January 1977 - Festival

Happy New Year! The first album I have from 1977 came out in January, 10 months after the release of "Amigos" last year, Santana released their eighth album "Festivàl". As we've come to expect, there are several line-up changes since the last album that I thought was pretty good. The only remaining members from "Amigos" are Carlos Santana on guitars and Tom Coster on keyboards. Gone are drummers Leon Chancler and Armando Peraza, singer Greg Walker and original bassist David Brown. I'm not sure I like all this turnover! A couple familiar faces return to the fold as original percussionist José Areas is back and so is lead singer/keyboardist Leon Patillo who was on "Borboletta". They return to having two percussionists, also recruiting Raul Rekow as well as new main drummer Gaylord Birch. The bass duties are split between two guys: Paul Jackson and Pablo Tellez. That is a lot of new faces, some old faces, and a whole new Santana! Let's dive right in!

The album kicks off with "Carnaval", which opens with a whistle and some fast percussion by both Areas and Rekow. I always love the speedy conga parts and this is no exception. Patillo sings in both Spanish and English in this song and he does a decent job at both languages. Coster adds some cool keyboards at the end of the song and this is a lively opener to this new album. It leads right into the next song, "Let The Children Play" and Carlos takes it away with a nice, smooth guitar riff. The bass is pretty cool as well in this slow rock riff as Patillo sings along. His voice isn't bad, but it's nothing special either as he sings in both Spanish and English again on this one. Birch plays some nice drums and after a couple verses Coster goes off for a pretty sweet organ solo! He plays some awesome stuff and Patillo plays some nice backing piano as they bring it back to the main verse. This is another pretty cool song and it also connects right into the next one, the 2-plus minute "Jugando". Areas and Rekow are both at it again as they both play some fantastic congas and timbales throughout this short song. Carlos leads the way at first with a cool guitar riff in this instrumental but Coster takes over with some pretty crazy keyboards! I think it sounds pretty intense and all three songs so far are full of energy and life! Carlos takes lead again and plays a nasty guitar solo that sounds pretty amazing! Another great song! Track 4 is "Give Me Love" and they slow it down on this one with a basic riff that has some nice horns leading the way. Patillo sings along in a voice that sounds more like his "Borboletta" stuff as he sounds more emotional. There are some female back-up singers that sound alright but I don't think really add anything. The horns continue to sound pretty great as I think they are definitely the highlight of this otherwise pretty tame song. They jam out the chorus several times as the song slowly fades to a close with Carlos adding a few nice guitar licks in here and there. The next song "Verao Vermelho" is an Elis Regina cover, a Brazilian musician. Carlos plays some cool Spanish guitar that sounds pretty epic as Areas plays some nice timbales as well. Carlos starts off on a new riff and the back-up singers copy his quick riff in a cool verse. Carlos then goes off playing some very quick stuff that sounds great. It's a decent main riff that carries the rest of the song as Carlos continues to pick and choose his moments to speed things up and really give it his all. He continues to play some great stuff as the song fades to an end. The side ends with "Let The Music Set You Free" as Coster opens this one with a cool keyboard bit and Carlos plays some cool guitar to segue into the main riff. It's a classic Santana beat with solid drumming, some nice bass and Coster leading the way on organ. Several members all sing the title together and everyone sounds like they're having fun jamming along. Areas and Rekow play some more speedy percussion that sounds great as Carlos picks his moments to show off his skills. The last minute is one extended solo for Carlos as he plays some wonderful guitar as this first side slowly fades to a close. I thought it had a ton of energy and good music, well done!

Side two begins with "Revelations" which opens with some slow, sad piano by Coster. Carlos joins in with some slow guitar that sounds pretty great as he and Coster carry this song together. Birch plays a marching drum beat and Coster adds some background keyboards that sound nice as Carlos leads the way with his epic guitar playing. Areas and Rekow join in with some cool timbales around three minutes in and this is when Carlos really speeds things up. He and Coster both play some much faster stuff and it sounds quite good together as they both play their separate solos. This instrumental awesomeness takes us to the end of another pretty solid song. Keep it up guys! Up next is "Reach Up" and Jackson leads a slow main riff with some cool bass. It's a very catchy, bouncing beat and Carlos plays some smooth guitar overtop. The female back-up singers show up again as they sing the majority of vocals in this song. It's not a bad singing voice, but I don't like it in this setting, i'd rather just let Carlos lead the way. Coster comes in for some epic keyboards that sound amazing as he delivers a great short solo and then it's Carlos's turn to solo! Unsurprisingly he has some sweet stuff to play in his short solo, then it's back to Coster for more awesome keyboards! They go back and forth, trading short solos in a really freaking great part as these two guys are the heart and soul of this Santana. They return to the catchy main riff and jam out the last minute or so before the song ends. Up next is "The River" and Coster opens it with some slow, soft keyboards that lead this light riff. Carlos plays overtop and while he's not going crazy, he's playing some fitting, nice stuff. Patillo's voice is soothing as I think he fits nicely in this style. Things get a little louder once they move into the chorus as the rest of the band and the back-up singers all join in. This song is pretty chill and relaxed; it's not as good as the other stuff on this album in my opinion but I suppose hoping for non-stop awesomeness is a bit too much to ask. Track 10 is "Try A Little Harder" and someone opens it by saying "you ready? C'mon man we're gonna party on this one." I like the sound of that as they count it in and Coster leads the way with a cool keyboard riff. The drums and percussion sound good as well as everyone sings the title of the song. Patillo sings the verse by himself and he sounds alright while Carlos adds in bits of sweet guitar. Birch, Areas and Rekow are all playing some nice drums and Carlos does go off for a nice short solo. The whole song is carried by that main riff but as Santana do, they spice it up with different instruments at different times to keep things interesting. Carlos is the highlight with his smooth guitar playing as this song slowly fades out. The album ends with "Maria Caracoles", a cover of P. African. There are a lot of horns in this song, with the trumpet in particular sounding pretty good, as Areas and Rekow kick it off with some more fantastic speedy percussion playing. The vocals are all in Spanish for this one as it truly sounds like Mexican salsa music! Carlos plays some sweet little guitar riffs as he and the horns section lead the way in this pretty cool song. The drumming continues to be fantastic throughout and Coster gets a turn in the spotlight with a pretty nice organ solo! He and Carlos trade solos once again and you certainly can't go wrong there! They both play some fantastic stuff before they bring it back for another Spanish verse to close it out. Another high energy offering and a great way to end another solid Santana record.

That is the end of "Festivàl" and I thought it was a pretty good album overall. There were a couple songs that were slower, but still not bad by any means, and on an 11 song album most of the songs were quite good. Despite all the constant turnover, Carlos Santana and Tom Coster are the best reasons to listen to Santana and they both do not disappoint on this record. But how does it compare to their previous albums? I found this album to be similar to their last one "Amigos" which was also really good. This back to basics Santana style is way better than albums 4-6 but I think "Festivàl" comes up just short of their last album. Still, the 5th best Santana album is still a hell of an album! Keep it up guys!