LIVE AT THE FILLMORE, 1968

Few guitarists deliver such an expressive and distinctive guitar sound as Carlos Santana. It's based upon a wide range of musical influences. He grew up in the tough Mexican border city Tijuana and music was always around: the entire family listened to the Mexican - and South-American pop songs and his father was the leader of a Mariachi orchestra. At the age of ten Carlos joined his father on the violin, this instrument turned out to be the foundation for his flowing and expressive guitar because in mariachi the violin is often used as a counterpart of the vocals. And of course it also hosts Santana his trademark 'the sustain'. After a few years he was fed up with the limitations of the mariachi music and, inspired by his 'USA' minded mother, he got in touch with the rhythm and blues like T Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, The Shadows Freddy and BB King. When the Santana family moved to San Fransisco, young Carlos embraced the florishing music scene. He became a frequent visitor of the famous music club The Fillmore West and witnessed gigs from The Doors, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Mike Bloomfield, Peter Green, Buddy Guy and BB King. Within a few years Carlos developped into a very promising and acclaimed guitar player who earned good money with playing at clubs. And he stood side by side jamming on stage with his hero Mike Bloomfield. After meeting piano/Hammond player Gregg Rolie he started the Santana Blues Band in '66 (as a tribute to The Paul Butterfield Blues Band featuring Mike Bloomfield), he often joined the conga players in the Aquatic Park in North Beach, the rest is history ...!...

This 2-CD was recorded at the abovementioned Fillmore West music club in December '68. The booklet information: "You are about to experience an exciting, electrified chunk of rock history with four nights of mind bending, improv-infused live shows". The announcement: ".. rightout of the belly of San Fransisco .. Santana!" And what about the music? Well, you can hear that Santana was on a musical crossroad: he had started as the Santana Blues Band but gradually he began to incorporate rock (Jimi Hendrix), jazz (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Buddy Miles and Gregg Rolie his hero Jimmy Smith) and Afro- Cuban percussion (Tito Puente and the song Jingo-Lo-Ba by a Nigerian drummer on his album Drums Of Passion). In general the songs are like jams with great chemistry between Carlos Santana his guitar and Gregg Rolie his Hammond B3 organ and we can enjoy lots of excellent soli. The atmospheres range from blues (like the Albert King cover As The Years Go Passing By with a great wailing voice by Gregg and intense howling runs by Carlos) and rock (fiery and biting guitar in Persuasion) to Latin-rock (Jingo and Soul Sacrefice delivering hot percussion play) and jazz (Treat with moving work on piano). This 2-C set also includes the previously unreleased tracks Chunk A Funk, Fied Neckbones, Conquistadores Rides Again and the half hour composition Freeway (mindblowing Hammond work).

If you like early Santana and want to be carried away by his amazing guitarwork, exciting percussion and floods of Hammond organ, check out this historical document. I would like to end with this remark: the main goal of the open-minded Carlos Santana was to unite people from all over the world with his music, now it seems that the inclusion of Santana on Prog Archives has also united progheads from all over the world...!