Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From musicbox-online.com

Everyone seemed shocked and surprised when Carlos Santana unleashed the blockbuster Supernatural on the world. Without a doubt, it was overtly more pop-oriented than anything he had previously put together, yet it also wasn’t completely out-of-step with his career-long struggle for commercial viability. It’s been 34 years since Santana released his first album. In that time, he’s dabbled in everything from Latin rock to jazz-fusion, from soul to blues, from psychedelia to R&B. Plenty of pop polish has pulsated through his songs as well. Like an alchemist, he’s always experimenting, always mixing sounds and styles to suit his particular need. Sometimes it’s worked, other times it hasn’t, but such is the nature of his unique vision. In the early 1970s, Santana was focused primarily on interpreting the burgeoning jazz-fusion scene, and three of his albums from this period (Caravanserai, Love Devotion Surrender, and Welcome) as well as a concert recording from 1977 (Moonflower) have recently been remastered and reissued. Here is a look at each:

Abraxus, and to a lesser extent, Santana, and Santana III receive nearly all of the attention, but Carlos Santana’s oft-forgotten fourth studio recording Caravanserai is an equally strong outing that finds the guitarist stepping out in a new direction. Steeped in jazz- fusion, the album rolls along at a comfortable pace, so much so that this, perhaps, explains why it’s been so difficult for many to fully grasp.

It’s not that Caravanserai is really that different from Santana’s previous efforts. All he really does is expand upon the instrumental segments of his first three albums, but this time, he parlays them into a cohesive suite of songs that is, at times, as breathtakingly beautiful as Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way and, at other times, as frenetic as Davis’ Bitches Brew. Right from the start, he charts out Caravanserai’s sonic space, beginning with the serene sound of crickets to which is added the guttural groan of saxophone and a percussive groove straight from John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass.

Indeed, that is the foundation upon which Santana builds this monumental effort, which bursts at the seams with thoughts and ideas while careening effortlessly through a blend of Latin rock, blues, and soul. He masterfully reinvents Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Stone Flower, dives into the heady funk-rock swirl of Look Up (To See What’s Coming Down), and delivers Song of the Wind with supreme tenderness. Through it all, the magisterial tone of Santana’s guitar freely darts and glides above the clattering rhythms sculpted by a sextet of percussionists. Indisputably original when it was released in 1972, Caravanserai has held up remarkably well over the years and continues to rank among the most vital outings of Santana’s career. There are no bonus tracks on the updated release, but then again, there’s no reason to mess with perfection.

Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From fusion101radio.com

Perhaps it’s far too easy for the younger generation to underestimate the enormous influence that Santana had on the direction of progressive music in the early 70s and that’s a shame. Maybe their well-deserved inclusion on this site will go a long way towards rectifying that situation.

After establishing themselves as bonafied “Top 40” chart-toppers with their first three studio albums the group was expected to continue that trend with more of the same radio-friendly ditties.Instead, they shocked the listening public with an album that introduced the masses to the new and blossoming world of jazz rock fusion that was jetting across the planet just under the radar of popular acceptance.

“Caravanserai” was a real trip for the average Joe and not all of their fans were exactly thrilled trying to dance to odd time signatures but for many it opened a door to music that they didn’t know existed from bands like Return to Forever, Weather Report and The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This album really doesn’t sound like any of those groups exactly. It went platinum because it’s still got that infectious, exciting Santana sound and groove that is undeniably addicting. But this one takes the listener on a fantastic journey I dare say is quite unlike any taken elsewhere. It stands alone in their vast catalogue of excellent musical offerings and I consider it their apex.

Along with Carlos’ stunning, emotionally inspired guitar playing, Michael Shrieve’s incredible drumming and the tandem of James Mingo Lewis & Jose Chepito Areas’ exemplary percussion are without peer in the timeframe this was released in. Even the gruff-voiced Greg Rolie (whom I always thought of as a weak link) surpasses all expectations and performs far beyond his perceived abilities. I’ll forego my usual song by song review and tell all of you that read this to simply experience the project as a whole.

There’s not a low point to be found and the highs are numerous and unforgettable. They created a work of art that is accessible and understandable to even the most casual progressive mind while weaving a tapestry of tones and rhythms that is indescribable. It simply must be heard to believe.

I encourage all who love great progressive music to experience it. You will not be disappointed. A very solid 5 stars.

Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From audiophilereferencerecordings.com.au

Santana’s Landmark 1972 Effort Echoes Miles Davis and John Coltrane

Primarily Instrumental Set Delves Into Serious Jazz and is Final Santana Album with Guitarist Neil Schon

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity’s Hybrid SACD Slays Every Other Version

Recorded in 1972, Santana’s landmark Caravanserai marks the legendary guitarist’s foray into the jazzier, more adventurous territory that would define his career for the better part of the next two decades. Drawing from Miles Davis’ pioneering period work, Santana ups the musical complexity, ditching vocals on most tracks and embracing moodiness as a form of expression. Despite its sharp move away from conventional structures, Caravanserai reached the Top 10 of the Billboard charts and attained lavish critical acclaim.

Re-mastered from the original analog master tapes, Caravanserai benefits from Mobile Fidelity’s meticulous engineering, with the windows on the sparse production and the discernible live feel opening up on hybrid SACD with palpable transparency and exquisite detail. Brimming with atmospheric textures, three-dimensional spaciousness, and freshly uncovered microdynamics, this version follows on the heels of Mobile Fidelity’s definitive, critically acclaimed editions of Santana, Abraxas, and Love Devotion Surrender.

