Customer Reviews

Welcome

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Continuing the path that Caravanserai started on, Welcome is what jazz fusion really is all about. Released in 1973 between two world tours, Welcome showcased Santana's ability to play excellent music, even after Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon left the band. This album shows a high level of maturation in the band's music. Santana went from Afro-Cuban/rock jams, to highly sophisticated compositions.
The "latin" feel is virtually gone in this album. "Only Samba de Sausalito" and "Yours Is the Light" show a hint of latin music in them. Nevertheless, all the songs on the album are very good. The highlight of the album, however, is "Flame Sky".
This 11 minute song showcases Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin's breathtaking guitar work.
This album is highly recommended for Santana fans and Jazz fans as well. However, if you are new to Santana and you are expecting to hear songs such as "Oye Como Va" and "Evil Ways", you might want to get this album a little later, after you have familiarized yourself with Santana's music. You also might want to get Caravanserai first too.

Of all the recording Santana has made over 35 years. This is his most unique. Carlos went totally conceptual on this. With a totally unique and new band and special guests such as Flora Purim, Airto, Wendy Haas, John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham, Carlos expands greatly upon what he attempted in "Caravanserai". The title track is one of the most poignant and beatiful renditions of the John Coltrane piece. You can't feel this one, you're in trouble. Mother Africa is a percussive, jazzy, wonder of a piece. It features a driving polyrhythmic percussion section, sax solo and beautiful melody. Flame-Sky is a fusion piece with Carlos and John McLaughlin playing off one another much in the way they did in their Love Devotion Surrender collaboration. "Samba De Sausalito" is the most Santana-like of the pieces. Then there is a the stunning "Yours Is The Light" featuring Airto Moreira on percussion and the melliflous crystal clear voice of Flora Purim. Carlos performs one of his most stunning solos on this one. It shows how closely he is listening because he doesn't overplay it but gives the piece exactly what it needs. "When I Look Into Your Eyes" is also an expansive piece featuring a driving beat and Leon Thomas' lead vocal and unusual warbling in background. It works very well. Carlos is very selective as to where and in what pieces he will solo. A very interesting recording. His jazziest. His playing was in top form here.

Long before he became boring (right after Shango), long before he had to hook up with young kids to catch the young set, before any of these kids were even born, there was "Welcome," an excellent album on its first side (for those of us old enough to know exactly what that is), and a decent enough one on its reverse. "Love, Devotion and Surrender" is clearly the breakout hit here, although the entire first side is excellent. Things lag a bit on the B-side (too much intospection, not nough groove), but not enough to mar the entire effort.

Welcome gets four, not five, stars for this reason only: it is the second part of what is, in retrospect, a three-album documentation of Carlos Santana's period with the guru Sri Chinmoy. This period began with Caravanserai, followed by Welcome then Borboletta. To appreciate Santana's growth during this period, one must take these three albums together as a single body of work (and Columbia should consider a special release in which they are packaged that way).

The Caravanserai-Welcome-Borboletta triple play was a departure from the initial Santana incarnation that began with Santana's debut (Evil Ways, Jingo, etc.)and ended amid the tension and hard feelings that surrounded the recording of Santana III (Everybody's Everything, No One to Depend On, et. al.). The highlight of that debut period was Abraxas.

But unlike Caravanserai, Welcome and Borboletta (actually 4, 5, and 6 in the complete Santana discography), only one of the early Santana albums are today necessary, and that is, of course, Abraxas.

Not so Caravanserai, Welcome and Borboletta, and though they have never been champions in terms of numbers of albums sold, they collectively represent sustained vision and Santana's best work. Each are vital for those interested in Carlos Santana's career, one that would sputter soon thereafter (the music would flare to molten intensity at times as Amigos and Moonflower would prove). The result was a perplexing and maddening two-decade slump that did not end until the release of Supernatural, finally a full-force achievement in terms of artistic clarity and mature pop music vision.

One wonders if Carlos Santana will ever create as audaciously again.

The overall sound on this CD is lush, breezy and very much a record to be played during the summertime. The vocals of the great Leon Thomas haunt one and Santanas guitarwork is very restrained. On one track it's unleashed. "Flame Sky" is a guitar battle between Carlos & John McLaughlin and is set just around a basic E minor/F major 7th chord progression...very simple..that's until the solos fly and both guitarists float in outer space! McLaughlins classic machine gun,rapid fire riffs will scorch the hair on your head.
Definitely one of the highest points in the careers of both men.
A stunningly beautiful album throughout that is once again inspired largely by the music of the great John Coltrane.

This album has some of the most obscure, jazz oriented Santana pieces recorded at that time. "Welcome" expands on the Caravanserai directions with a host of new musicians. This album is rich with color, texture and emotion. Michael Shrieve's drumming is spectacular. Although this album may not be for the mainstream Santana fan - it is a masterpiece!

Wow!! This is my favorite Santana album. It is not a rock album or a fusion album but a classic improvised Jazz album with strong Latin, fusion and eastern influences.

The album has John Mclaughflin (fellow Chinmoy disciple at the time) playing on some tracks including the 11 minute `Flame sky'.

This album has some of the most delectable jazzy songs ever done by any rock or fusion artist. Songs like 'love Devotion and surrender', 'yours is the light' and 'when I look into your eyes' are clear masterpieces. All very hard to digest initially (like the first ever taste of beer) but amazing once you get the feel of the songs.

There are quite a few instrumentals all very fine and interesting with the opener being relatively mundane but all the other instrumentals are really great from mellow Latin jazz to furious concoction of heady fusion in 'flame sky' where the guitar duel between Carlos and John is worth the money of the album.

A few important points on this album:

1. This is not the average Santana work, rock or from the jazzy period. One needs to here this one with an open mind.

2. With the exceptions of a couple of numbers the guitar is not the most prominent instrument.

3. Vocals are very different and mellower compared to anything you would have ever heard by the Band.

4. Tom Coaster on the Keyboards really shines on this one along with the rhythm section of drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionist Armando Peraza.

Every time I listen to `Welcome' I love it more as all the songs are great and one can find something new, interesting and amazing with every listen.

All in all, `Welcome' is one of those albums which cannot be compared to any other album or style because of its uniqueness.