Abraxas (album) explained

Abraxas
Type:studio
Cover:SantanaAbraxas.jpg
Alt:Fantastic realist painting by Mati Klarwein depicting a winged, tattooed angel Gabriel astride a conga drum, pointing to a Hebrew Aleph symbol, with a dark-skinned and naked "Mary" surrounded by images of fertility
Recorded:April 17 – May 2, 1970
Language:English, Spanish
Prev Year:1969
Next Year:1971

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 Fleetwood Mac's leader and songwriter Peter Green, having seen him perform at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, and decided to cover the band's song "Black Magic Woman". (Both had also been influenced as guitarists by B.B. King.) The band added a cover of Gábor Szabó's instrumental "Gypsy Queen" to the end.[3] "Oye Como Va" was a hit by Tito Puente in the early 1960s and the group played it live regularly, as they realized it was good for audiences to dance to.[3]

"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]

The instrumental, "Samba Pa Ti" ("Samba for You"), was written by Santana when he saw a jazz saxophonist performing in the street outside his apartment.[3] It was later covered by José Feliciano, who added lyrics, and also by Angélique Kidjo, who put lyrics in Yoruba, on her album Oyo. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs.[4]

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.[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

In 2003, the album was ranked No. 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[9] at No. 207 on the 2012 revision of the list,[10] and then again at No. 334 in its 2020 release.[11] In 2000, it appeared at No. 202 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[12] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[13] In 2015, the album was listed among Billboards 50 Essential Latin Albums of the 50 Past Years.[14]

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".

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.[15]

Track listing

1998 bonus tracks

Personnel

Santana

Additional personnel

Release history

Charts

Chart (1970–1974) Peak
position 		- ! scope="row" Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[21] 1 - - - ! scope="row" Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[22] 2 - ! scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[23] 7 - - ! scope="row" Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[24] 4 - ! scope="row" Japanese Albums (Oricon)[25] 7 - - -
Chart (2013) Peak
position 		-

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brill. Mark. "Abraxas"—Santana (1970). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201017024239if_/https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Abraxas.pdf. October 17, 2020. PDF. December 30, 2023. Library of Congress. 2. en-US.
  2. Web site: Reiff. Corbin. September 23, 2015. 45 Years Ago: Santana Deliver a Latin Rock Masterpiece, 'Abraxas'. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160629130942if_/http://ultimateclassicrock.com/santana-abraxas/. June 29, 2016. September 26, 2020. Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. en.
  3. Book: Weinstein, Norman. Carlos Santana: A Biography. September 3, 2009. ABC-Clio/Greenwood. 978-0-313-35421-2. Greenwood Biographies. Santa Barbara, California. en. Costs of Fame and Fortune. e-book. 615626624. December 29, 2023. subscription. https://web.archive.org/web/20231230000847if_/https://publisher.abc-clio.com/9780313354212/. December 30, 2023. live.
  4. Book: Hornby, Nick. 31 Songs. February 27, 2003. Penguin Books. 978-0-14-101340-4. London. 1028381794. Nick Hornby.
  5. Web site: Schnabel. Tom. May 27, 2011. Artists You Should Know: Mati Klarwein. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200929033846if_/https://www.kcrw.com/music/articles/artists-you-should-know-mati-klarwein. September 29, 2020. December 30, 2023. KCRW. en.
  6. Web site: Klarwein. Serafine. Annunciation - Abraxas album cover by Mati Klarwein. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110507150418if_/http://www.matiklarweinart.com/en/gallery/annunciation-1961.htm. May 7, 2011. December 30, 2023. Mati Klarwein Online Art Gallery. en.
  7. Web site: Schott. M.. 2002. Santana - Abraxas. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130626162121if_/http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/S/santana_abraxas.html. June 26, 2013. December 30, 2023. The Album Cover Art Gallery. en.
  8. Lynch. Joe. August 7, 2023. The 100 Best Album Covers of All Time. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810150245if_/https://www.billboard.com/photos/best-album-covers-of-all-time-6715351/84-17-santana-abraxas-1970-album-art-billboard-1240/. August 10, 2023. November 12, 2015. Billboard. en-US.
  9. Book: 205 Abraxas - Santana. Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. March 9, 2006. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071106154647if_/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598896/205_abraxas. November 6, 2007. Levy. Joe. Steven. Van Zandt. 2005. 3rd. 2006. Turnaround. London. 1-932958-61-4. 70672814. RS500_2003.
  10. Web site: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 2012. Rolling Stone. September 16, 2019.
  11. September 22, 2020. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. July 14, 2021. Rolling Stone. en-US.
  12. Book: All Time Top 1000 Albums. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin. Virgin Books. London. 2000. 3rd. 978-0-753-50493-2. 101. 441098633.
  13. Book: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. March 23, 2010. Universe. Michael Lydon, contributor. 978-0-789-32074-2. Dimery. Robert. Revised and Updated. en-US. 1037461047.
  14. September 17, 2015. The 50 Greatest Latin Albums of the Past 50 Years. live. Billboard. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20220612114419if_/https://www.billboard.com/photos/50-most-essential-latin-albums-past-50-years-6686047/. June 12, 2022. September 17, 2015.
  15. Web site: March 23, 2016. National Recording Registry Recognizes "Mack the Knife," Motown and Mahler. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160330183537if_/https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2016/16-056.html. March 30, 2016. December 31, 2023. Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.. en-US.
  16. Santana – Abraxas.
  17. Fisher. Connie. April 1984. Michael Carabello - Return To The Jungle. live. Modern Drummer. en. 8. 4. https://web.archive.org/web/20200807220759if_/https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/april-1984-michael-carabello-return-to-the-jungle/. August 7, 2020. December 31, 2023. subscription.
  18. Book: Santana. Carlos. The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light. Kahn. Ashley. November 4, 2014. Little, Brown. 978-0-316-24491-6. New York. 909814329.
  19. Web site: Santana – Abraxas (Master Release). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230130013731if_/https://www.discogs.com/master/31598-Santana-Abraxas. January 30, 2023. December 31, 2023. Discogs.
  20. Web site: Santana - Abraxas. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230306073827if_/https://mofi.com/products/mfsl45ud1s-001_santana_abraxas_180g_45rpm_2lp_box_set. March 6, 2023. December 31, 2023. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. en.
  21. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6.
  22. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. 1st. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 2006. 978-951-1-21053-5. fi.
  23. Web site: Tous les Albums classés par Artiste. InfoDisc. fr. June 19, 2012. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210210034124if_/https://www.infodisc.fr/Album_Liste_Selection2.php?Lettre=S. February 10, 2021. Select Santana from the menu, then press OK.
  24. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. June 6, 2024. Set Tipo on Album, then in the Artista field, type Santana and click cerca.
  25. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon Entertainment. Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9. ja.

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