Customer Reviews

Marathon

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The sound quality is much improved over the prior Sony/Columbia cd, much needed, no bonus tracks though. Maybe someday the entire Santana back catalogue will get the re-mastering that it deserves, but for now this version will do quite well, recommended.

this cd is terribly underrated.it seemed people were getting tired of santana and quit paying attention to them.its a shame this cd didnt get all the attention it deserves.alex lingertwood has a great soulful voice and it fits perfectly into the music.one of my very favorites is aqua marine.a delightful laid back instramental.i also love the rocker,all i ever wanted.marathon is a truly a gem and should gain the respect it deserves.all in all a superb album.

SANTANAS BEST FOR MY MONEY. A GREAT COMBINATION OF ROCK,JAZZ,AND R&B. NOT A BAD CUT ON ALBUM. EXCELLENT BAND AND VOCALS ESPECIALLY ON BASS. GREAT BASS SOLO ON STAND BACK! THIS ALBUM IS WORTH EVERY CENT. BUY IT AND ENJOY!

This my favorite Santana album. It is much more standard rock without as much percussion as some of the others. Every song is excellent and Carlos really plays a smoking guitar on this one. Aqua Marine is really a masterpiece. Summer Lady and Stay are beautiful lite rock tunes. All I Ever Wanted really kicks. Alan Pasqua plays excellent keyboards throughout the album. Alex Litgerwood's vocals are tremendous.

This was one of the first CDs I ever bought back when it was first released in the early 80s. I have over 2200 CDs but always enjoy a listen to Marathon even after 30 years. Great tunes well executed. Yes... more commercial than previous Santana work but still original and interesting. The guitar work does not dominate this album and that's OK. The bass playing really stands out and just enough keyboards. It's great.

This review is only for those interested in sound quality. For reviews regarding content, please see other posts in this forum, or go to All Music Guide (dot com). Also, due to Amazon's unfortunate programming policy of cross-pollinating reviews across different versions of the same CD title, this review may appear elsewhere.

A newly DSD-remastered 2010 set of eight latter Santana catalog albums have been released by Sony Japan in mini-sleeve format. There is no bonus material included on any of these editions.

All of these are now the best audio versions of each title available worldwide. A possible exception to this would be the 2009 Friday Music remaster of Marathon, which I have not heard. However, I have found that Sony's DSD processing is usually superior to other remastering schemes.

The 2010 DSD's are:

Inner Secrets
Marathon
Zebop!
Shango
Beyond Appearances
Freedom
Spirits Dancing In The Flesh
Viva!

In relation to the mini-sleeves, while seven of these titles originally had just single-pocket LP covers, it should be noted that Viva! has been restored to its tri-fold original cover. It is the jewel of the set.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Marathon shows Santana in pure pop/rock mode. It's such a departure from their earlier albums that if weren't for Carlos Santana's guitar and the occasional percussion and keyboard break, you wouldn't even know it's a Santana album. Having said that, Marathon isn't terrible, it's just not up to their previous high standards. The best song is the hit ballad, "You Know That I Love You", an excellent track that barely grazed the U.S. Top 40. The dramatic "Lightning in the Sky" is also pretty good as is the instrumental "Aqua Marine", which would have fit in well on the band's fusion albums (Caravanserai, Welcome, and Borboletta). The remaining instrumentals; "Runnin" and the title track, are also decent albeit way too short. The rest of the songs like "All I Ever Wanted", "Summer Lady", and "Stay (Beside Me)" are okay but are so distinguishable that you could say they were recorded by another band and not know the difference. Overall, Santana have released a lot of albums better than Marathon but at least it's better than the "Carlos Santana & Special Guests" albums he's been putting out for the last decade.

I purchased this on vinyl when it came out and I still like this album. Carlos still had the fire in his belly. What he's doing nowadays is OK but I can't get too worked up about it. He has softened up his sound and records sales go up, wow, not THERE'S A shocker!!

Even though I am not too excited by what he's doing these days Carlos will always have a place in my heart. Although he's got some good stuff out there his first 3 CDs are still classics to me. Listen to the track TOUSSAINT L'OVERTURE from his 3rd album, for me THAT was the classic Santana sound and nobody did THAT better!! Nobody!!

[..]

This album ranks least among many good releases for this great artist, and was the first Santana album to drop below the 500,000 sales mark necessary for gold record certification.
The music on this CD falls, some in the Pop Rock genre and some in the Latin Rock, yet it is difficult to give it a perfect identity or description. Santana seems lost between his love for the Rock Jazz Fusion music, his worries about sales and his commercial rank among the big Rock artists.
Bottom line "Marathon" is for the hardcore Santana fans only.
Other great Santana releases:
1. Santana
2. Abraxas
3. Santana III
4. Love, Devotion and Surrender. (Jazz-Rock-Fusion)
5. Caravanserai (Jazz-Rock)
6. Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles.

I remember when "Marathon" came out and the local radio staion started playing "Hard Times". Good solid rocking there, and the band at my high school prom played "Stand Up/Runnin'". I, too, love the instrumental "Aqua Marine". Generally the album flows quite well although it has a more pop feel than other releases which may turn off some listeners.