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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
(4.5 stars) Another fine example of Santana at his peak, May 20, 2008
Second guitarist Neil Schon made his debut with the group here. I don't think he's a bad guitarist at all (quite to the contrary), but taking into account how good the group's primary guitarist is, why even bother with a second player? And the guy overuses wah-wah. I have no problem with wah-wah, either. In fact, I think it sounds great, especially when played by Jimi Hendrix or Curtis Mayfield. But with Schon, it's way too much of a good thing. You know, "Hey, guess what's on my guitar? A wah-wah pedal! You wanna hear it?" "No thanks, man, we heard it last song." "No, no, really! Listen! I can distort it, too!". However, he can still play, and his solos are a lot of what makes this the classic that it is. Would "No One to Depend On" be the same without him and Carlos' face-off near the end? No. Of course not. His solo on "Taboo" (or at least I think it's him, it's certainly in his style) is fascinating too, even though the song itself isn't the best. He also adds a rock edge to "Jungle Strut". And the presence of "Touissant L'Overture", my favorite Santana song, sure helps. It's drama at its finest, and the fade, where Schon, Carlos and Greg Rolie trade solos like a star basketball team, is awesome. Other fantastic songs abound, including the jazzy, slightly dark salsa tribute "Guajira", the funky hit "Everybody's Everything", and the ambitious opener "Batuka" (though Schon truly overdoes the wah pedal on both), and the jangly, optimistic "Everything's Coming Our Way". As usual, one should probably ignore the lyrics, and the unamusing "Vehicle" tribute/parody "Para Los Rumberos" weakens the album a bit. Just a bit, though - I'd still call it a classic, and the most accessible of Santana's lot.
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 Santana III B0000024XA
Santana
Sony
Santana III
Music
(4.5 stars) Another fine example of Santana at his peak
Second guitarist Neil Schon made his debut with the group here. I don't think he's a bad guitarist at all (quite to the contrary), but taking into account how good the group's primary guitarist is, why even bother with a second player? And the guy overuses wah-wah. I have no problem with wah-wah, either. In fact, I think it sounds great, especially when played by Jimi Hendrix or Curtis Mayfield. But with Schon, it's way too much of a good thing. You know, "Hey, guess what's on my guitar? A wah-wah pedal! You wanna hear it?" "No thanks, man, we heard it last song." "No, no, really! Listen! I can distort it, too!". However, he can still play, and his solos are a lot of what makes this the classic that it is. Would "No One to Depend On" be the same without him and Carlos' face-off near the end? No. Of course not. His solo on "Taboo" (or at least I think it's him, it's certainly in his style) is fascinating too, even though the song itself isn't the best. He also adds a rock edge to "Jungle Strut". And the presence of "Touissant L'Overture", my favorite Santana song, sure helps. It's drama at its finest, and the fade, where Schon, Carlos and Greg Rolie trade solos like a star basketball team, is awesome. Other fantastic songs abound, including the jazzy, slightly dark salsa tribute "Guajira", the funky hit "Everybody's Everything", and the ambitious opener "Batuka" (though Schon truly overdoes the wah pedal on both), and the jangly, optimistic "Everything's Coming Our Way". As usual, one should probably ignore the lyrics, and the unamusing "Vehicle" tribute/parody "Para Los Rumberos" weakens the album a bit. Just a bit, though - I'd still call it a classic, and the most accessible of Santana's lot.
finulanu ""the mysterious""
May 20, 2008
- Overall: 5
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