Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Burnin', November 27, 2001
Lotus was recorded during the heart of Santana's jazz-rock period. But whereas Caravanserai and Welcome (whose lineup is featured here) are relatively quiet, meditate affairs, Lotus is a fiery testament to a band that was at its peak. The guitar playing, mixing speaker-frying leads with more avant-garde sounds, foresees the style Pete Cosey would perfect with Miles Davis a year later; and the rhythm section has loosened up to the point were they can switch from groove to groove effortlessly. Leon Thomas contributes a few vocals ("Black Magic Woman" and his trademark yodelling on "Mr. Udo") but the music is almost entirely instrumental. The long fusion jams -- "Every Step of the Way", "Toussaint L'Overture" and an absolutely bonkers "Incident at Neshabur" -- are definitely high points of this concert. But you can't overlook the 30 minute medley that closes disc 1 either. The only real weak spot is Mike Shrieve's long drum solo "Kyoto" (hey, this was the 70s). If a sound halfway between Caravanserai and Miles Davis's acid funk albums Agharta/Pangaea sounds exciting, you must hear this.
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Well Recieved Album but an Amazing Album Nonetheless, June 17, 2003
Many complaints have been lodged against this album including comments regarding the excess length of songs, the constant noodling, the missing presence of Carlos Santana, the lack of an overall melody, and poor sound quality.To begin with, the length of the songs is excellently chosen. And believe it or not Supernatural fans, each song is well planned out. Most reviewers who have a beef with this album's length don't like jazz to begin with, and desire that Carlos keep within the bounds of his late 60's and late 90's hit making three minute song machine. The greatness of Lotus is its ability to take all of Carlos' beautiful melodies and expand them each into a work of pure awesomeness.
Despite the extended length of songs on Lotus, there is no excessive noodling. Each solo has a central rhythmic and melodic structure that was used to express in a moment what can never been repeated. Unlike earlier Santana albums, Carlos allows other musicians to express beautiful melodies over a palette of amazing chord progressions and tight rhythms. In addition Carlos is in his best recorded form, from the subtlety displayed on Samba Pa Ti to the incredible Incident at Neshabur. Lotus is pure genius if for nothing but the second disk of material. Carlos' Guitar Tone on Lotus is perfect in its ability to express cleanly when played gently and fire up when played with great passion.
Lotus is the single greatest achievement of a guitar player to completely harness and realize the melodic powers of the guitar. No other guitarist I have heard (Jimi, Django, Allman, Clapton, Beck, and even McLaughlin) has unlocked the mystery of a melodic singable solo more completely than Carlos Santana did on this record.
In regards to the recording quality, I believe it to be the best live album ever made. This album is not meant to sound up-front like a studio album or have lots of crowd noise like live albums made in the late 70's till today have. Lotus is meant to sound endless and reverberate with great warmth. The mic positioning, engineering, and mixing is top notch. Every instrument is balanced and every subtlety is audible and clear. If you have never tried to mix a live album, you would never know how hard it is to achieve the level of warmth and tonal quality Lotus produces.
Lotus is within the top five recorded pieces of music of all time. Many years after "Black Magic Woman" and "Smooth" are forgotten, future generations and historians will look upon Lotus as one of the single most important achievements in modern music history. Lotus' sound will be emulated and its ultimate modal scale vision realized in popular music by the end of our lifetimes.
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Too good to be true, May 31, 2002
Lotus is a dream come true. A recording of two Santana concerts in Osaka, Japan in support of Caravanserai, it blends songs from the group's then-current (mid-70s) jazzy period with old favorites, and is dished out by both the "New Santana Band" of the time and the "Old Santana Band." Yes, a live Santana CD with Michael Shrieve, Chepito Areas, and Armando Peraza (New) all on percussion! Tom Coster remains most prominent with his Hammond organ, but Lotus also features Richard Kermode (New) on keyboards. In substance, only one song from Caravanserai is included, a great version of "Every Step of the Way," but Welcome is represented by "Samba de Sausalito" and the pretty "Yours Is the Light." Coster bedazzles on the rockers from the first three albums as well as Airto's Brazilian jazz "Xibaba," one of the best moments in so many great ones. There is a 16-minute, unforgettable version of "Incident at Neshabur," with an extended, lovely coda--What more could you ask for? Carlos's superpowered guitar is mesmerizing, always; the entire atmosphere is otherworldly, dark, beautiful, modern jazzy (there is also a nod to Chick Corea), and most of all, electrifying. Early Santana and Lotus rule.
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is one of Santana's 
