CARAVANSERAI

Santana's fourth album find them consolidating and developing their unique blend of jazz, Latin and rock influences in what is effectively a continuous piece. While the composition credits are shared throughout (Carlos Santana is only actually credited or co-credited with about half), there is a flow to the music which makes identification of individual tracks largely superfluous.

It is of course the guitar work of Carlos Santana which is the prime focus of the music, but the contributions of future Journey guitarist Neal Schon and organist Greg Rolie are pivotal to the success of the album.

Apart from brief vocal interludes such as that on "All the love of the universe", this is a guitar-centric instrumental album. As such, the success of the album is reliant on the strength of the compositions, and the ability of the sometimes lengthy improvised sections to retain the listener's attention. Happily, the album succeeds on both counts. In addition, the Latin rhythms which are so closely associated with Santana do not dominate the sound in the way they tended to do on previous albums.

It is these factors which I believe set "Caravanserai" apart, and lead to it being generally acknowledged as the band's finest work. The way the music is presented will appeal both to those like myself who prefer the music to be generally structured, and to those who look for looser fusion and jazz style improvisations.

The second side of the album is slightly the more indulgent, and although the percussion is occasionally a little too dominant the quality established on the first side is largely maintained.

There is a certain timelessness about "Caravanserai" (which incidentally is the name for a desert pub or inn!) which means it sounds as contemporary today as it did 30+ years a go. Worthy of investigation by fans of rock, jazz, and fusion alike.

Share this SANTANA review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Easy Livin
• Report this review (#113360)
• Buy SANTANA music online with PA partners
• Show all SANTANA MP3/Stream
• Go to SANTANA page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Caravanserai page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for SANTANA related discussions