The last Santana effort to feature guitarist Neil Schon and organist Greg Rollie, who would leave and form Journey, Caravanserai also welcomed the arrival of keyboardist/composer Tom Coster, whose impact is immediately felt. Displaying no hints of the discord that would cause the ensemble to splinter after the record’s release, the band seamlessly melds with Santana’s divine jaunts into instrumental nirvana. And while prior releases spread the wealth, Santana’s role here is evidently clear from the start this is where he’s elevated from a pioneering star to a guitar god. His guitar effortlessly darts amidst a rich aural canvas, knitted with contributions from a sextet of percussionists as well as Schon’s magisterial efforts.

With Santana, nothing is more important than soulfulness. And the profound spirituality and heartfelt expressiveness that pulse throughout the ten songs here are on par with the most personalized playing and music making he’s ever done. The highly original Caravanserai distinguishes itself from most instrumentally based albums in that its purpose isn’t to tout virtuosic jamming abilities but to take the listener places they’ve never been, and do so in a manner that’s cohesive, focused, and inventive. Santana delves deeply into jazz’s boundless possibilities without exploiting technique or structure, arriving at sonic intersections where jazz is the main landing spot for soul, Latin, and funk tangents.

Whether it is the deep sound of a saxophone, polyrhythmic beat of a groove, or the intricate bend of Santana’s guitar string, every nuance and note of Caravanserai is heard with supreme detail and clarity on this numbered, limited-edition hybrid SACD. You’ve never heard this record sound so lively, vivid, or monumental.

Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From jazz-rock-fusion-guitar.blogspot.com

Caravanserai is the fourth studio album by Santana, released on October 11, 1972. It marked a major turning point in Carlos Santana’s career as it was a sharp departure from his critically acclaimed first three albums. Original bass guitarist David Brown left the group in 1971 and was replaced by Doug Rauch and Tom Rutley, while Armando Peraza replaced original percussionist Michael Carabello after his departure. During this period, Santana’s relationship with longtime keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie rapidly deteriorated; consequently, keyboardist Tom Coster performed on one song before replacing Rolie shortly after the album’s release. Caravanserai reached number eight in the Billboard 200 chart and number six in the R&B Albums chart in 1972.

Then there are Arabian flourishes that may conjure images of a lone desert scape with a camel making its way across arid sandy mirages.
We hear the desert scape with nature’s sounds in Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation, and then the low hum of the sun’s rays with fluttering flute, until the chimes glisten over cooling down the heat, with swells of keyboard echoes. All the Love in the Universe is a spiritual journey that moves inexorably to a climax, along a bass pulse, finally breaking into a song and then an insane instrumental break with Carlos lead and Gregg Rolie’s Hammond battling for supremacy.

The music flows along organically in the first half with not too many breaks from one track to the next and encapsulates the power of desert ambience. It is a soulful, at times moving journey, and always completely challenging musically. Santana never returned to this style again so it remains a solitude wilderness album, a desert island album literally pulsating with energy. When the guitar is to be heard it comes in a flurry of power at the hands of mighty Carlos such as on Stone Flower, with Rolie’s Hammond shimmers and vocals that echo in the distance.

La Fuente Del Ritmo continues the quest to find the oasis, the water of life, with chaotic piano and cymbal splashes, and the congas and bongos are never far around the corner. The groove locks into frenetic tempo as the lightning fast hands on the congas attack. Carlos’ lead work is exceptional, enigmatic over the arousing African beats. The improvisatory piano runs are competing against the manic tom toms, and then the Hammond blasts return like rain falling into the oasis.

It all leads ultimately to a 9 minute extravaganza ‘Every Step Of The Way’, opening with gentle percussion, with Hammond answers, and the threat of a cascading guitar phrase. As far as jazz fusion goes this really hits the target. Santana take their time getting to the meat, and taking great pains to build up to a crescendo.

This is a tense experience at times, and at three minutes it finally breaks into a downpour of grooving bass and drums as lead guitar swoops like a hungry vulture. Once the vulture is airborn everything melts into the sunshine of the soundscape. The sound of a bird twittering floats overhead and then flutters down into swathes of keyboards and a wonderful brass sound that builds to a climax.

“Caravanserai” is sheer musical poetry and one of Santana’s triumphs; certainly one of their most famous albums and will continue to challenge and move listeners for decades to come; a timeless treasure.

The sound contrasted greatly with Santana’s trademark fusion of salsa, rock, and jazz, and concentrated mostly on jazz-like instrumental passages. All but three tracks were instrumentals, and consequently the album yielded no hit singles. The album is the first among a series of Santana albums that were known for their increasing musical complexity, marking a move away from the popular rock format of the early Santana albums toward a more contemplative and experimental jazz sound. While Caravanserai is regarded as an artistic success, the musical changes that began on its release in 1972 marked the start of a slide in Santana’s commercial popularity. This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic.

The largely instrumental Caravanserai, from 1972, is the first album from the guitarist after he dissolved his band from the popular albums Santana, Abraxas and Santana III, and he wasn’t looking back. Joining up with keyboardist Tom Coster, Santana was seeking the outer reaches of the soul with songs like “Just in Time to See the Sun” and “All the Love of the Universe.” The album mixes rock, jazz and salsa with tracks such as “Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation,” “Stone Flower” and “La Fuente del Ritmo,” but you can tell that Santana is itching to stretch out and stay there for a while.

Caravanserai was released in 1972 and is a brilliant album. You probably have to like jazz-rock to fully appreciate its charms. It contains many beautiful instrumental tracks that are melodic and accessible. The band had been listening to the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Santana’s drummer, Mike Shrieve, claimed that he and Carlos Santana had grown tired of “rock and roll” and wanted to experiment with jazz. Unlike some jazz-rock groups, the band is tight and the solos fit the music perfectly. There is no self-indulgent jazz noodling on this album.

