Santana, Carlos / Buddy Miles - Live (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
28-SBMK723846.2
"Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live!...was recorded on New Year's Day, 1972 at the Sunshine '72 Festival inside Diamond Head volcano crater, Honolulu Hawaii. Carlos was coming off the massive commercial success highs of three critically acclaimed Santana albums, but was moving away from the Latin rock format he had pioneered and was taking more and more aggressive steps towards focusing his attentions and talents on fusion jazz. Carlos though was a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix, very evident in his pre-studio and early studio playing techniques and extremely evident in the unreleased 1967 single "Ballin'" a gigantic homage to Jimi! The chance to team up with Band Of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles was as close as he would ever get to meshing with one of his guitar heroes. As a matter of force, Carlos and Buddy were accompanied on this record and in the concert with some main elements of Santana (the band) including 2nd guitarist and soon to be founder of Journey, Neal Schon. The concert album kicks off with a two-part jam penned by Carlos' new guitar hero John McLaughlin in the first part (Marbles) and by Buddy in the 2nd drum led part (Lava). An R&B funky version of Evil Ways, with lead vocals by Buddy offers a unique take on the hit single... Now if you like Woodstock/Live at the Fillmore-wherever long jam sessions, filled with overlapping and exchanged leads from every musician on the stage, laid down with a 70's-funk R&B bottom, then the 25 minute long Free Form Funkafide Filth, the whole side two of the original vinyl, is where it is at. You might like it, you might not, you might just have to be "in the mood". Any way you cut it, the concert album is high-energy, raw, naked talent complete with all the warts. This is a Buddy Miles delivering the goods he always makes great. This is a Carlos, as usual unparalleled on guitar and backed up with his legendary 2nd, Neal Schon, but a Carlos in transition from Rock to Jazz in a set that is mainly R&B inspired. The engineering was good for its time but is far from perfect yet also far from being anything near a bootleg. It is a large crowd concert with humanity jammed into the top of an open-air volcano, so the crowd noise is definitely there. If you like "exciting" albums, this is one of those!"