Carlos Santana knows his longtime fans may not like his new album, which is the third in a series of collaborative efforts sparked by record executive Clive Davis, and he has promised them another album six months after this one is released.
Meanwhile, he believes so much in the collaborative concept that he’s calling his album, due for release Nov. 1, “All That I Am.”
“It’s accentuating the fact that I was trained by Bill Graham, Michael Bloomfield, Peter Green, Miles Davis, Jaco (Pastorius), Stevie (Wonder),” said Santana, 58. “All that I am is a bit of everyone and everything, just like you. That’s what I’m saying.”
The new disc has its moments – mostly those when Carlos and the Santana band take center stage. The first two songs, both in Spanish, hark back to his thunderous 1969 self-titled debut.
But then, and some may prefer this, the guest artists grab the microphone, including a lifeless Michelle Branch; an exuberant Steven Tyler; and some funkified Black Eyed Peas, Big Boi and Mary J. Blige.
A guitar player’s dream team, Kirk Hammett and Robert Randolph, also joins in for an instrumental.
A similar formula launched 1999’s “Supernatural” into hyperspace.
Santana’s first big hit in decades won nine Grammy Awards and sold 25 million copies. The follow-up, 2002’s “Shaman,” followed the same formula, with guests including Placido Domingo and P.O.D., but sold fewer than 2 million copies.
“I’ve been doing this since ’67,” said Santana, a guitarist who helped pave the way for Latin rock around the world. “It’s not a formula, a gimmick, a gadget or a shtick.
“I can show you that I have played with just about every jazz musician, every African musician, every blues musician. It’s not like I’m cashing in on a false concept. This is what I do.”
Santana says his shows will carry on his live tradition of jamming, pushing songs to their limits and creating a musical environment that is spiritual.
“The goal is always to pierce your heart and the listeners’ hearts. You will forget for a while that you are limited and you will start remembering you have possibilities and opportunities. When you do something from your heart, you get out of the way and something more magical than imagination happens.”
He almost always has delivered on those promises.
“I love playing the guitar. If they come see us live, I’ll make sure I have 15 to 20 minutes or half an hour of just guitar. But I have also made a commitment to honor those who bring me their hearts.
“Rob Thomas, Mary J., all of them, they bring me their heart. Why wouldn’t I have the decency or common courtesy to listen to the song and complement it?”
Santana will release the Branch song as the first single and the Tyler as the second, even though his favorite tune is the one with Mary J. Blige and Big Boi.
“I defer to Clive very easily,” he says. “I don’t know radio since I don’t listen to it. He’s been doing it since 1966 or ’67.”
So what collaboration hasn’t he done that he would like to do?
“Tina Turner. It’s the one I’m missing. I’d do some serious gutbucket blues with her.”
On another subject: Where are the big anti-war songs of today, other than Green Day and, surprisingly, the Rolling Stones?
“That’s a good question,” says Santana, who has been an outspoken peace activist. “I say it every day in interviews and when I’m onstage, and people say, how come he doesn’t just play and be quiet? You have a Fox network that says celebrities shouldn’t have opinions.”
Santana says he would like to start a business that shows the world what he thinks. He would make a poster of two Jesuses. One with a knife in his teeth, Pancho Villa-style bullet holders laced across his chest, and an angry expression on his face.
The other with a dove in his hand, at peace.
“It would say: Which one do you follow?” he says. “Republican Jesus, man, or the one who says, ‘What about compassion? Can we try that one all over the world?”‘
Santana
LATIN ROCK | With Robert Randolph and the Family Band; Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison;
7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday | $49-$69 | through Ticketmaster, 303-830-8497 or ticketmaster.com.
3more
SALVADORE SANTANA Yes, that is a famous last name. And Carlos’ son is here to prove he deserves it. He headlines Saturday and Sunday at the Trilogy Lounge, and he supports his dad’s band Tuesday and Wednesday at Red Rocks.
FRANZ FERDINAND Fans cried for Franz Ferdinand to “Take Me Out.” And here’s their chance – with a load of new material, even. The frenetic dance-pop band plays Tuesday at the Fillmore with Pretty Girls Make Graves and Cut Copy.
ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI If you like your indie pop massive, Australian and full of the glockenspiel, here’s your band. It plays Tuesday at the Hi-Dive with Dr. Dog.
– Ricardo Baca