The guitar playing from both Carlos Santana and Neal Schon is lyrical and beautiful. This is a great guitar album. All but three of the ten tracks are instrumentals. There are three keyboardists: Rolie, Tom Coster, and Wendy Haas (formerly of Fanny). Two bass players: Tom Rutley and Doug Rauch. The Latin rhythm section is amazing: Jose Chepito Areas; James Mingo Lewis, and Mike Shrieve on drums. This really was a band of master musicians. This was probably one of the most musically accomplished bands in rock history.

It was the last Santana album to feature Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon, who went on to co-found Journey the following year.

Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From sputnikmusic.com

Taking musical nods from the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltraine, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Caravanserai is the final essential album in the extensive Santana discography and is vastly underrated in comparison to its predecessors. It served as a transitional record between the latin influenced psychedelic prog rock of the first three records to a more ethereal jazz approach.

These tracks provide a less distinct structure, trading the track by track presentation with a more cohesive and fuller body of work. With this change in sound also come a shift in Santana’s lineup, as this album saw keyboard virtuoso Tom Coster make his first appearance. It would be the last album to feature second guitarist Neal Schon as well as Gregg Rolie who left the band to form Journey. Another part of what makes the elements of this album work so cohesively is the use of two bass players: Tom Rutley on acoustic, Doug Rauch on electric.

The sun drenched atmosphere featured on the cover perfectly conveys the mood of the music on Caravanserai. Each piece moves with the same urgency of prior records but showcases an affirmed appreciation for atmospheric vibe. Tribal drumming is accompanied brilliantly by the swirling organs of Gregg Rolie and adds a compelling layer to the mix.

Frequently, this record showcases Carlos Santana doing exactly what he does best, laying down a groovy guitar line that drives the melody forward. More so than on previous albums however, he shows restraint, preferring not to dominate the tone of the album with his eccentric style of playing. On opener “Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation,” he takes to playing percussion instead.

Caravanserai primarily invokes in the listener an audible journey through a primitive Arabian landscape. We get our first glimpse of the ambiance of the Arabian Desert with an opening of chirping crickets. The sun’s rays begin to shine in the form of a lightly fluttering flute movement with chimes that cool the soul. “Song of the Wind” is an instant standout that showcases Santana’s unmatched guitar work. His soulful playing style melds perfectly with the serene textures of the rhythm section. “All of the Love In the Universe” is conclusively spiritual—it begins with a pulsing bass line that eventually climaxes into an instrumental that boasts an immaculate solo from Carlos and as well as an unforgettable keyboard solo from Rolie’s Hammond organ.

“Future Primitive” is a percussion centrepiece that allows the latin roots of the album rise to the foreground for a few brief minutes of tribal beauty. Once the penultimate track, “La Fuente Del Rimo” kicks in, we get glimpses of former Santana with chaotic conga beats, the occasional cymbal splash, and an outstanding keyboard solo from Tom Coster. We finally discover the oasis in the desert on the final track, “Every Step of the Way,” in which a calm percussion intro steadily builds, with the Hammond and guitars giving way to an eventual crescendo that climaxes as we reach our destination.

It is a shame that Santana never revisited their jazzier side as seen on Caravanserai. This album feels the most organic out of all of their bodies of work. It is a sublime experience that takes the listener across desert vistas and on safari through the wild eastern plains.

What is truly remarkable though is how well crafted this record is in respect to the work as a whole. Each member exerts every ounce of influence they have and it all works magically together to create a truly captivating and immensely satisfying experience.

Santana Caravanserai (1972) – original review

From geirmykl.wordpress.com originally from NME Oct 21st 1972 review by Keith Altham

I’M STILL TRYING to unscrew my head after listening to Santana’s new album, “Caravanserai” (CBS). One side features sheer technical brilliance. The other side, wow…

The set was exclusively sent to me from the States, where the 13-piece band are still recording although splintered into other groups. Live appearances are no more. At first I thought the whole thing was going to bore me to death. “Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation” sounded like a bleeped out satellite or someone raking iron palings with a poker — largely due to the fact that I was playing it at the wrong speed.

I subsequently discovered the sounds of crickets set to sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, plus what sounded like vibrating piano wires. However all is forgiven for that which follows. There is a huge wash of sound mixed for “Waves Within”, which incorporates distinctive and highly imaginative percussion in the hands of Mike Shrieve — who layers everything with tom toms but never obliterates the brilliance of Carlos Santana’s guitar or the flexible fingers of organist Gregg Rolie.

Changes of pace and fluctuating rhythms prevent the music from ever becoming boring during the long instrumentals. On some tracks there is a feeling that someone has laid down a solo over something recorded some weeks previously suggesting a lack of togetherness — but the overall effort contains so many gems that you cannot fault tracks like “Just In Time To See The Sun” and “Song Of The Wind”. Carlo’s guitar work on the latter would do credit to Duane Allman or indeed the late, great Hendrix. It is my favourite track simply because you feel that everyone on it has something going which contributes to a unique moment. If this track was a contrived jam, it is the best example I have ever heard of pre-fabricated spontaneity – the guitars snarl, scream and whine in and out of the musical variations. And just when you think they might go over the top they’re brought back and re-directed into another channel.

Santana really are musicians’ musicians and if you need further proof listen to the final track on the first side, “All The Love In The Universe”, which contains most of the subtleties and a few of the Latinesque tricks for which they are famous. They’ve thrown almost everything into this one, including a fine choir and a few Holy Roller techniques which should take you in and out of your mind on really first-class stereo.

Every time I go back to this album I hear things I missed first time round. There is so much clever musicianship interwoven that you can hardly take it in all at once. As you might expect of a band no longer playing live, this is a very heavily produced album. But all the phasing, backward tapes, and occasional introduction of brass is so well done that you can hear it again and again without familiarity breeding contempt.

“Stone Flower” on the second side is probably the strongest song. It has some incredible organ from Rolie – although there’s some suspicion that he’s just trying to show us how good he is, rather than concerning himself with what is being played about him. Most certainly this album underlines the fact that Santana are in a class of their own when they choose to be, and in many ways it’s quite shattering.

