Keyboard City (Dig)

Salvador Santana (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 2, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Quannum Projects
• ASIN: B00316DDW2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,228 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. We Got Somethin'

2. Don't Even Care

3. Under the Sun

4. Video Game, Save My Life

5. Keyboard City

6. Don't Do It

7. This Day (Belongs to You)

8. Truth Fears No Questions

9. Salaboutmoney

10. Get Silly

11. Keep Smiling

Editorial Reviews

When Salvador Santana issued his debut album in 2008 as SSB -- an acronym for Salvador Santana Band -- it was an eclectic if not particularly memorable recording. On Keyboard City, Santana hooked up with Money Mark to co-write and co-produce ... Full Descriptionthe album. There are other musical collaborators, but this is truly a solo album. The tunes are tighter, yet more complex than on his debut. Check "Video Game, Save My Life," where slippery hip-hop beats, icy keyboards, Money Mark's guitar, and sine wave generators rub up against rubbery basslines, drums (Santana's own), and Alfredo Ortiz's percussion to create a nocturnal, futurist vibe whose groove won't quit. On "Under the Sun," Ortiz and backing vocalist Dawn Bishop help him create a multi-layered, synth driven Latin-flavored pop tune with an airy, funky, Afro-Cuban vibe. It has backbone-slipping beats and a killer synthetic horn chart that sounds utterly natural. On the shimmering club jazz of the title track, Santana mans a vocoder and plays everything except hand percussion. It's a stone killer. The spoken word and gospel groove on "This Day (Belongs to You)" could have been recorded by Build an Ark. Money Mark mans the bass; Joel Harper plays lap steel; and Ortiz adorns it tastefully with his righteous percussion skills. But it's the backing vocals and ad libs -- courtesy of Bishop and Sherry Pruitt over Santana's drums and keyboards -- that make it transcendent. A trace of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" is felt on tracks like "Truth Fears No Questions," though exotic instruments such as kalimba, didgeridoo, and clarinet are employed giving it a more organic feel, stretching it past that influence. The straight-up funk-fused-with-hip-hop on "Salaboutthemoney" is dancefloor ready.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars like Funkadelic and the Meters had a love child who was then raised by Esquivel in a space age bachelor pad full of analog synth, February 8, 2010

By 

A. Valdez "loveisnoise" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keyboard City (Dig) (Audio CD)

From Keyboard Magazine:

Stephen Fortner ,Feb 01, 2010

Forget that his dad is you-know-who. Salvador Santana's genre-bending solo debut sounds more like Funkadelic and the Meters had a love child who was then raised by Esquivel in a space age bachelor pad full of analog synths. Really, though, Sal doesn't sound like anyone else. Producers GZA and Money Mark contribute their inimitable hip-hop beats to rhythm section, which also packs plenty of classic funk and, yes, a little clave. Jump-to tracks include the opener "We Got Somethin'," the sci-fi "Video Game, Save My Life," the acid-jazzy hookfest "Truth Fears No Questions," and the vocoder-sung title track. But all the tracks smoke. You'll tap your foot. You'll bob your head while chewing your bottom lip. You'll drive too fast. And if you play, you'll try to cop the countless tasty synth, Rhodes, and Clav riffs Sal peppers each track with. We may only be a month into 2010, but on December 31, 2019, Keyboard City may well be remembered as one of the standout neo-funk records of the decade.

3.0 out of 5 stars Santana, yes, but then again... not really...., July 27, 2010

By 

M. V. Vooren "velvetpaws999" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keyboard City (Dig) (Audio CD)

Well, if you expect anything in the vein of Carlos, his grandfather, don't. It is not anywhere near his level of inspiration and genius. Guess that just because somebody has a famous ancestor doesn't make them the same, too! It is a nice CD, I enjoy it sometimes, but frankly, from having listened to it about 3 times now, I can't even remember much of it. And if a musician doesn't leave an impression in my mind, oh well... that's that! My ear and senses are musical above all, and I have an extensive collection of excellent works, this won't make it into that group.

I do like the CD cover art work, though! it is very creative!