SANTANA — Spirits Dancing in the Flesh (review)

SANTANA — Spirits Dancing in the Flesh album cover Album · 1990 · Latin Rock/Soul Buy this album from MMA partners
1/5 ·
Sean Trane
The return of the famous logo and a gorgeous artwork (reminiscent of Santana’s third album) had some effect on this old Santana fan, so I rushed to the store to hear it. Unfortunately I was cruelly deceived by it and actually waited for the library to acquire it and only listened to it much later in the decade, and only once in the new millennium for this review.

After a blistering opening track (even if the very start is borderline cheesy), a real awful Gypsy Woman (mostly very cheesy ballad) and a very average Soweto and the execrable Choose (with those typical 80’s drum samples), the album sinks without much popping to your attention. Only the Peace On Earth instrumental seems to inject some life in anotherwise fairly boring album. Most of the rest of the tracks (such as the usual Full Moon,) glides on the shell of my indifference and other irritates me beyond belief, such as the Michael Jackson inflected but Isley Bros-penned Who’s That Lady. Even the live version of Jingo does not save the album from sinking and the closing track is indifferent.

Don’t get me wrong this album is not really that much worse than others he made around those years, but its album sleeve is really deceptive, maybe inducing some kids in error. Best avoided really!!!

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