Abraxas (album)
Abraxas | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 23, 1970 | |||
Recorded | April 17 – May 2, 1970 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:36 | |||
Language | English, Spanish | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | ||||
Santana chronology | ||||
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Singles from Abraxas | ||||
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Abraxas is the second studio album by Latin rock band Santana. It was released on September 23, 1970, by Columbia Records and became the band's first album to reach number one in the United States.[1]
Title
The title of the album originates from a line in Hermann Hesse's 1919 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..."[2]
Songs
Carlos Santana had been interested in
"Incident at Neshabur" was co-written by Santana and his friend Alberto Gianquinto, who played piano on the track. Gregg Rolie played the other keyboards, contrasting with Gianquinto's jazz-influenced style. It ran through various time and key signatures.[3]: 36
The instrumental, "
The first three songs on side one segue into each other, creating a 14-minute, 28-second mini-suite.
Cover art
The album cover features the 1961 painting Annunciation by German-French painter Mati Klarwein.[5] According to the artist, it was one of the first paintings he did after relocating to New York City. Carlos Santana reportedly noticed it in a magazine and asked that it be on the cover of the band's upcoming album.[6] On the back of the record sleeve the cover art is just credited to 'MATI'. It is now considered a classic of rock album covers.[5][7][8] Klarwein went on to design album artwork for many notable artists, including Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Gregg Allman.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C+[10] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable)[11] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
In 2003, the album was ranked No. 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[14] at No. 207 on the 2012 revision of the list,[15] and then again at No. 334 in its 2020 release.[16] In 2000, it appeared at No. 202 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[17] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[18] In 2015, the album was listed among Billboard's 50 Essential Latin Albums of the 50 Past Years.[19]
Rock critic Robert Christgau, in one of his capsule reviews in The Village Voice, at the time of the album's release, gave it a rating of only C+, which denotes "a not disreputable performance, most likely a failed experiment or a pleasant piece of hackwork".[10]
Legacy
Abraxas was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in their National Recording Registry in 2015.[20]
Track listing
Original release
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" ( Oye Cómo Va" | Tito Puente | 4:17 |
4. | "Incident at Neshabur" (Instrumental) | Alberto Gianquinto, Carlos Santana | 4:58 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Se a Cabó" | Samba Pa Ti " (Instrumental) | Santana | 4:45 |
4. | "Hope You're Feeling Better" | Rolie | 4:10 | |
5. | "El Nicoya" | Areas | 1:30 |
1998 bonus tracks
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Se a Cabó" (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 18, 1970)[21] (1998 edition) | 3:47 |
11. | "Toussaint L'Overture" (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 18, 1970) (1998 edition) | 4:52 |
12. | "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 18, 1970) (1998 edition) | 4:57 |
Personnel
Santana
- Carlos Santana – lead guitar, backing vocals, producer[22]
- Gregg Rolie – keyboards, lead vocals
- David Brown – bass
- Michael Shrieve – drums
- José "Chepito" Areas – percussion, conga, timbales
- Michael Carabello – percussion, conga, possible keyboards on "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts"[23] (the latter disputed by Santana)[24]
Additional personnel
- Rico Reyes – backing vocal on "Oye Como Va", backing vocal and percussion on "El Nicoya"
- Alberto Gianquinto – piano on "Incident at Neshabur"
- Fred Catero - Producer[25]
- John Fiore, David Brown – engineer
- Bob Venosa – graphics
- MATI – illustrations
- Marian Schmidt, Joan Chase - photography
Release history
- In 1990, CBS/Sony published a remastered edition on Audio CD (UPC: 7464301302).
- In 1991, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 552).
- 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 1998, Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se a Cabó", "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 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 using a 1/4" / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.[26]
Charts
Chart (1970–1974) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[27] | 1 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[28] | 3 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] | 3 |
Finnish Albums ( The Official Finnish Charts)[30]
|
2 |
French Albums ( SNEP)[31]
|
7 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] | 4 |
Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi)[33]
|
4 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] | 7 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35] | 3 |
UK Albums (OCC)[36] | 7 |
US Billboard 200[37] | 1 |
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
---|---|
25 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[39] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
France ( SNEP)[40]
|
Platinum | 300,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[42] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
See also
References
- ^ Brill, Mark. ""Abraxas"—Santana (1970)" (PDF). Library of Congress. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ a b Reiff, Corbin (September 23, 2015). "45 Years Ago: Santana Deliver a Latin Rock Masterpiece, 'Abraxas'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
^ par. 5:'Samba Pa Ti' was conceived in New York City on a Sunday afternoon. [...] I opened the window I saw this man in the street, he was drunk and he had a saxophone and a bottle of booze in his back pocket. And I kept looking at him because he kept struggling with himself. He couldn't make up his mind which one to put in his mouth first, the saxophone or the bottle and I immediately heard a song. [...] I wrote the whole thing right there.
- ^ from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
- OCLC 1028381794.
- ^ a b Schnabel, Tom (May 27, 2011). "Artists You Should Know: Mati Klarwein". KCRW. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ Klarwein, Serafine. "Annunciation - Abraxas album cover by Mati Klarwein". Mati Klarwein Online Art Gallery. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ Schott, M. (2002). "Santana - Abraxas". The Album Cover Art Gallery. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ Lynch, Joe (August 7, 2023). "The 100 Best Album Covers of All Time". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- AllMusic. Retrieved 2005-09-15.
- ^ ISBN 0-8991-9026-X. Archivedfrom the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Nash, Jim (December 24, 1970). "Santana Abraxas > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 73. Archived from the original on January 16, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.on January 28, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- Portions posted at "Santana > Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original