Abraxas (album)

Abraxas
Album cover from a painting by Mati Klarwein
Studio album by Santana
Released	September 1970 (1970-09)
Recorded	April 17–May 2, 1970
Studio	Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre	Latin rock, chicano rock, jazz-rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock
Length	37:32
Label	CBS KC-30130
Producer	Fred Catero, Carlos Santana
Santana chronology
Santana (1969) Abraxas (1970) Santana III (1971)
Singles from Abraxas
"Black Magic Woman" Released: 1970 "Oye Como Va" Released: 1971 "Hope You're Feeling Better" Released: 1971

Abraxas is the second studio album by latin rock band Santana. Building upon the interest generated by their first album released in August 1969 entitled Santana and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band released Abraxas in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa, and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.

In 2016, the album was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance."^[1]

Title

The title of the album, which features Mati Klarwein's 1961 painting, Annunciation, on the cover,^[2] comes from a line in Hermann Hesse's book, Demian, quoted on the album's back cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...." The word "Abraxas" has use within Gnostic cosmology.^[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+[5]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]

Music

Abraxas features a mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as showcased electric guitar, organ, and heavy drums. The album also demonstrates Santana's stylistic versatility, including tracks such as "Samba Pa Ti" (a classic slow-burning piece)^[8] and "Incident at Neshabur", both being instrumentals. The latter has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion — congas, bongos and timbales, as well as a conventional rock drum setup, expanded Santana's foray into Latin rhythm. The piece 'Samba Pa Ti' was originally recorded in the key of G, and is in fact two separate unfinished pieces which were combined to a single piece comprising a slow emotive first part followed by an extended play out in a faster tempo; This piece along with 'Black Magic Woman,' written by Peter Green, helped underpin the truly unique blend of Latin American / Blues / Rock style created by the artist.

Legacy

In 2003 the album was ranked number 207 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[9] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[10]

The instrumental, "Samba Pa Ti" ("Samba for You"), was covered by José Feliciano, who added lyrics, and also by Angélique Kidjo, who put lyrics in Yoruba on her album Oyo. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby's book, 31 Songs. It was used in the UK as the background music for TV ads for Marks & Spencer food in 2006. It also was featured as the ending song in the Cold Case episode, "Dead Heat", which aired November 8, 2009.

Abraxas was deemed "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in their National Recording Registry in 2016.

Santana's Abraxas is featured in the 2009 Coen Brothers film A Serious Man as a point of contention regarding the Columbia House Record Club.

Track listing

Later re-issues

Note

• While the original track listing lists track 5 as "Se a Cabo", the correct Spanish spelling for the phrase is "se acabó", meaning "it's over".

Personnel

• Carlos Santana – lead guitar, backing vocals, producer
• Gregg Rolie – keyboards, lead vocals
• David Brown – bass
• Michael Shrieve – drums
• José "Chepito" Areas – percussion, conga, timbales
• Michael Carabello – percussion, conga

Additional personnel

• Rico Reyes – percussion, backing vocals
• Alberto Gianquinto – piano on "Incident at Neshabur"
• Steven Saphore – tabla
• Robert Venosa – artwork, graphic design
• John Fiore David Brown – Audio engineer
• Mati Klarwein – illustrations
• Robert Honablue – mastering engineer original recording

Release history

• In 1990, CBS/Sony published a remastered edition on Audio CD (Universal Product Code: 7464301302 ).
• In 1991, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 552).
• In 1998, Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se A Cabo", "Toussaint L'Overture" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on April 18, 1970.
• In 1998, SME records in Japan, part of Sony Music, also released the remastered version as an SACD. This disc is stereo only, and furthermore, it is a single layer SACD, which means that ordinary CD players will not play it. This disc contains the same bonus tracks as the ordinary 1998 remastered CD.
• In 2008, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc II (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 775) & GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog LP 180g Series (MFSL305).
• In 1997, ARS (Audiophile record service Joerg Kessler) of Germany, released a 180 gram 100% virgin vinyl pressing mastered from the original analog tape. It is (Pallas) Germany pressed. Catalog # Ars 32032.
• In 2016 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a new, limited edition, 45 rpm 2 lp box set of Abraxas called the 1 step (UD1S). The set was limited to 2500 copies worldwide and involved a process where several of the traditional steps in making a vinyl record were bypassed in order to get a more original sound. It is mastered from the original analog tape.

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

References