If the group have a weakness, it lies in the very strength of their individuality. At their best the members blend into a unique sound, but occasionally seem to descend to the level of open warfare. Most often it becomes healthy competition… occasionally it’s organised chaos.

“Caravanserai” is a very indulgent. But with musicians like Carlos Santana, who plays better guitar than I’ve heard since their first album, and Gregg Rolie, (keyboards), with Jose Areas on congas keeping it cooking, they can afford such luxuries. I shall play this again and again.

Santana – Caravanserai – Columbia Records KC31610 (1972)/Speakers Corner Records (2008) 180-gram stereo vinyl, 51:07 ****1/2:

from audaud.com

For three years (1969-1972), including the iconic appearance at Woodstock, Santana took the rock world by storm. Radio-friendly hits like “Evil Ways”, “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” defined the rhythmic ferocity and accessibility of Carlos Santana. Instrumental jams like “Jingo”, Soul Sacrifice” and “Samba Pa Ti” expanded their musical style and development. One observer referred to Santana as a rock version of Dizzy Gillespie’s Latin-oriented bands and ensembles.

In the early 70’s jazz, blues and rock tenuously combined to form a genre named Fusion. Each artist in this discipline distilled a unique instrumental approach. These bands included Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever. All three groups had working ties to Miles Davis who inspired Fusion and generated more respect for this trend. Santana had many influences (and among them Davis). He was ready for an evolved vision for the band and for himself. Santana became a spiritual being and gradually incorporated these elements into the Santana Band.

The public was eagerly awaiting the release of the 4th Santana album, “Caravanserai” The group was partly intact. Original members Dave Brown (bass)  conga player Michael Carabello  were replaced by Tom Rutley and James Mingo on bass and congas respectively.  Shrieve, Rolie and Schon were joined by two additional percussionists, Lenny White and Armando Peraza. This was the unit assembled for Santana’s fourth studio album. “Caravanserai”. The album would serve as a  important transition for Carlos Santana. The tracks are filled with exotic motifs, and fewer vocals. Each conceptual track flows into the next one. No one knows what to expect as chirping crickets open “Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation. A free jazz, slightly atonal saxophone (Hadley Caliman) gives way to a flowing acoustic bass (Tom Rutley). Santana doesn’t even play guitar on this cut, Neal Schon does. The meditative piece with delicate percussion gives shape to the visual theme of the evocative camel procession cover. Without the trademark frenetic arrangement, Carlos cuts loose on “Waves Within” with a piercing, distorted lead guitar with chord modulations. Rolie’s organ shading serves as a perfect counterpoint.

Mike Shrieve (who co-produced and contributed to the songwriting) drives the temp in tandem with Jose Chepito Areas (timbales) and James Mingo Lewis (congas). “Look Up To See The Sky” has a funk vibe, soaring guitar licks and stellar percussive timbales. The band shines on “Just In Time To See The Sun”. After a intro flourish, Rolie’s soulful vocals and Santana’s unbridled intensity are framed with assorted tempo breaks. The innate chemistry is evident. In a change of pace, “Song Of The Wind” represents Santana’s more lyrical approach to Caravanserai. The melody (Rolie, Santana Schon) glides with a hypnotic core. Regardless of musical direction, the tone and specificity of Santanas guitar playing is always present. This is certainly a highlight. Returning to a Fusion-like landscape, “All The Love Of The Universe” alternates a driving classical Spanish guitar with r & b influenced vocals. Rolie has a great organ solo as the jam manages to build potency before returning to the classical first part.

Side 2 starts off (“Future Primitive”) with an airy intro, then explodes into a propulsive double congas, bongos and timbales jam, thanks to Areas and Lewis. They immediately segue into Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Stone Flower”. With a dual-edged electric guitar (Santana, Schon), the band brings a harder edge to this swaying bossa nova number. It transforms into a newer Santana take with highly defined percussion breaks and tasty jazz-infused organ fills by Rolie. There is still some awareness of Jobim nuance on the bridge. With electric piano (Tom Coster), the ensemble injects a salsa-fused resonance into “La Fuente Del Ritmo” that could have been part of Santana III. Santana and Schon interact with harmony (and the left and right channel separation is exacting). Shrieve, Areas, Lewis and Peraza create a relentless wall of breathless rhythms. The new artistic statement by Carlos Santana is epitomized in the glorious 9-minute finale, ‘Every Step Of The Way”. It initiates with a sustained, pulsating groove with jazzy chord changes. Santana’s screeching guitar riffs invoke the vision of John McLaughlin (someone who Santa would collaborate with in 1973). There is an inevitable break that shifts to a swelling, grandiose movement which features orchestrated strings (though understated), horns and woodwind. All of this is anchored by the unabating rhythm section.

Speakers Corner has done a masterful job in re-mastering Caravanserai to 180-gram vinyl. The stereo separation is flawless, and the overall mix is balanced. The instrument layers are integrated evenly. (Note: This album is best enjoyed with good headphones at increased volume.) Joan Chase’s stunning front/back gatefold cover shimmers in the glossy finish.

This is a great album!

