November 9, 1973 - Welcome

A little over a year after "Caravanserai", Santana released their fifth album "Welcome" on November 9, 1973. This album is much more experimental than even their last one, but continues the heavy jazz and instrumental themes. It also has a very different line-up as both Neal Schon and original member Gregg Rolie left the band to form Journey (ick). Acoustic bassist Tom Rutley is also gone, as is percussionist James "Mingo" Lewis. Lewis will be missed a little, he seemed like a good drummer, but the departure of Rolie stings deep as he is just such an amazing singer and keyboardist. Three original members remain: Carlos of course, drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionist José "Chepito" Areas. Bassist Douglas Rauch is still here from last album and percussionist Armando Peraza, who briefly appeared last album, is now a full-time member. Rolie is so talented, he needed 3 people to replace him! Santana adds two keyboardists on this record with Tom Coster and Richard Kermode and also a new lead singer, Leon Thomas. Santana has drastically changed, let's check out this new experimental direction!

Side one kicks off with "Going Home" which is an adaptation of a symphony by Antonin Dvorak, arranged by the band and Alice Coltrane who plays guest keyboards. Kermode's Mellotron is the lead instrument and he plays some cool stuff but there is lots of background keyboards and drums. So many drum and cymbal hits! With three keyboardists and three drummers this is truly instrumental madness at it's best. It is very unlike old Santana, but I thought it was a cool introduction to the album. It leads right into "Love, Devotion & Surrender" and a cool intro by Carlos. The main verse is a much more standard song structure and Thomas is on lead vocals. His voice sounds soulful, and to me sounds pretty good. We hear some cool keyboards and bass and guest singer Wendy Haas sings the second verse, her voice is good as well. Thomas adds some more emotion when he sings the third verse and the two sing the chorus together as this seems a more typical Santana outing. Track 3 is the instrumental "Samba De Sausalito" and the keyboards and lots of percussion sound pretty cool. Kermode and Coster play different keyboards but they sound pretty sweet together. Areas and Peraza keep pace with some cool congas Nd there is lots of great electric piano from both players that sounds awesome! The next song is titled "When I Look Into Your Eyes" and Thomas'singing sounds pretty good as he sings this love song. There's some great keyboards and congas throughout the song as well as a guest flute trio! They sound nice, especially the lead flute by Joe Farrell. Around the 4:00 mark some trippy keyboards start a new funky riff with some great bass by Rauch that plays out until the end of the song. Side one ends with "Yours Is The Light" as a catchy guitar riff carries the song and we hear some cool keyboards as well. Guest singer Flora Purim is on lead vocals and she has a very high voice. Carlos gives us a little solo as piano carries the beat behind him. It's a pretty sweet extended solo and it is the first real one of the album so far. Purim's singing is alright but nothing special.

Side two begins with "Mother Africa" which is a cover of jazz flutist Herbie Mann. It's another instrumental with lots of cool percussion and led by a catchy keyboard riff. Areas plays some sweet timbales and there's a trippy keyboard solo. There's also some guest saxophone that sounds pretty sweet! I thought it was a very cool song with lots of great drumming. The next track is called "Light Of Life" and it opens with a string section that sounds very epic. A more Santana-like keyboard riff segues into the first verse with Thomas' soulful voice. The strings are still very prominent and it's different for Santana but it sounds nice. The keyboard solo is solid and great throughout this whole interesting song. Track 8 is called "Flame - Sky" and is an 11 and a half minute instrumental with guest guitarist John McLaughlin, who did an album with Santana earlier this year. I can't tell if it's John or Carlos, but the guitar is very good with some space-y keyboards backing. Shrieve's nice drumming segues into a new riff led by some great keyboards. Again, not sure if it's Coster or Kermode, but it sounds fantastic! One of them solos on one keyboard, while the other solos on a different one and it sounds pretty awesome! Guitar takes over lead again with more great stuff as Carlos and McLaughlin are both playing electric guitar. They also play some really fantastic stuff, and this song is pretty much non-stop solos the whole way through! This may not be radio-friendly, but it's Santana at their best in my opinion. The last song on the record is "Welcome" which is a cover of a song by John Coltrane, who had recently died. His widow Alice (who featured on the first song of this album) also plays piano on this instrumental, title track cover. The piano sounds pretty great and it's some really fast stuff, along with much slower guitar. There are lots of fast cymbal hits similar to "Going Home" as well. Carlos' guitar is cool, but the piano is non-stop awesomeness! It's never really in the forefront, but it certainly sounds wonderful. A very calm, relaxing song and a fitting way to end this very different Santana album.

That is the end of "Welcome" and I thought that while it is certainly unlike any of Santana's previous albums, that it had a lot of good stuff on it. Two keyboardists might seem unnecessary, but Santana put them to excellent use in lots of ways on this album. Leon Thomas voice is pretty good, but most of the music is instrumental, which is what makes the best Santana music in my mind. But how does it compare to their other stuff? I liked this one a lot more than last year's "Caravanserai", but is it good enough to crack their first three albums? I don't think "Welcome" quite reaches that mark, as even "Santana" is chock full of some great instrumental music. Though it will have to settle for 4th, I still thought it was a very good record and I am excited to see where Santana go from here!