Spirits Dancing In The Flesh Santana

• 1Let There Be Light / Spirits Dancing in the Flesh07:22
• 2Gypsy Woman04:22
• 3It's a Jungle out There04:32
• 4Soweto (Africa Libre)05:06
• 5Choose04:13
• 6Peace on Earth / Mother Earth / Third Stone from the Sun (Medley)04:24
• 7Full Moon04:30
• 8Who's That Lady04:13
• 9Jin-Go-Lo-Ba04:46
• 10Goodness and Mercy04:30
• Total Runtime47:58

Info for Spirits Dancing In The Flesh

„Following a 20th anniversary reunion tour in 1989 to promote Viva Santana!, Carlos Santana reorganized the band as a sextet and recorded Spirits Dancing in the Flesh, Santana's 15th and final studio album for Columbia Records. It was an unusually eclectic collection, featuring songs by Curtis Mayfield ("Gypsy Woman"), the Isley Brothers ("Who's That Lady"), and Babatunde Olatunji ("Jin-Go-Lo-Ba"). For all those influences, it was more of a straightforward, guitar-heavy rock album than usual. Coming more than three years after Santana's last new album, Freedom, it sold to the band's core audience only, reaching number 85.“ (William Ruhlmann, AMG)

„An unlikely yin and yang have possessed Carlos Santana throughout his career: Mystic and materialist, the guitarist has vacillated between playing to the heavens and playing to the gallery. Though rarely willing to craft something devoid of artistic qualities, Santana is also mindful of being a pop star. Reconciling these two facets of his personality has been the task of his career, and one is never quite sure whether the next Santana album will be by an idealist or an idol. Happily, both incarnations show up on Spirits Dancing in the Flesh, and they play remarkably well together.

Like Amigos, the 1976 album that marked the end of the overtly religious phase of Santana's music and helped him regain his commercial following, Spirits Dancing in the Flesh plays on familiar themes and musical phrases. Since he had a major hit with "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," what better way to capitalize on that currency than to cover Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman"? Instrumental self-references also abound, including a reworking of African percussionist Olatunji's "Jin-Go-Lo-Ba," which appeared on the first Santana album as "Jingo," and a new track, "It's a Jungle Out There," which quotes the introduction from the group's own 1970 composition "Jungle Strut."

If short on originality, the album is still ambitious. After opening with a gospel-inflected invocation featuring singer Tramaine Hawkins, Spirits moves on to include two duets featuring Santana vocalist Alex Ligertwood and soul singer Bobby Womack; an instrumental with saxophonist Wayne Shorter; two covers ("Gypsy Woman" and the Isley Brothers' "Who's That Lady") produced by Starship's hack hitmaker Peter Wolf; and a Vernon Reid-produced medley matching a Santana original with John Coltrane's "Peace on Earth" and Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun." The band is solid, with keyboardist Chester Thompson offering Santana a steady base from which to solo. Drummer Walfredo Reyes and three different bassists hold the all-important rhythmic bottom together, while conga legend Armando Peraza still provides the band's inspiration.

It's hardly a surprise that a brief uplifting message from Carlos Santana accompanies Spirits Dancing in the Flesh. What is unusual is the message's placement: just below the note dedicating the album to junior-welterweight boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez. Now that, like the album itself, is yin and yang at its finest.“ (Fred Goodman, Rolling Stone)

Carlos Santana, guitar, vocals, percussion
Chester Thompson, keyboards, horns, Hammond B3, vocals
Armando Peraza, bongos, congas, percussion
Walfredo Reyes, drums, timbales, percussion
Alex Ligertwood, vocals, guitar
Benny Rietveld, bass
Guest musicians:
Francisco Aguabella, congas
Kevin Dorsey, background vocals
Jim Gilstrap, background vocals
Tramaine Hawkins, lead vocals
Rashan Hylton, background vocals
Phillip Ingram, background vocals
Alphonso Johnson, bass
Keith Jones, bass
Stephen King, vocals
Hugh "Sweetfoot" Maynard, background vocals
Vernon Reid, guitar
Raul Rekow, congas, vocals
Paolo Rustichelli, keyboards, acoustic piano
Wayne Shorter, soprano sax, tenor sax
Orestes Vilató, timbales, vocals
Oren Waters, background vocals
Bobby Womack, lead vocals
Additional musicians:
Devon Bernardoni, keyboards
Charisse Dancy, choir
Sandra Hunter, choir
Marjo Keller, choir
Lynice Pinkard, choir
Lovetta Brown, choir
De Anna Brown, choir
Kevin Swan Butler, choir
Darryl Williams, choir
Edwin M. Harper, Jr., choir director

Engineered and mixed by Devon Bernardoni, Paul Ericksen, Arne Frager
Produced by Carlos Santana, Vernon Reid, Chester Thompson, Jim Gaines

Digitally remastered

Santana
Delivered with a level of passion and soul equal to the legendary sonic charge of his guitar, the sound of Carlos Santana is one of the world's best-known musical signatures. For more than four decades—from Santana's earliest days as a groundbreaking Afro-Latin-blues-rock fusion outfit in San Francisco—Carlos has been the visionary force behind artistry that transcends musical genres and generational, cultural and geographical boundaries.

