October 1977 - Moonflower

A month since my last release and 9 months since "Festivàl", Santana released their second album of the year and ninth overall with "Moonflower" in October of 1977. It's their first double album and it's half live music and half new studio music. Interestingly though, they are not separated into a studio and live disc, they are combined and dispersed throughout the double album. This is the first time I've ever seen this and I'm curious to see how it flows. And it wouldn't be a new Santana album without some line-up changes! There's five guys that are on every song on the album, but the live bassist and one live percussionist do not carry over to the studio sessions. We have the two mainstays: Carlos Santana on guitars and Tom Coster on keyboards. The other three full-time members are singer Greg Walker (who was lead vocalist on "Amigos"), percussionist Raul Rekow (who just joined on "Festivàl) and new main drummer Graham Lear. Gone again is Leon Patillo as well as Gaylord Birch from their last album just 9 months ago. The live songs have bassist Pablo Tellez and percussionist José Areas who were both on their last album, but neither of them feature on the new studio songs. Instead we have two more new additions with bassist David Margen and percussionist Pete Escovedo. That's a lot to process, but I'm sure this will be a fun album to listen to, let's dive in!

This double album kicks off with "Dawn / Go Within" as some slow synths and some smooth bass start it off. Walker hums along to the beat briefly before the drums and percussion join in to form the main riff. Coster plays some cool piano while Carlos and Margen play some solid guitar and bass to keep the beat. Coster's piano is pretty good throughout this short song and at the end we hear the live audience for the first time as it segues into the same suite of songs that opened their most recent album, starting with "Carnaval (live)". The transition from studio to live was done pretty well and Areas and Rekow are both playing some speedy percussion. Walker's singing is decent but nothing special on this one as the all the drums are certainly the highlight. Coster plays the same keyboard solo that still sounds pretty cool and just like the studio version this leads right into the next song "Let The Children Play (live)". Carlos leads the way with some great-sounding guitar and I think Walker sounds better on this slower song. The tempo is sped up a little bit and the percussion and bass both sound pretty good. Coster plays some decent keyboards as well and even goes off for a pretty awesome organ solo! Once again, this moves right into the same third song as on the album, "Jugando (live)", completing this cool suite. The guitar riff is solid but it's the insanely fast drumming that sounds fantastic as both Areas and Rekow are just going off! They play things even faster than the studio version, which means the whole band is playing at a furious pace. Coster and Carlos both go off: at times syncing up and at others playing their own stuff, and it all sounds pretty amazing! This is definitely my favourite part of the suite as this two minute instrumental is jam-packed with awesome music. They return to the new studio songs again with "I'll Be Waiting", a song that has a slow, very Santana-like beat. Coster plays some cool keyboards that lead this slow riff as Walker sings in his pretty solid voice. The verse and chorus are both pretty slow and we don't even really notice Carlos' guitar until he plays a cool bit between verses. Walker sings a "bah-bah" wordless bit that doesn't sound bad, but I find it very unexciting as they fill so much time with such a boring part. Carlos is back to spice things up as he plays a guitar solo that sounds very smooth and pretty sweet. Walker returns with his wordless vocals as they slowly jam out the end of this largely unappealing song. The first side ends with "Zulu", another new song which Coster opens with some dark and heavy piano that I think sounds great. He switches to a more upbeat riff as Lear and Rekow join in with some cool drums and then we're off on another typical Santana riff. Carlos leads the way with some epic guitar but Margen's bass sounds really groovy bouncing in the background. It's an interesting couple riffs for sure and both have lots of excellent drumming. Coster plays a wicked little keyboard solo and then it's Carlos's turn as he rips off a sweet guitar solo! They both continue to play some great stuff before we hear a percussion solo as well! Rekow and newcomer Escovedo combine to play a really solid drum solo that takes up the end of the song. I really liked this last song as it had a ton of cool stuff all happening at once. Nicely done!

