Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time

Santana | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 21, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B003TML0VO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (203 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,685 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #59 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists

Editorial Reviews

The longest-running, most successful partnership in the history of rock takes flight anew, as legendary Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductees Carlos Santana and Clive Davis collaborate on the brand new concept album, GUITAR HEAVEN: THE GREATEST GUITAR CLASSICS OF ALL TIME. The album was co-produced by Carlos Santana and Clive Davis with tracks produced by Matt Serletic and Howard Benson.

Working from their collective encyclopedic knowledge of rock, Carlos Santana and Clive Davis devised a list of guitar-centric titles and then invited a Who s Who of guest vocalists to perform on every track. Singers range from Chris Cornell (on Led Zeppelin s Whole Lotta Love ), Pat Monahan (on Van Halen s Dance the Night Away ), Chester Bennington and Ray Manzarek (on The Doors Riders on the Storm ), Rob Thomas (on Cream s Sunshine Of Your Love), Scott Weiland (on the Rolling Stones Can t You Hear Me Knockin ), Chris Daughtry (on Def Leppard s Photograph ), Gavin Rossdale (on T. Rex s Bang A Gong ) to rapper Nas (on AC/DC s Back In Black ), veteran Joe Cocker (on Jimi Hendrix s Little Wing ), and more.

A very special dedication to George Harrison comes together on GUITAR HEAVEN..., with While My Guitar Gently Weeps, featuring singer india.arie and master cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Listening to the song, Olivia Harrison told Carlos, it made me jump for joy and cry at the same time.
DVD includes the making of Guitar Heaven and an interview with Carlos Santana and Clive Davis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

118 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, September 27, 2010

By 

Polar Bear - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time (Audio CD)

The first thing I noticed about this CD was the title, and I must admit this is a bad title. These songs are definitely NOT, in my opinion, the greatest guitar songs of all time. That being said, I'm a HUGE Santana fan and was really looking forward to listening to this album. I couldn't wait to hear Santana's interpretation of these songs and was hoping he would have some monster guitar playing on here. Boy, was I disappointed. At best, some of the songs are OK (I like the spanish guitar-influences on While My Guitar Gently Weeps. I also think the guitar playing on Sunshine of Your Love is top notch). But a lot of the songs left me with a "What were you thinking" frame of mind. The version of Back in Black is ridiculous, and Dance the Night Away was equally as disappointing. They sound generic, the guitar doesn't seem to be the focus of the recordings, and the overall quality is not up to par with Santanta's past efforts. Simply put, the album has no flow to it. I know Santana has released other CDs with various singers, but those flowed well and sounded great. This doesn't. Had I listened to this before I bought it, I would not have purchased it.

99 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Crazy Carlos, Commerical Clive and a Colossal Blunder, September 23, 2010

By 

Scott Taylor (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time (Audio CD)

The notion of a guitar classic album in the era of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" is clearly a contrived commerical ploy. And we'd expect nothing less from the tag team of Carlos Santana and Clive Davis. That said, the idea still has the potential for some artistic merit. But a combination of poor song choices, cover band miming and mostly typical Santana guitar flourishes has completely ruined what could have been an interesting AND successful venture.

Some of the song choices have you scratching your head. Would "Photograph" really appear on anyone's list of top guitar classics? Including a Van Halen tune is a no brainer, but is "Dance the Night Away" really a song that defines Eddie's one-of-a-kind stylings? At any rate, song selection is really just minor quibling. Performance could easily change things. But too many of the songs are bland recreations of the original ground-breaking performances. Some takes are downright blasphemous. "Riders on the Storm", despite Ray Manzarek sitting in, has lost completely all of its stark and spooky imagery and without that, what's left? "Little Wing" has been covered so brilliantly by other artists, so why try to compete with that? Carlos, usually a master of beautiful lyrical lines that could have done this composition justice, just doesn't seem to find the feel you'd expect on perhaps the definitive Jimi Hendrix tune. There are some departures from the lame and mundane, notably Chris Cornell's robust vocal delivery on "Whole Lotta Love" (something you won't hear from the song's orignal vocalist these days) and the beautiful and inventive reinterpretation of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". But it's not enough to save this mess. And really, given the talent involved, is a dramatic disappointment.

Crazy Carlos' career has taken some drastic turns and this is definitely one. We can only hope he finds his way again...

125 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Next Customer Representative Will Be With You Shortly '''...Sorry to Keep You Waiting, September 21, 2010

By 

Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time (Audio CD)

This is what it sounds like when a legend phones it in.

In spite of what some have said, Carlos Santana's last couple records were not total washouts, and "Supernatural" does not deserve derision by any means. In fact, it still holds up a solid decade later.

The problem is that nothing sounds impassioned, organic or genuine on "Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time," whether it be Santana's playing - which, for the most part, sounds merely pleasant and semi-rote - and the vocal contributions of the singers who make guest shots.

The realization that this record is from a man who played Woodstock is, frankly, saddening.

The song selections are not always so hot, either, and when they are - whether it's the immortal "Riders on the Storm" from the Doors or the inescapable brilliance of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" - the results almost exclusively sound like top-notch karaoke than worthy covers.

Half the material here may be songs so evergreen that they sell themselves, but this also works against Santana and his vocalists - they fight an uphill battle to put any stamp of originality on these covers.

Santana only deserves criticism for consenting to do this project. The original idea to do a record of classic rock covers was that of record industry titan Clive Davis. He has been a shrewd businessman and a fine tastemaker throughout his career, but his strategies have primarily concerned what would sell, not what would sound good or have integrity behind it. Thirty years ago he took Melissa Manchester, who crafted idiosyncratic, adult-oriented pop, and forced her to sing maudlin adult contemporary ballads and, eventually, embarrassing bubble gum, all written by "hit makers." He has often compromised careers while in search of a buck. "Guitar Heaven..." is just the latest example.

Song after song this sounds like grocery store intercom muzak, with rare exception. Chris Cornell attempts to pump life into Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," although he sounds recorded separately from Santana, which he probably is - this is music by assembly line. India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma, unsurprisingly, sound lovely on the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Gavin Rossdale and Santana also gel well on T. Rex's "Bang a Gong."

For the most part the selections are inescapably calculated and passionless. Santana's sound has not changed in years. Every note can be predicted three songs in advance. Even ice cream can get boring. Record buyers deserve better.