Musicians:
Carlos Santana – guitar, percussion; Hadley Caliman – saxophone; Greg Rolie – organ, piano; Wendy Haas – piano; Tom Coster – electric piano; Neal Schon – guitar; Douglas Rodrigues – guitar; Douglas Rauch – guitar, bass; Tom Rutley – bass; Mike Shrieve – drums; James Mingo Lewis – congas, percussion; Jose Chepito Areas – timbales, percussion; Lenny White – percussion; Armando Peraza – bongos, percussion)

Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From progarchives.com

Well, hardly any words can describe just how fantastic this album. Only one of a handful albums that reach perfection, this stunning chef d’oeuvre, even with this site’s vast choice of albums, I cannot think of five albums ahead of it. The peak in Santana’s career (Carlos’ solo career was not really started yet, either) comes rather early, and unfortunately will not be equalled again, although they will come close with Borboletta. By now, the classic Santana group was becoming a loose aggregation of great musicians, this album marks also the turning point between the first and second era of the group. The first departure woula happen after this album, while some future members made their apparition. While the previous albums were just collection of songs and I would not call this album a full-blown concept album, there is definetely a theme all the way through (outside stunning musical beauty that is): every song flow from each other so naturally that you will actually feel that there are just one track per album.

As opposed to their previous three albums, the feeling is drastically different and you know that there will be many adventures from the extatic exhilaration to the stunning and reflective introspection. With a solidly almost-atonal opening track telling you that your musical trip will be as wonderfully strange as a Touareg caravan crossing the Sahara, the album gets a kickstart with Waves Within and segues into the majestic Look Up where the band is in full stride and now compleyely unleashed. And by now you have barely just left the banks of the Nile River heading for the Atlantic Coast, so you can imagine the amazing trip still laying ahead. Just In Time In See The Sun is one of two sung tracks and although short is yet another highlight of the album. The first side closes on the lengthier Song Of The Wind (where Carlos delivers some of his most delightful guitar lines) and All The Love In The Universe (the other sung track), this is one of the most perfect type of jazz-rock with many ecstatic moments.

Leaving Lake Tchad (the halfway mark and watering hole in your trip) behind you, you are heading straight for the forbidden city: Mali’s Timbuktu with still quite a few marvels laying before your path. The sun-drenched (more like sun-baked) Future Primitive is evocative of all the traps laying in the desertic and arid lanscapes and is a fitting almost free improv. The mildly Arabian scales in the intro of Stone Flowers (probably referring to the sandroses) indicates that the trip is not always easy for the occidental youth, but the ultimate goal is at hand reaching the fabbled oasis. Clearly another peak is reached with Fuente Del Ritmo as you attack the lasdt quarter of the desert trek on your way to Dakar.

This track sets an incredible tension in the music with its 100 MPH cruising speed, the album reaching its apex: this track shows just how superb and awesome the band could be, and presenting for the first time Tom Coster on the electric piano. The only flaw of the album comes from the fade-out of the track failing to create a real link with the apotheosis of the album, the closing 9-min Every Step Of The Way. I have a hard time thinking of a track that tops the musical tension created on this track: after a slowly increasing crescendo, the track suddenly jumps to a cosmic speed and some of the wildest musical landscapes ever: from the saturated flute solo, to the first guitar solo, solemnly underlined by a superb brass section for increased dramatic effects, you are just waiting to see if the crescendo will come when that one note will deliver your intellectual wad. And it does come in the form of a single guitar note (but the one you waited your whole life for), it releases all the built-up tensions and Dakar is in sight. Surely you have succeeded in your internal quest for freedom of the mind and cannot be anything else but completely happy.

I certainly believe that in the genre, no other albums comes even close to the mastery of this album, at least in the evocationall power of the music. A true trip into the meanders of your brain, this album is more essential than anything that the prog big five have made. And I am hardly exaggerating…

Eh, Max! How about creating that sixth star rating, I asked you for….

Review by Chicapah

Perhaps it’s far too easy for the younger generation to underestimate the enormous influence that Santana had on the direction of progressive music in the early 70s and that’s a shame. Maybe their well-deserved inclusion on this site will go a long way towards rectifying that situation. After establishing themselves as bonafied “Top 40” chart-toppers with their first three studio albums the group was expected to continue that trend with more of the same radio-friendly ditties. Instead, they shocked the listening public with an album that introduced the masses to the new and blossoming world of jazz rock/fusion that was jetting across the planet just under the radar of popular acceptance.

Caravanserai was a real trip for the average Joe and not all of their fans were exactly thrilled trying to dance to odd time signatures but for many it opened a door to music that they didn’t know existed from bands like Return to Forever, Weather Report and The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This album really doesn’t sound like any of those groups exactly. It went platinum because it’s still got that infectious, exciting Santana sound and groove that is undeniably addicting. But this one takes the listener on a fantastic journey I dare say is quite unlike any taken elsewhere. It stands alone in their vast catalogue of excellent musical offerings and I consider it their apex.

Along with Carlos’ stunning, emotionally inspired guitar playing, Michael Shrieve’s incredible drumming and the tandem of James Mingo Lewis & Jose Chepito Areas’ exemplary percussion are without peer in the timeframe this was released in. Even the gruff-voiced Greg Rolie (whom I always thought of as a weak link) surpasses all expectations and performs far beyond his perceived abilities.

I’ll forego my usual song by song review and tell all of you that read this to simply experience the project as a whole. There’s not a low point to be found and the highs are numerous and unforgettable. They created a work of art that is accessible and understandable to even the most casual progressive mind while weaving a tapestry of tones and rhythms that is indescribable.

It simply must be heard to believe. I encourage all who love great progressive music to experience it. You will not be disappointed. A very solid 5 stars.

Review by Seyo

Caravanserai is Santana’s fourth album, released in 1972, and is a masterpiece of jazz/rock/Latino/space/fusion.

It contains no hits like the previous three albums. It is largely instrumental, beautiful piece of work that shows great amount of talent, imagination and creativity of Carlos Devadip and his backing band. It sounds like a thematic piece, albeit not a “concept”, about mysticism surrounding caravans, desert, sand, sun and moon, day and night, and the universal values of life in general.