Side two opens with "Bahia" which is only a minute and a half long. It's driven by a nice bass riff and has some cool congas  and guitar as well. Coster leads the way with some more great keyboards and for such a short song it has some decent music squeezed in. Up next is possibly their biggest song, "Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen (live)" from "Abraxas". Coster's organ starts it off and it seems that they're playing this song a little faster than usual as well. Carlos' guitar sounds as epic as ever and the percussionists sound solid as well. Walker's singing is alright but I don't think he comes close to replacing the great Gregg Rolie. Carlos continues to play some great lead guitar throughout this first half and once things shift into "Gypsy Queen" things get even better! The drums really pick up and everybody is jamming out together as Carlos breaks from the pack to play his epic guitar. This part is a bit extended compared to the original as we hear some sweet guitar played overtop a chorus of awesome drums. They draw out the speedy ending riff which sounds pretty great as well before finally bringing this cool song to a close. Track 9 is "Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana) (live)" as this and the next song are both off of "Amigos". This seems like a great choice for a live show and the beat sounds great as I'm sure the audience was dancing the night away. Walker sung this song originally as well so he seems right at home in this one. The percussion sounds great in the background as Carlos leads the riff with his catchy guitar. Coster plays some solid piano as well and Carlos goes off for a solo that sounds pretty awesome! It's a pretty long solo that is filled with great stuff slow and fast as Carlos reminds us why he's one of the greats. Things settle down a bit as Tellez plays a nice bass riff to drive this new part and Carlos goes off again briefly. Coster takes over lead now with an interesting keyboard solo that sounds good, but I think the guitar sounded way better. He also gets an extended solo that does get better as it goes on as he is really going insane by the end of it! This takes us right to the end of this song and so far all the live songs have been pretty great! Side two ends with "Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile) (live)" and Carlos leads the way with his smooth, amazing guitar. Coster plays some soothing organ in the background but this is an extended showcase for Carlos as his fingers slowly dance up and down his guitar. Things start to speed up about halfway through as Carlos picks up the pace and continues to play some great guitar. This faster part sounds pretty good but I think I enjoyed the studio version more.

The second disc of this double album kicks off with "She's Not There", a cover of a '50s song by the Zombies that was also the lead single off this record. It opens with some bass and what I believe is a xylophone syncing up for a cool beat as the rest of the band slowly joins in. Walker's voice sounds pretty good as he sings along to this smooth riff and Carlos adds some nice guitar as well. I like Walker's yelling in the chorus and afterwards Carlos goes off for a guitar solo that sounds pretty awesome! They return for another solid chorus as this cover sounds pretty sweet. Carlos takes the lead once again as he continues to play lots of great stuff. Lear and Rekow both play some nice drums as well as they continue to rock out all the way until the song fades out. Another pretty good new song! Track 12 is the title track, "Flor D'Luna (Moonflower)" and this has a very smooth, Latin riff driven by some beautiful guitar by Carlos. Margen's bass is solid as well and Coster plays some background organ but once again it's all about our main man Carlos. Rekow and Escovedo add in some excellent percussion that fits the mood very well as Carlos starts to spice things up a bit. Things sound pretty great in this part before they slow it down again and repeat the formula. It's certainly not as good the second time around but it still sounds good as they jam out the main riff until another fadeout. Side three ends with the longest song on the album, "Soul Sacrifice / Head, Hands & Feet" which clocks in at 14 minutes. It's an extended version of the song off their debut album with lots of new stuff! It opens with some speedy percussion by Areas and Rekow and Tellez adds a cool bass riff as well. Carlos finally joins as we hear the epic chorus riff before he takes off on another excellent solo. It sounds pretty fantastic as he is really shredding it and once he's done it's back to the speedy drumming. Lear is helping keep the pace while the percussionists go off for their own solos! I can't tell what is Areas and what is Rekow but the congas/timbales sound pretty awesome! Then it's Lear's turn in the spotlight as we hear a regular drum kit solo, a bit of a rarity for Santana! He doesn't disappoint though as Lear plays some really great stuff! It's a wonderful drum solo and at the end of it he ties it right back into the "Soul Sacrifice" chorus! After the chorus it's time for another extended solo as Carlos takes center stage once again. After some more sweet guitar Coster wants a turn in the spotlight and he also impresses with a cool keyboard solo. Things slow down a bit after this latest solo as Carlos continues to lead the way on guitar while we hear some solid background organ and drums. They start to speed it up and once again segue nicely back into the chorus after another fantastic instrumental bit. Lear plays a bit more cool drums and then it's time for a very long rock and roll flourish ending! It's almost two minutes long as everyone, but mostly Carlos, let it all out in this pretty superb ending. With all of these different, amazing solos this is my top pick so far from this record. What a show that would have been!

