Customer Reviews

Abraxas Pool

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This record SHOULD have been huge, but alas that was not to be. With four members of 1969 Santana Band: Greg Rolie, Michael Shrieve, Jose "Chepito" Areas and Michael Carabello, Joined together with Santana's most famous 'Second' Guitarist and founding member (With Greg Rolie) of Journey, Neal Schon and later-day Santana bassist Alphonso Johnson. All the elements are here, with the powerful percussion force of Shrieve/Areas & Carabello and those smooth vocals and keyboards of Greg, the stellar guitar of Neal Schon, This CD is something special. The fact that only a few of us would hear this amazing music is quite a shame.

That said "Abraxas Pool" is a CD that BELONGS in any music collection. With the BIG drum sound of the opening number "Boom Ba Ya Ya" it is clear to all that this train has not lost any steam, to Describe the sound of these musicians is like describing being charged by a runaway elephant in some steamy jungle. The second tune: "A Million Miles Away" would have sounded real good on the radio. Also of note are the great tunes: "Going Home" and "Don't Give Up" that are as good as anything from The 1969 -1971 period that these musicians remember with great fondness. Mr. Neal Schon get's a showcase number on the wonderful: "Szabo" that has the pure emotion of the best of The Santana Band. But "Abraxas Pool" is not locked in the past, this music is new & fresh and the production is top-notch. Just one listen to the new version of "Jingo" will prove that to your ears.

Except for a short tour of the west coast and this stunning CD, Abraxas Pool is no more. Pick this up whilst it is still available.
FIVE STARS !!!

This 1997 release features the original members of Santana band of the late sixties.
It features original vocalist Gregg Rolie, drummer Michael Shrieve, guitarist Neal Schon, Michael Carabello on congas, Jose "Chepito" Areas on timbales and Alphonso Johnson on bass.
Carlos Santana declined to participate in this reunion. But this is not a bad thing. Schon who joined Santana at 15, is an accomplished guitarist in his own right with Journey, various solo and side projects is more than capable of filling Carlos Santana's shoes. He does some phenominal playing on this cd.
Rolie , who sang vocals and wrote some of Santana's greatest hits like "Black Magic Women" and many others does some really strong vocals on this disc.
Shrieve, who is definitely no slouch on the drums is exceptional along with the remaining rthymn section on this cd.
The disc is a triumph of great mix of latin and pop music.
It opens with the latin-flavored Boom Ba Ya Ya which is definitely in the old Santana vein.
Other great songs on the disc are 'A Million Miles Away', 'Waiting For You' and 'Guajirona'.
Although it would have been nice for Carlos to join the rest of the group to fill out the original lineup, it gives the remaining members a chance to step up and shine and show what a truly great and talented band they really were without the famous frontman.

I had fairly low expectations but was cautiously optomistic when I first got this CD.
I always loved the first 3 Santana albums and although I think Carlos is a genius, one of a kind, I don't think the ensuing efforts have ever matched the first three.
This one matches and exceeds! This is the Santana album I have been waiting 30 years for and Carlos Santana didn't even participate.
Greg and Neal along with the other members of the best Santana band ever make that fourth album we expected when we got sidetracked by Carlos' new direction and experimentation. I have played it over and over and every cut is great.
Please give us an Abraxas Pool II !!!!

This cd is as close as you can get to the original Santana sound.
Most of the original members are here. However, Carlos Santana and Dave Brown (bass player) are not included here; unfortunately these two musicians are missing from the original pack. Never the less the music is good, and the rest of the band is great too!

This CD is the ulitmate experience! If you're into Santana's first three albums this one's definitely for you.

Man I love this CD!!! Never get tired of listening to it! Thanks Greg, Neal and the boy's!

How about Abraxas Pool 2?

I would imagine that if any of the original Santana members were to log on to All Music Guide and read Carl Hoyt's review of the first Santana album, they might find his text particularly egregious:

"Carlos Santana was originally in his own wing of the Latin Rock Hall of Fame, neither playing Afro-Cuban with rock guitar, as did Malo, nor flavoring mainstream rock with percussion, as did Chicago. His first record, as with the best fusion, created something a little different than just a mixture -- a new style that, surprisingly remains all his own."

Mr. Hoyt leaves the reader with the vapid impression that on that first Santana album, Carlos was just a solo artist with a backup band. And, of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

Santana was first and foremost a BAND; the original name for the group was actually "The Santana Blues Band". Of the nine tracks on that debut 1969 album, only one, "Waiting", is credited solely to Carlos; the remaining eight tracks were all band-participatory compositions. In fact, of the 30 total tracks that comprise the first three Santana albums, only three were solo Carlos' compositions!

