SUPERNATURAL

By Santana
Released June 1999

REVIEW

Santana was still a respected rock veteran in 1999, but it had been years since he had a hit, even if he continued to fare well on the concert circuits. Clive Davis, the man who had signed Santana to Columbia in 1968, offered him the opportunity to set up shop at his label, Arista. In the tradition of comebacks and label debuts by veteran artists in the '90s, Supernatural, Santana's first effort for Arista, is designed as a star-studded event. At first listen, there doesn't seem to be a track that doesn't have a guest star, which brings up the primary problem with the album -- despite several interesting or excellent moments, it never develops a consistent voice that holds the album together. The fault doesn't lay with the guest stars or even with Santana, who continues to turn in fine performances. There's just a general directionless feeling to the record, enhanced by several songs that seem like excuses for jams, which, truth be told, isn't all that foreign on latter-day Santana records. Then again, the grooves often play better than the ploys for radio play, but that's not always the case, since Lauryn Hill's "Do You Like the Way" and the Dust Brothers-produced, Eagle-Eye Cherry-sung "Wishing It Was" are as captivating as the Eric Clapton duet, "The Calling." But that just confirms that Supernatural just doesn't have much of a direction, flipping between traditional Santana numbers and polished contemporary collaborations, with both extremes being equally likely to hit or miss. That doesn't quite constitute a triumph, but the peak moments of Supernatural are some of Santana's best music of the '90s, which does make it a successful comeback. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

 

TRACKS

1	(Da Le) Yalleo		5:51
2	Love of My Life	Matthews/Santana	5:48
3	Put Your Lights On	Schrody	4:47
4	Africa Bamba	Perazzo/Santana/Tou	4:40
5	Smooth	Shur/Thomas	4:56
6	Do You Like the Way	Hill	5:52
7	Maria, Maria	Duplessis/Jean/Pera	4:21
8	Migra	Lindsay/Santana/Tah	5:24
9	Corazon Espinado	Fher	4:32
10	Wishing It Was	Cherry	4:59
11	El Farol	Porter/Santana	4:49
12	Primavera	Garcia-Alonso/Eckl/	5:17
13	Calling	Graham/Santana/Ston	7:48

PERFORMERS

Accordion	K.C. Porter
Bass	Benny Rietveld Tom Barney
Cello	Joseph Hebert
Conga	Raul Rekow
Drums	David Crockett Horacio "El Negro" Hernández
Flugelhorn	Earl Gardner
Flute	Danny Wolensky
Guitar	Angus Sutherland Carlos Santana René Martínez
Guitar (Rhythm)	Al Anderson Francis Dunnery Sergio Vallin
Keyboards	Alberto Salas Chester Thompson Loris Holland Nico Nibbering
Percussion	David Crockett Karl Perazzo
Saxophone	Danny Wolensky
Sleigh Bells	Carlos Santana
Trombone	Abel Figueroa Jeff Cressman Ramon Flores Steve Touré
Trumpet	Earl Gardner Julius Melendez Marvin McFadden Mic Gillette William Oritz
Tuba	Joseph Daley
Viola	Danny Seidenberg
Violin	Jeremy Cohen
Vocals	Carlos Santana Cee-Lo Fher G&B Product K.C. Porter Rob Thomas
Vocals (Background)	Carlos Santana Gonzales Alex Karl Perazzo Lenesha Randolph Tony Lindsay