Santana doesn't live up to legene
By EMILY TUMBRINK
Scene Music Critic
With all due respect to Carlos Santana, one of the few guitar players who deserves legendary status, Shaman, his latest release, possesses very little to be admired. Pairing with Arista's hit-making producer Clive Davis, Santana has successfully created a record that sounds exactly like every other pop record on the market.
As a result, it will no doubt be a huge commercial success for which Santana will probably win many long overdue awards. But unfortunately for fans of his earlier works, Santana, who is well-respected by nearly everyone in the music industry, has passed up a wonderful opportunity to alter the sugar-coated shallowness that is nowadays called "music." Instead of utilizing this opportunity, Santana has fallen into the common trap of attempting to appeal to the masses rather than staying true to his own talent as an individual musician. In other words, Carlos Santana has sold out. And it is the very trap that has ensnared him that has also corrupted nearly the entire music industry, causing executives to sign artists who are incapable of playing instruments or writing songs, but who look awfully good on MTV.
In order to ensure the success of Shaman, Santana invited many of these so-called musicians from every genre, including pop, rock, hip hop, opera and blues to accompany him on various tracks. These guests include Michelle Branch, P.O.D. and Dido among others. In fact, there are only four songs on the album that possess no guest artist. The accompanying artists' domination of the album leaves listeners wondering how Santana fits into the picture. He may as well be absent from these "radio-friendly" tracks, which possess neither the style nor the quality found on previous Santana albums. Gone are the interminable jams that characterized Santana's earlier projects, showcasing his pure talent as guitarist. On this most recent attempt, Santana's guitar, which needs absolutely no accompaniment, has been reduced to just another layer in the over-produced auditory assault that is Shaman.
As if this weren't enough, the lyrics to most of the tracks are cheesy, shallow and trite. Very little genuine emotion is conveyed through the lyrics, possibly because many of the songs were not written by the artists performing them. This lack of emotion could also have something to do with the fact that the lyrics were written in such a hackneyed and cliched manner that it would be nearly impossible to evoke emotion from anyone asked to sing them. On P.O.D.'s contribution, "America," in the true spirit of originality that characterizes this album, the vocalist sings, "the way that we loved it was magical / truly wonderful / it was me and you so beautiful." Along similar lines, Seal on "You are My Kind" sings, "I need you / to cling to/'cause you are my kind / you're all that I want / here in this life / `til we are gone." These artists manage to get their point across in completely unoriginal ways.
Shaman is obviously a very forced attempt to replicate the success of Santana's 1999 hit Supernatural. The fact that it feels forced is perhaps the largest problem with this album. Rather than trying to feature the styles of various other artists who are inferior musicians, Santana should highlight what he knows and is good at: making the guitar speak. Hopefully he will come to this same conclusion before deciding to make another album.
Contact Emily Tumbrink at tumbrink.1@nd.edu
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, November 5, 2002