And nowhere is this reality more apparent than on "Abraxas Pool", which reunites the original Santana lineup, sans Carlos and deceased bassist David Brown. The BAND Abraxas Pool forever solidifies the notion that the original members do not need the persona of Carlos to faithfully conjure the awesome entity that was the original Santana.

"Abraxas Pool" could just as well be titled "Santana IV", for it is likely what a follow-up of "Santana III" would have sounded like if Carlos hadn't steered the band into the 90-degree fusion vector that was the albeit-brilliant "Caravanserai".

"Abraxas Pool" also echoes what Hal Miller essayed so memorably in the 2004 fantastic 2CD Legacy edition of the first Santana album: The greatness that is Gregg Rolie. While the sound of Santana was a melting pot of many musical idioms, it was Rolie who faced absolute uncharted territory in incorporating a B3 into a latin-rock-fused landscape. He did so brilliantly, and it is gratifying to finally see someone move the spotlight solely off Carlos, a la people like Mr. Hoyt, and share it deservedly with Gregg.

To illustrate Gregg's influence, I'll further expand on my song composition point: Of the 30 tracks/1st three albums, Gregg had two solo-written songs to Carlos' three, but they both had an equal amount, 12 songs, where they shared credit with other members of the band. And, on "Abraxas Pool", Gregg is contributory on over half the tracks.

I think it is obvious that Gregg Rolie deserves far more recognition for his contributions to the identity and success of that first iteration of Santana than is commonly seen in most testimonials. Certainly, Mr Hoyt should re-consider his AMG text.

The album "Abraxas Pool" is a fitting successor to the original three Santana albums. If you love those fiery recordings, you are going to be in seventh heaven when you hear this album. Exactly like that first trio of Santana albums, there is not one weak track on "Abraxas Pool". The band smokes, Michael Shrieve thunders, Neil Schon wails, and Gregg's keyboards and voice soar... everything a Santana fan could possibly hope for is here... IF ONLY YOU CAN FIND THE DAMN THING.

Tragically released to instant obscurity in toy-boy-band-crazy-radio-1997, and now equally as tragically out-of-print, this CD is becoming harder (and more expensive) to find.

However, no matter what you have to pay for it, if you're a true fan, your Santana collection is not complete without this CD. Once you get your hands on it, you're not going to believe how good it is, how you've ever lived without it, and how impossible, and criminal, it seems, that it is now out of print.

This is simply great stuff. I bought a recent Neal Scon album, and was directed to this one, and purchased the CD purely on what other reveiwers had written.

it really is fantastic; from the soaring guitar work on Waiting For You, to the introspection on Szabo. The album certainly has similarities to the orginal Abraxas by Santana, but it is sufficiently different to be of interest. Because let's face it; there can and will only ever be one Abraxas.

The latin feels are throughout, and the recording standards are high. There is some great music on this CD.

As an aside; P A Green (of Fleetwood mac, John Mayall blusebreakers etc) was the Original writer of Black Magic Woman. Both their original and Santana's cover are excellent!!

A great effort by several members of the original Santana lineup plus Alphonse Johnson and Neal Schon from the post-Woodstock era!! Carlos Santana is not missed at all by this reviewer; he's always had a nice fat tone but I've never thought of him as a great guitarist. Neal Schon is a FAR superior player. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a plan for Abraxas Pool # 2.

Szabo, lifts you into the clouds as if you were on night flight. I'll take flight anytime with Szabo, at work, at home, on the road. I've been a Azabo listener for years. Truly an experience.

This is one record that came out in 1997 that should have been heard a little more. Take the entire Sanatana band from the "Abraxas" era, and reunite them for a CD....it's an idea that grooves, smolders, and fires the music all at once. If you're into Neal Schon's guitar work, you're in for a treat here. One of the best outings I've heard from the master of the 80's "melodic rock solo in a pop context". Schon rips, and still plays with finesse and grace. This is a VERY good guitar CD. Keyboardist Gregg Rolie is no slouch either, and the ensemble effect of this band just GROOVES. I like this record a lot, it was a bit scary being on the MIRAMAR "Smooth Jazz Summer Sounds" disc with them, because the song "Szabo" that Abraxas Pool submitted to the compilation from their CD is such an incredible tune. And the Abraxas CD has the full un-edited version that is jaw dropping.
If you see this in your local record store, make sure to take it to the listening station and give it a whirl....