SANTANA — Festivál (review)

SANTANA — Festivál album cover Album · 1976 · Latin Rock/Soul Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
After an incredible stretch of excellent-to-sublime albums (bar the weaker Welcome), starting with their debut, Festival was the first album that I would call less progressive than all of its predecessors, Carlos’solo albums included. But is Festival weaker? Well it certainly appears so, but there are still some marvelous moments on this slice of wax. Graced with a rather bland artwork (snake in a rose?), the album is rather aptly titled as it implies many festive moods and celebrates happiness.

After the opening trilogy of very happy tracks Carnival/Children Play/Jugando, well-known to fans as those were present in the first parts of their concerts and are therefore part of Lotus and Moonflower, the album seems to be gliding on rather bland sort of sung-funk-jazz, such as the brassy Give Me Love or Reach Up, Try A Little Harder Now etc... interupted by much more intersting tracks: the wondeful and cosmic Spanish-inflected Verhao Vermelho (with its Portugues/Brazilian name) or the early-group-feeling Let The Music Set You Free or the Miriachi-inflected Caracoles.

Overall, sonically speaking we are on the way towards the much more succesful 76’s Amigos album, but this album is not essential in the group’s discography. But after having discovered their early gems, should you wish to extend your discovery of the group, this album would be welcome in a second or third wave of acquisition. While not indispensible, still worth the occasional spin.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Taylor Ho Bynum, Jacqueline Kerrod : Simple Ways Such Self Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TAYLOR HO BYNUM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sanyas Hard Bop
STEVE TURRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pianohooligan : Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pts. 1 & 2 Third Stream
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Jason Stein, Marilyn Crispell, Damon Smith, Adam Shead : Spi​-​raling Horn Avant-Garde Jazz
JASON STEIN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Utopia Jazz Related Improv/Composition
OLIVER LUTZ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Stablemates
RON BLAKE
js· 1 day ago
Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pt. 1
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
js· 1 day ago
FULL ALBUM - Oliver Lutz - Utopia w/ Leif Berger, Constantin Krahmer
OLIVER LUTZ
js· 2 days ago
Lift
DAVE WILSON (US/NZ)
js· 4 days ago
Nature is a Mother
CHARLIE PYNE
js· 4 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed