Despite a near-constant rotating roster for the band lineup, Carlos Santana and his band seem to give shows that sound remarkably consistent, yet different, every time they perform. This show came from Santana’s 1974 tour, which preceded a massive change from the lineup that had been introduced to the world via the Woodstock film.
When this show was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, only bassist David Brown remained with Carlos from the original band lineup, (and he had left once and returned). Greg Rollie, the band’s popular vocalist and organ player had departed in 1973 to…entire summary
Carlos Santana - guitar, percussion, vocals
Jose "Chepito" Areas - percussion
Jules Broussard - flute, saxophone
David Brown - bass
Tom Coster - keyboards, vocals
Leon Patillo - lead vocals, percussion
Armando Peraza - congas, vocals
Michael Shrieve - drums
Despite a near-constant rotating roster for the band lineup, Carlos Santana and his band seem to give shows that sound remarkably consistent, yet different, every time they perform. This show came from Santana’s 1974 tour, which preceded a massive change from the lineup that had been introduced to the world via the Woodstock film.
When this show was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, only bassist David Brown remained with Carlos from the original band lineup, (and he had left once and returned). Greg Rollie, the band’s popular vocalist and organ player had departed in 1973 to form Journey with another ex-Santana member, guitarist Neil Schon. Santana never replaced Schon, and had to add two musicians (keyboardist Tom Coster and vocalist Leon Patillo). This was the band's last tour with percussionist Chepito Areas and drummer Michael Schrieve.
The group puts on a brilliant performance, balancing new songs like “Going Home,” and “Toussaint L’Overture,” with Santana concert staples including: “Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen,” “Oye Como Va,” “Incident At Neshabur,” and the thrilling “Soul Sacrifice,” which is nearly three times as long during this concert as it was on the original studio recording. This show marked the beginning of a period of musical restlessness for Carlos Santana. After the group had recorded its fourth album in 1972, he began a number of solo albums and tours, which continued through most of the ‘70s. He did his best to balance them with proper Santana group projects, but because they were usually greatly diverse artistically, he ended up confusing his core audience and alienating FM radio programmers.
During this period, his collaborations included albums with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, ex-Hendrix drummer and solo artist Buddy Miles, and a jazz LP with the widow of John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane. It would not be until late 1970s, when the Santana group re-bounded with a number of hit singles including “Winning” (written by Nona Hendryx) and a re-make of the Zombies British invasion classic, “She’s Not There,” that the group would finally reverse the trend of disappointing albums and tours that had been occurring.
collapse