Santana: Is This Jazz?

As much as I truly enjoy the first 3 Santana albums (and I'd wager those albums are all most people think of when they think of Santana), the next phase was a major leap forward for the band. "Caravanserai" through "Welcome" may have confused early Santana fans (where's the vocals? where's the guitar??) but Carlos and company added so much more color to the Santana palette with these albums.

In the middle of all this experimentation, Carlos Santana recorded an album with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin (they both shared a guru -- don't ask). The result. "Love, Devotion and Surrender", was a head-scratcher for me. The first track is a cover of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", both guitarists blasting out of the gate at full strength. Huh? Is this supposed to sound like an argument? Where's the love?

I was better acclimated when I got to what was at the time Side Two, which opened with "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord". That track starts out quiet and builds in intensity, which my ignorant ears could follow. Another Santana/McLaughlin track "Flame Sky" (from "Welcome") follows the same template with excellent results.

And I got to hear this album again thanks to Freegal, the library service which allows you to download 3 tracks a week -- for free!

Final note: my brother and I went to see Carlos and John in concert when they toured together, which was unfortunately marred by John's amplifier problems. He'd launch into a solo, interrupted by SKRONK!! and then silence as he and a roadie attempted to fix the problem. Meanwhile, Carlos gamely carried on until John could rejoin, but once again SKRONK!! Sigh...

New Brian Wilson -- "No Pier Pressure"

The Beach Boys reunion album from a couple of years ago was much better than expected, so hopes were high when Brian announced he'd wrapped up his new album, featuring some "special guests" such as Kacey Musgraves and Zooey Deschanel. Uh, oh. Some fans took to the interwebs, complaining about an album they hadn't heard yet. Brian responded, saying essentially "I've earned the right after 50 years of music to make my own choices -- don't judge it until you hear it!"

I don't know how many of these songs were intended for the second post-reunion Beach Boys album (Mike Love pulled out, saying he'd promised to do the album and 1 tour only) -- Brian's supposedly also has some tracks for a more 'rock 'n roll' album, tributes to Paul McCartney, Elton John (?), etc.

So using social media, Brian posted excerpts from the song "The Right Time", and it was an excellent PR move because it's a great song, with those lush Beach Boy harmonies we love. There are a few more BBoy-sounding tracks on the album -- the ones featuring former Boys Al Jardine and David Marks -- but even with the duets, it's definitely a Brian solo album.

If the last Beach Boys song you heard was "California Girls" or even "Good Vibrations", you might be  confused by what passes for Brian Wilson material these days, but those of us who followed them in the '70s, slogged with them through the '80s, and kept our distance in the '90s and '00s can still follow the plot. I've heard the new album maybe 4 times, and so far, it doesn't seem to have the depth of "That's Why God Made the Radio", but it just may be more consistent.

"Whatever Happened", "Tell Me Why", and "The Last Song" share some of the themes of TWGMTR -- nostalgia for places no longer there, hope that there's still time ahead, but "On the Island", the song featuring Zooey and M. Ward ('She and Him') is just plain fun, a bossa-nova variation, and "Guess You Had to Be There" is also fun, with the slightest hint of pop-country. I missed it the first time through, but "Somewhere Quiet" adds lyrics to the instrumental "Summer Means New Love" from way back on the "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!" album. All in all, a very pleasant album that I'm sure we'll be spinning in our CD player a lot this summer.

One more note about marketing: in addition to YouTube clips, there's also some multi-level purchase points. The regular CD has 13 tracks, the Deluxe addition adds 3 bonus tracks, and the exclusive to Target edition adds 2 more bonus tracks. The first batch of Deluxe bonus tracks are pretty good, the Target version includes those and remakes of "In the Back of My Mind" and "Love and Mercy". "In the Back" was awful when Dennis Wilson recorded it for "The Beach Boys Today", and Brian's new version is just as much of a struggle to listen to. "Love and Mercy" is okay (it's of much more recent vintage). Target's super-Deluxe version is the same price as Best Buy's regular-Deluxe version, so Target has the very slightest bang-for-your buck edge.