Side four is back in the studio and begins with "El Morocco". Coster plays a solid keyboard riff as we hear Lear come in on drums. Carlos's guitar sounds pretty epic as he begins a new riff. Margen's bass and Coster's piano sound great in the background as Carlos and Coster take turns soloing over this beat! Coster plays some crazy keyboards in addition to the backing piano as both he and Carlos play off each other and both play some wicked stuff. Things slow down for a second, but they kick right back into it as our two mainstays of Santana continue to blow my mind. It's another pretty great instrumental song and it ends with a bit of an odd bit. Coster's piano sounds pretty good but it doesn't really fit the style of the rest of the song at all. Track 15 is called "Transcendance" and Margen starts it off with a soft bass riff. Coster adds some background keyboards as things move into a slow rock beat and Walker hits some pretty high notes while singing slowly along. Carlos's guitar sounds epic as usual as they spice up this slow beat a bit. Coster plays some cool keyboards and once the drumming pace picks up, it's time for another Carlos guitar solo. He doesn't disappoint, playing some more incredibly fast stuff that sounds awesome! Walker lets out a big yell that brings things back to the verse as they slowly jam out the end. This double album is finally finishing with a 13-minute combination of two of their older songs, "Savor / Toussaint L'Overture (live)". Areas and Rekow are both playing some fast percussion to start this one off as they both sound great. Coster comes in and takes the lead with an extended keyboard solo that sounds pretty freaking great! After this awesome near 3-minute solo Coster moves to the background and lets the drumming take center stage again. Between Lear, Areas and Rekow we hear an awesome mix of drums that sound fantastic together! It quiets down to just the two percussionists as we hear a conga/timbales solo! It sounds pretty sweet to me as they take it away for a solid couple minutes. This segues beautifully into "Toussaint L'Overture" as the rest of the band rejoins! Coster and Carlos lead the way as they both play some great stuff and then they move into the "verse". This part has Spanish lyrics sung intermittently but it's mostly another excellent drum solo as we hear some more fantastic speedy congas. Carlos takes the lead for a brief, but great guitar solo and then it's Coster's turn as he goes off on a wonderful organ solo! Everything sounds amazing as this song is just one awesome part into the next! Carlos takes lead again and continues to play some amazing guitar. They continue to alternate while the amazing drums continue in the background as Coster whips off another excellent organ solo. Carlos returns for one final solo while Walker sings some more Spanish lyrics. It sounds pretty awesome and he ends it with one final note that echoes as we hear the audience for the last time and the album comes to an end. Another phenomenal song and a perfect way to end this interesting mash-up album.

That is the end of "Moonflower" and I thought that it was an excellent album! My two favourites were the extended live tracks; both of them are chock full of wonderful musicianship, but all the live songs were pretty great and most of the studio ones were quite good as well! For an album that is over 80 minutes long it never feels like it's dragging at all as Santana wonderfully blend their fantastic live shows with some pretty great new studio music. But where does it fall on the Santana ladder? I think that this new album had the best elements of their most recent albums and easily surpasses anything after the third album. I really enjoyed this latest offering and although some may disagree, I also thought that it was better than any of the original three albums. "Santana III" was my previous favourite, and I definitely prefer Gregg Rolie over Greg Walker on vocals, but there is just so much overwhelming awesomeness on "Moonflower" that I think it takes the top spot. Unfortunately Santana also fell victim to the disease that seemed to be killing off great rock bands from the early '70s and, in my opinion, stopped making high quality albums. This will not be the last we will hear of Santana in my library, but it will be the last album I have by them for a long time. What a way to sail off into the sunset!