bass-driven jam in the tradition that Carlos and his band had been extablishing since the opening number of their debut album, now five years before. Keyboards present the melodies above the hard work of the rhythm section. (8.875/10)

4. "When I Look Into Your Eyes" (5:50) opening up sounding like a MOTOWN classic from the FOUR TOPS or THE TEMPTATIONS, the mood changes as everybody steps in line to support singer Leon Thomas' classic soul performance. The flutes and percussionists are wonderful as is Doug Rauch on bass (of course). Leon's "underwater" vocalese alongside Wendy Haas' Motown b vox are weird but awesome--and Michael Shrieve is great, too. (9/10)

5. "Yours Is The Light" (5:45) Latin Canterbury?!! The female "Northettes"-like group vocals from Flora Purim Also, great piano, bass, and Latin percussion interplay holding down the fort while Carlos delivers one of his best solos ever--followed by some endearing reverb-vocalese scatting from Flora over the last minute or more of the song. An absolutely delightful and amazing song. I love Richard Kermode's Chick Corea-like piano work. My favorite song on the album. (10/10)

6. "Mother Africa" (5:54) a Herbie Mann composition on which Carlos' bass and kalimba working within the weave of multiple percussionists including Chepito Areas on timbales, Armando Peraza on congas, Richard Kermode on shekere, Tom Coster on marimba as well as Jules Broussard on soprano sax. Sounds like a song that could very well have inspired GINO VANNELLI's title song from his upcoming album, Storm at Sunup. Coster's piano in the second half and electric piano work are awesome. Kermode's Yamaha organ lead is the only weird/out-of-place thing. (9/10)

7. "Light Of Life" (3:48) Greg Adams orchestral support is absolutely brilliant--almost Barry White-ish--before funk rhythm section and Leon Thomas set themselves up and fly along. Great Fender Rhodes and guitar work but listen to Doug Rauch's bass! Leon and the keyboardists are awesome, but that presence of orchestra is, for me, incredible. Another top three song. (10/10)

8. "Flame-Sky" (11:32) a song whose composition is credited to Doug Rauch, Carlos Santana, and guest guitarist Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, it follows a typical (for Carlos and John) two-chord foundation over which many of the Santana band members solo in response to their inspiration from the presence and fire of the Mahavishnu. I have to admit: John is quite impressive, but, then, so are Carlos, Doug Rauch, the Hammond and Yamaha organists (Kermode and Coster, respectively) as well as conga player Armando Peraza. Definitely another showpiece for the skills of these two extraordinary guitarists, but also for the Santana rhythm section. (18/20)

9. "Welcome" (6:30) wild free-form, lightning-fast, single-note piano play with crescendoing, wave-like cymbal work provide background for Carlos' dreamy, pensive lead guitar melody exploration. Kermode's electric piano and Doug Rauch's respectful bass are also key in the support mode for Carlos' poetic expression. (8.875/10)

A-/five stars.

Bonus track on 2003 Legacy remaster: 10. "Mantra" (6:00) opening with an incredible rhythm interplay between Doug Rauch and Michael Shrieve, the song proceeds to build with organ, percussion, and group background chant vocals about "love" and, later, in a more forceful narrator's voice, "joy." Great jam that I'm sure could have been drawn out over many minutes with wild dancing and percussion and keyboard play on stage in the "live" format. I am happy for the inclusion of this awesome song--another tribute to one of those great artists whom we lost far too young to the vicissitudes of drug addiction. (9/10)

This is, in my opinion, a sadly under-appreciated album. It's different from the early Santana (Santana, Abraxas, and Borboletta). It's different from the dive into J-R fusion that Caravanserai and his collaborations with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and Alice Coltrane were. It's poppy and pretty and funky and melodic--hummable and danceable and joyful and, at times, almost laid back. People miss Greg Rollie (I don't.) People miss Neal Schon. (Me, too!) People miss the up-front dominance of Carlos' guitar (he's humbler: he's a devadip!) But this is great music with some very focused, present performances. And there's still the great Santana rhythm section of Maitreya Michael Shrieve, Latin percussionists Armando Peraza and Jose "Chepito" Areas, amazing bass wunderkind, Doug Rauch, as well as the rock on keys, Tom Coster. There are some rather amazing, spirited performances by guest collaborators Flora Purim, Wendy Haas, Joe Ferrell, and, of course, the Mahavishnu himself, John McLaughlin. Plus, this is early Leon Thomas, before he got so deep into the voice modulation that he would explore in fullness with Pharoah Sanders. There are some beautiful songs here--songs that deserve radio play (albeit, perhaps Soul/R&B or Adult Contemporary radio stations). I love the beauty of "Light of Life," "Yours Is the Light," "When I Look Into your Eyes," and "Love, Devotion & Surrender." The intended jewel, Doug Rauch's "Flame-Sky" falls short for a lack of development, but clearly shows the young bass player's reverence and respect for the Mahavishnu--especially having just come from the Love Devotion Surrender sessions in which he was, no doubt, put in a place of awe with the likes of Billy Cobham, Larry Young, and the Mahavishnu letting their pyrotechnical flak and machine gun fire fly around him. (And, yes, I agree: neither Richard Kermode nor Tom Coster can hold a candle to the amazing Larry Young [Khalid Yasin].) The finale is a bit drawn out and near-monotonous, and Alice Coltrane's opening number is a bit one-dimensional, but otherwise, I thoroughly enjoy the music and, more, the performances on this album: they're just not the Santana performances one had grown to expect! For those of you in the dark, the incandescent light of one of the smoothest, most melodically gifted bass players I've ever heard is shining bright here in the play of Doug Rauch--a light that burned out far too early (due to the trappings of drug addiction). Check out his playing here on "Light of Life" and "Yours Is the Light" and "When I Look into Your Eyes" as well as throughout Caravanserai and on Lenny White's Venusian Summer--particularly with Ray Gomez on "Mating Drive." Also, there is some fine, fine work by Mr. Shrieve here, if one were only open to listening for it. Give it a chance; open your hearts; welcome the love; embrace Carlos' purest of intentions. You won't be sorry.