The music here performed is Santana’s first real foray into jazz-rock. There are plenty of spacey and ambience keyboards (mostly Hammond and piano) and percussion. Bass is a forefront instrument in many moments on the album and it often sounds as played fretless, thus a wonderful melodic sound. Guitar is less dominant than on previous works, but in turn it fits nicely into the overall music journey, with effective and gentle solos right in proper places (Santana is sometimes prone to excessive “guitar hero” pyrotechnics and unnecessary soloing).

The compositions are interconnected without pauses, so the listening process goes smoothly and uninterrupted. Musicianship, composing and production are all perfect. For my taste the only flaw of this album are weak vocals in “All the Love of the Universe”, which are too sweetie and come close to easy pop sound. All the rest is perfect.

I would like to recommend Caravanserai especially to those people who are sceptic about Santana’s “proginess” and who don’t like his classic Latin-rock sound of early, more commercial albums.

Review by bhikkhu

As you may have already guessed, this is one heck of an album. The band may have been in transition (or even disarray), but it sure doesn’t sound like it. These guys sound as if this is what they have been doing all along. This also says quite a bit about the talent assembled here.

If you are a fan of the first three albums, this one may come as a bit of shock. The heavy-duty rockers, and west coast psychedelia, are gone. The jazz influence reigns supreme. There is no doubt that it is Santana, but it is smooth beyond words. There is an extremely organic quality to the flow of the music. No hits will be found, but that wasn’t the point. It is about the music, and craft. There are numbers that will get your head bobbing, and toes tapping, but the strength of the compositions always holds more interest. It is beautiful, sublime, and even rocking at times. Through it all runs a consistent vision.

Overall, I would rate it five stars. However, there is just something here that doesn’t speak masterpiece of prog to me. It is a joy to be sure, but I don’t believe the album is essential for a prog collection.

Review by Silent Knight

Caravanserai is the artistic peak of this great guitarist and his band. Santana had already released three albums Santana-Abraxas-Santana III, which was a step by step upwards progression and reached the top with Caravanserai. which was followed by another two fine albums both artistically and commercially Welcome and Borbolletta.

Caravanserai is really a reflection of the most prolific season for music, a season that gave birth to many of the masterpieces we still hear regularly. Caravanserai is a long piece of music and it is just the side of the lp that stops the continuation of the music-a flawless soundscape strengthen by the power of Earth and the Universe-an electrified party of emotions, colours, tastes, caresses. This is really the Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation captured and expressed excellently-with this song starts a journey so overwhelming that by the time Every Step Of The Way begins, you feel the catharsis of the soul and really eager for this journey to end and get down to earth…

One of the milestones in the history of music among with so many others of that age.

Santana Caravanserai (1972): The story behind the album

From musicaficiandao.blog OCTOBER 10, 2018

At the end of 1971 the Santana band was disintegrating. After an iconic performance at Woodstock and three excellent albums that defined the blue print for Latin rock, plus a succession of hits like Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va, the band was falling apart. That phase in the band’s timeline is chronicled well elsewhere so I will let other sources document the inevitable results of too much sex and drugs and rock n roll. The gist of it is that by the time recording sessions commenced in February 1972 for the band’s fourth album, percussionist Michael Carabello and bassist David Brown were gone, replaced by James Mingo Lewis and Dough Rauch. More changes were to come soon, and these sessions document a band in transition while in search of a new purpose. The result is one of the best albums of that period, a spiritual blend of jazz, rock and Latin music like no other. This is the story of Caravanserai, my favorite album in the band’s catalog.

In the Near East the word Caravanserai means a large courtyard that provides accommodation for caravans, or simply a group of people travelling together. But Carlos Santana found a different meaning for it when he was reading a text by Indian yogi and guru Paramahansa Yogananda: “The caravan is the eternal cycle of reincarnation, every soul going into and out of life, from death to life and back again, until you arrive at a place where you can rest and achieve an inner peace. That place is the caravanserai.” He could not come up with a better title for the album, as it represents not only his personal quest for spirituality at that time, but also the music that the band created for the album. There is a level of intensity and urgency about that music that has its peers in the beginnings of jazz rock: albums by Miles Davis, Tony Williams’ Lifetime and John MacLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. But unlike most albums in the genre that came about when jazz musicians discovered that rock attitudes and instrumentations can add a new dimension to their music, it is rare to find a rock band foraying into jazz territories. Sure, progressive rock bands, mostly from the British Isles like Soft Machine and King Crimson, where already doing that in spades by 1972. But for an American top 40 band to do that, and with such a level of integrity and sincerity, that was unique.

Santana 1970

Musically, the road to Caravanserai started with drummer Michael Shrieve’s love of jazz. Shrieve belongs in the great society of drummers who are into jazz and improvisation but found themselves through various circumstances playing in rock bands in their early careers. Bill Bruford of Yes is another fine example. These drummers have a lighter touch on the drum set and their jazz esthetics and dynamics broaden the range of the typical rock band rhythm section. Shrieve was Carlos Santana’s portal into the world of great jazz albums: “When I was living on Army Street, Michael would bring me all kinds of records, Miles Davis and John Coltrane and I’d say ‘Aw man, bring me some Albert King.’ But when I heard In a Silent Way I thought it was interesting and when Michael brought me Miles in the Sky it was all over. I owe Michael a lot; He’s the one who turned me onto John Coltrane and Miles Davis. I just wanted to play blues until Michael came. He opened my eyes and my ears and my heart to a lot of things. Some drummers only have chops, but Michael Shrieve has vision.”

Carlos Santana was looking for the same mood to start his album, but had an additional request: “I told engineer Glen Kolotkin at the beginning of the sessions that I wanted the album to start with the sound of nature, and he said ‘I got just the thing – in my backyard I have a cricket chorus, and you won’t believe how loud they get.’” The result was Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation, opening up Caravanserai with 35 seconds of nothing but crickets before a saxophone intro by Hadley Caliman, a friend of Michael Shrieve who joined the sessions on an invitation by the drummer.