Long before the category now known as “world music” was named, Santana's ever-evolving sound was always ahead of its time in its universal appeal, and today registers as ideally in sync with the 21st century’s pan-cultural landscape. And, with a dedication to humanitarian outreach and social activism that parallels his lifelong relationship with music, Carlos Santana is as much an exemplary world citizen as a global music icon.

Santana's star arrived in the era-defining late 1960s San Francisco Bay Area music scene with historic shows at the Fillmore and other storied venues. The group emerged onto the global stage with an epic set at the Woodstock festival in 1969, the same year that its self-titled debut LP Santana came out. Introducing Santana's first Top 10 hit, “Evil Ways,” the disc stayed on Billboard’s album chart for two years and was soon followed by two more classics — and Billboard #1 albums — Abraxas and Santana III.

Ever since, for more than forty years and almost as many albums later, Santana has sold more than 100 million records and reached more than 100 million fans at concerts worldwide. To date, Santana has won 10 GRAMMY® Awards, including a record-tying nine for a single project, 1999’s Supernatural (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Smooth”) as well as three Latin GRAMMY’s. In 1998, the group was ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, whose website notes, “Guitarist Carlos Santana is one of rock’s true virtuosos and guiding lights.”

Among many other honors, Carlos Santana received Billboard Latin Music Awards’ 2009 Lifetime Achievement honor, and, he was bestowed Billboard’s Century Award in 1996. On December 8, 2013 he was the recipient of the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors Award. Rolling Stone has also named him #15 on the magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” noting that “Santana's crystalline tone and clean arcing sustain make him the rare instrumentalist who can be identified in just one note.” And, with the 2014 release of Corazón, Santana surpassed the Rolling Stones and, along with Barbara Streisand, is one of only two music acts in Billboard history to score at least one Top Ten album for six consecutive decades from the 1960s on.

Santana’s new album Corazón (RCA/Sony Latin Iberia) released May 6, 2014 is a collaborative effort with the biggest names in Latin music including ChocQuibTown, Lila Downs, Gloria Estefan, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Juanes, Ziggy Marley, Miguel, Niña Pastori, Diego Torres, Samuel Rosa of Skank, Cindy Blackman Santana, Romeo Santos, Soledad, Wayne Shorter, and more. This is Santana’s first Latin music album of his iconic career. The album is certified U.S. Latin Double Platinum and was the top selling Latin Music album in the United States for six consecutive weeks. HBO Latino & HBO Latin America celebrated the release with multiple HBO specials through a two part TV event: a behind the scenes reality themed special called “Santana: De Corazón” and the airing of his mega concert and documentary “Santana-Corazón: Live From Mexico, Live It To Believe It.” On September 9, 2014 a DVD/Live CD of the event was released documenting the show in its entirety. Both specials, and the DVD, include performances from the all-star line up that graces the album Corazón.

In the fall of 2014, Carlos Santana released his memoir “The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light” which offers a page-turning tale of musical self-determination and inner self-discovery, with personal stories filled with colorful detail and life-affirming lessons. It's a profoundly inspiring tale of divine inspiration and musical fearlessness that does not balk at finding the humor in the world of high-flying fame, or at speaking plainly of Santana's personal revelations and the infinite possibility he sees in each person he meets. Beyond music, in the lifestyle and entertainment realm, River Of Colors (ROC) has enjoyed tremendous success with the Carlos by Carlos Santana and Unity by Carlos Santana brand names. Founded in 1997, ROC is dedicated to bringing products to market that embody the passion and integrity of Carlos Santana—and that are true to his distinctive style and taste. ROC’s endeavors encompass products including shoes, handbags, headwear and sparkling wine, as well as signature musical instruments including electric guitars and hand percussion instruments. ROC products are distributed at better retail stores internationally. For more information, visit www.santana.com.

The arc of Santana’s performing and recording career is complemented by a lifelong devotion to social activism and humanitarian causes. The Milagro Foundation, originally established by Carlos Santana and his family in 1998, has granted more than five million dollars to non-profit programs supporting underserved children and youth in the areas of arts, education and health. Milagro means “miracle,” and the image of children as divine miracles of light and hope—gifts to our lives—is the inspiration behind its name.

This album contains no booklet.