Welcome [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Santana | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 30, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000AKY7O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,662 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

On the group's fifth album released in 1973, ''the New Santana Band,'' as it was called, was an octet. Musically, the album was something of a companion piece to Carlos Santana's duet album with John McLaughlin, Love Devotion Surrender, even including a s

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Latin Rock, Jazz and Fusion, February 23, 2007

By 

W. Noshie (Beirut, Lebanon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Welcome (Audio CD)

Welcome is Santana's Fifth studio recording album; Nothing like Santana I, Abraxas or Santana III; yet a pure state of art (Latin Jazz Rock fusion) musical release.

After his great success in his first 3 releases, Santana begins to discover new musical routes hand in hand with the Great guitarist John Mc Laughlin.

They release this CD hand in hand with "Love, Devotion and surrender".
Back in 1973, both albums were disregarded by most of the radio stations and even by most of Santana fans, who expected a more Latin Rock albums.

Obviously Carlos Santana was deviating from his original Latin Rock roots sound and taking the Jazz Rock fusion path.

Back to "Welcome"; if you are a Santana guitar fan, you will be pleased listening to this album today; it did not age one single minute.
If you are into Jazz, Rock and Fusion, this album would fit as a real Jewel in your musical collection.

Last and not Least; If you like this CD, I believe you would probably enjoy the following releases as well:
1. Love Devotion and Surrender by Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin
2. Caravanserai by Santana
3. Illuminations by Santana
4. Devotion by John McLaughlin

Welcome to the great Jazz Fusion sounds and music; Highly recommended.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Santana embraces spirituality (4.5 stars), March 5, 2006

By 

John Alapick (Wilkes-Barre, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Welcome (Audio CD)

Just as on their previous release, Caravanserai, Welcome sees Santana complementing their Latin rock sound with a jazz feel. Although there aren't any bonafide classics here like "Evil Ways" or "Black Magic Woman", the music and lyrics on Welcome embrace spirituality more than their music had previously. Also worth noting is that while Caravanserai must be listened to its entirety to fully digest, Welcome is more of a song-based collection. The opening "Going Home" continues the Santana trend of the instrumental opener providing the feel for the rest of the album. In this case, the organs provide a majestic churchlike feel before piano and Carlos' ringing guitar lines provide a feeling of peace. This kicks right into the funky "Love, Devotion and Surrender", a track where Carlos, Wendy Haas, and Leon Thomas share vocal duties, with each of them adding a little more emotion as the song progresses. "When I Look Into Your Eyes" is a love poem put to music with a dated keyboard outro while the excellent "Yours Is The Light" features near operatic vocals from Flora Purim. "Light Of Life", with its strings and majestic vocals from Thomas, is also a highlight. As for the instrumentals, both "Mother Africa" and "Flame Sky" are two of the band's best with the former featuring a killer sax solo from Jules Broussard while the latter contains wicked solos from both Carlos and guest guitarist John McLaughlin. The original closing title track projects a similar feel to its opener, one of eternal peace. The bonus track, "Mantra", has a very chaotic feel, similar in intensity to "Flame Sky", and complements the album well. Although not quite as cohesive as their first four albums, Welcome is a strong musical statement that still blows most of today's music, including Santana's more recent output, right out of the water.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Santana's top five albums, February 7, 2000

By 

kireviewer (Sunnyvale, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Welcome (Audio CD)

This is the first Santana album after Carlos got into his religious/mystic stage. It is quite a departure from other material by the "group", although Carlos does have a number of solo albums along the same lines. It is more of a jazz fusion than the traditional latin beat. There is a duet with John McLaughlin and a cover of a Herbie Hancock number. There are also three excellent jazz flavored songs. Fans of the more traditional Santana music might not appreciate this experimentation into jazz, while the jazz fusion fans might not appreciate the latin rhythms. I found it to be an excellent merger of the two styles.