The rest of the track takes us into a territory the band lightly explored on Singing Winds, Crying Beasts, the track that opened Abraxas. But here it segues immediately into a jazzier space with Tom Rutley’s acoustic bass. You immediately notice that the overall sound is much more natural and close than the Latin rock-oriented production on their previous albums.

The next track, Look Up (To See What’s Coming Down), is another showcase of Doug Rauch’s excellent funky bass guitar groove. Santana on Rauch: “You can hear what he brought to All the Love of the Universe and Look Up (to See What’s Coming Down) – when we heard those tracks, we realized how much we needed Dougie.” Also notable on this track is Shrieve’s mastery of the hi-hat and the timbales solo by Jose Chepito Areas.

12 minutes pass from the start of the album before we hear the first vocals, with Gregg Rolie singing Just in Time to See the Sun, the track that most resembles the style of the previous three albums.

The next tune is the last to be recorded for the album in May 1972, and is one of its highlights, Song of the Wind. This is a tour de force of guitar work by Carlos Santana and Neal Schon, one of the latter’s last great efforts for the band. One after another the two dish out solo phrases that could supply 10 songs on any other album.

Carlos Santana recalled Gregg Rolie’s modest contribution to this tune in his memoir: “To this day I listen to Song of  the Wind and break down inside hearing Gregg’s playing on that one – no solo, just a simple supportive organ part that is not flashy or anything but supremely important to that song.”

Michael Shrieve recalls a different episode related to this song: “They both played beautifully and they were very happy putting their parts. Traditionally, the way it works, is that you get what they call the basic tracks, which is always the drums and the bass and that’s that. Then, you don’t need to do any drums. But the guitar players or the singer or somebody could punch in and keep making their solo better. And at the end of the evening, in the studio they recorded such beautiful stuff that I thought: ‘Wow, I should have played with them’. And I was determined to do that. But you can’t do that. Back in those days it was too difficult to do that without Pro-Tools, without computers. If you mess up the basic tracks, if you re-record the drums and mess it up, you can ruin the whole track and keep doing it over and over on the drum set. So, I said to the engineer after everybody left: ‘I am going to work on this all night long. I am going to practice the way I want to play it with what they have done now Carlos Santana and Neal Schon. So, be here tomorrow early and let’s do it’. I didn’t tell any in the band. The engineer was still frightened, because if I mess it up they would probably blame him for it. They should blame me. He said: ‘Please Michael, don’t do this’. I just said: ‘Be here early tomorrow. I will tell you at what time.’ I worked all night long and I came back and I said: ‘Roll the tape’ and I did it. I was able to perform that song with what they had worked on after the basic track is done. And it turned out great.”

The first side of the original LP closes with All the Love of the Universe, maybe Gregg Rolie’s finest moment on this album with a great organ solo. If you were in doubt about Carlos Santana’s quest for spirituality at that time (and ever since for that matter), a quick glance at the lyrics reveals a good amount:

New thoughts

Will purify my mind

And clean my body

New lives

Will fall together like an endless story

All the love of the universe

Will be shared by all that’s living

Santana’s discovery of Eastern philosophy was evident by the quote he chose to put inside the album cover, from the book Metaphysical Meditations by Paramahansa Yogananda:

The Body melts into the universe

The universe melts into the soundless voice

The sound melts into the all-shining light

And the light enters the bosom of infinite joy

As great as the first side of Caravanserai is, the second side includes the true gems. Brazilian music was also on the menu in the list of albums that Shrieve and Santana were listening to. They were also influenced by Airto Moreira, the Brazilian percussionist who played with Miles Davis the previous year. Santana: “It was Shrieve who said ‘let’s check out Jobim’ and we decided to record Stone Flower and write lyrics for it.” Shrieve: “Stone Flower was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim as an instrumental, and I wrote the lyrics on acid. Carlos and I sang the song.”

The track also features great contributions from Tom Rutley on acoustic bass and Wendy Haas on electric piano, and a rare sharing of vocals by Santana and Shrieve. Santana has a nice solo here, on which he said: “I was thinking Nature Boy, Love on a Two-Way Street. Gábor Szabó licks. They’re all on that album. People would tell me later, ‘Whoa – that was a great solo on Stone Flower.’ I’d say ‘Thank you, man’ and be thinking ‘I hope nobody busts me for it!’”

Jose Chepito Areas also shines on La Fuente Del Ritmo and throughout the album on the timbales. The energy the fuses into the music with these drums is not unique when you listen regularly to Cuban or afro Latin music, but in the context of Santana and the energy that exists already with rock instruments, it becomes a whole new experience.

Tom Coster plays the wonderful electric piano solo here. In an interview he talked about how he got to know Santana when he played with Gábor Szabó: “Carlos always showed up at the El Matador gigs. In fact, he was usually the first one there. I always got to the gig early so we chatted until Gabor showed up. Carlos loved the band and he also mentioned how much he loved my playing. He was inspired by the band and asked if we could get together and record. Gabor was in L.A. at the time so he flew out to San Francisco and we prepared to go to where ever Carlos suggested recording. Unfortunately, Carlos was talked out of it by his associates and it never happened. It was a very political time for Santana. The band was about to change and new people were about to join and change the direction into a more jazzy sound. This new band eventually included both Doug Rauch and myself.” Coster stayed with Santana throughout his jazz rock period and a little after. In 1976 he demonstrated his composer skills by writing the instrumental hit Europa, a staple in Santana’s live dates ever since.

And last, but certainly not least, the legendary Armando Peraza plays bongos on La Fuente Del Ritmo, his sole contribution to the album, as he was just joining the band proper around that time. Peraza belonged to a different generation, having arrived in New York in 1949, immersing himself in the jazz scene and playing with the likes of Charlie Parker and Buddy Rich. He later moved to the west coast and played with the best of jazz musicians there, including Dave Brubeck and Cal Tjader. He was 47 when he joined Santana, bringing a level of professionalism and maturity that was much needed. He later wrote and co-wrote 16 songs for Santana, including my favorite on the Amigos album, the afro Cuban tune Gitano, on which he also sings. Santana had the utmost admiration and respect for Peraza: “For me, Armando Peraza was the most important person to come into Santana that year – maybe any year.”

And we come to the crown jewel of Caravanserai, the epic album closer Every Step of the Way. Carlos Santana and Michael Shrieve spent a lot of time listening to the recorded tracks before they came up with the right sequence of tunes for the album. These were the times when you could start an album with almost a minute of crickets and solo sax and close it with a nine minute instrumental. And what an instrumental that is. This is Carlos Santana’s favorite tune on the album and I share his opinion. In his biography The Universal Tone Santana says of the tune: “For two reasons my favorite song on Caravanserai is Every Step of the Way – first because it sounds like what we really loved back then: Herbie Hancock’s Crossings. The song also reminds me of Shrieve because he wrote it and because of how we played together.” Indeed the gifted drummer weaved a track for the ages here. It starts as something out of a late-60s Miles Davis track, a band jam that in a Miles Davis record could last a whole side of an LP, but here shifts to something different after three minutes. What ensues is one of Santana’s greatest instrumental achievements. There is a great congas solo by James Mingo Lewis, an even greater flute solo by Hadley Caliman and a fine orchestral arrangement by Tom Harrell. I remember listening to this album as an LP, and when the needle lifted off the vinyl at the end of the second side (it was a semi-automatic turntable) I truly had the feeling that I experienced something unique, and not just musically.

The band was signed to Columbia Records, one of the major labels of the time, who loved the popularity of the band and was looking forward to their fourth album. You can only imagine the shock that hit the label’s executives when they first heard what came out of the studio. When label head Clive Davis listened to it, he told Santana and Shrieve, who are both listed as producers of the album: “This is a career suicide. Clearly there’s not one single within a thousand miles of this album. There’s nothing here to take to radio and get a hit with. It feels like you’re turning your backs on yourselves. The jazz stuff is great, but there’s already a Miles Davis. There’s already a Weather Report. Why don’t you just be Santana?” But like Schon and Rolie already figured out, Santana was already far away from other people’s perception of Santana. Indeed there was no single forthcoming, but the album did pretty well, likely riding the high of the band’s success with the previous albums. It reached no 8 on Billboard’s Top 200 LPs list in December 1972. That same week Yes reached no. 5 with Close to the Edge and the list topper was Seventh Sojourn by the Moody Blues. Those were the days.

Summarizing his experience in making the album, Michael Shrieve said: “We thought it was appealing, to the ear and to the soul. It made me feel good inside. There is a certain purity in the music that is seemed had to be recognized that would touch people if they really listened to it.” I’ll hand the closing comment to Carlos Santana: “Shrieve was there to complete the journey that became Caravanserai. He was in my corner and I was in his – we helped each other complete it. More than any Santana album, Caravanserai was meant to be a full album experience, with one track connected to the next – a body of work like What’s Going On or A Love Supreme.” Mission accomplished.

Santana Caravanserai (1972)

From feedreader.com

Santana really jumped the shark with this “Caravanserai”, a jazz fusion landmark, which is more like Tangerine Dream’s atmospherics in places, than the customary blasting lead guitar jamming Santana fans may have become accustomed to. The sun soaked atmospheres emblazoned on the cover really highlight the mood of the album. The tribal percussion punches are a main feature, pounding throughout and even inundating the sound with Africana relish, such as on Future Primitive.

Then there are Arabian flourishes that may conjure images of a lone desert scape with a camel making its way across arid sandy mirages.
We hear the desert scape with nature’s sounds in Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation, and then the low hum of the sun’s rays with fluttering flute, until the chimes glisten over cooling down the heat, with swells of keyboard echoes. All the Love in the Universe is a spiritual journey that moves inexorably to a climax, along a bass pulse, finally breaking into a song and then an insane instrumental break with Carlos lead and Gregg Rolie’s Hammond battling for supremacy.

The music flows along organically in the first half with not too many breaks from one track to the next and encapsulates the power of desert ambience. It is a soulful, at times moving journey, and always completely challenging musically. Santana never returned to this style again so it remains a solitude wilderness album, a desert island album literally pulsating with energy. When the guitar is to be heard it comes in a flurry of power at the hands of mighty Carlos such as on Stone Flower, with Rolie’s Hammond shimmers and vocals that echo in the distance.

La Fuente Del Ritmo continues the quest to find the oasis, the water of life, with chaotic piano and cymbal splashes, and the congas and bongos are never far around the corner. The groove locks into frenetic tempo as the lightning fast hands on the congas attack. Carlos’ lead work is exceptional, enigmatic over the arousing African beats. The improvisatory piano runs are competing against the manic tom toms, and then the Hammond blasts return like rain falling into the oasis.

It all leads ultimately to a 9 minute extravaganza ‘Every Step Of The Way’, opening with gentle percussion, with Hammond answers, and the threat of a cascading guitar phrase. As far as jazz fusion goes this really hits the target. Santana take their time getting to the meat, and taking great pains to build up to a crescendo.

This is a tense experience at times, and at three minutes it finally breaks into a downpour of grooving bass and drums as lead guitar swoops like a hungry vulture. Once the vulture is airborn everything melts into the sunshine of the soundscape. The sound of a bird twittering floats overhead and then flutters down into swathes of keyboards and a wonderful brass sound that builds to a climax.

“Caravanserai” is sheer musical poetry and one of Santana’s triumphs; certainly one of their most famous albums and will continue to challenge and move listeners for decades to come; a timeless treasure.