Santana: So he is celebrating a very special year in his career
For Carlos Santana (71) 2019 will be a year of anniversaries. Not only is he celebrating the 50th anniversary of his performance at the legendary Woodstock Festival, but also celebrating the 20th anniversary of his seminal 'Supernatural' album. The album, with which Santana made the final leap into the super-star roster and has sold more than 30 million copies to date. No wonder that the musician has planned a lot for 2019. It starts this Friday with the release of the EP "In Search Of Mona Lisa".
The approximately 30-minute long "In Search of Mona Lisa" EP is a small foretaste of the new album, which is to appear sometime in the summer and is designed by none other than producer guru Rick Rubin (55). The core of the EP is the nearly ten-minute opener "Do You Remember Me". The track, which is held in the Cuban music style of Guajira, shows Santana in an irresistible playful mood and combines his unmistakable guitar play with danceable Latino rhythms - everything for which the 71-year-old is known.
A spiritual experience with "you"
The two other tracks "In Search of Mona Lisa" and "Lovers From Another Time" are in no way inferior, but are more worn by the vocals than by Santana's virtuoso licks. The other two tracks on the EP are confidently negligible, since they are only radio edits of the first two songs. All in all a successful appetizer to shorten the time to the album. Small anecdote on the edge: The title should have prompted him the Mona Lisa in person. Once during a visit to the Louvre and another time in a dream. This is how Santana described his spiritual experience with the painting by Leonardo da Vinci, at least in relation to the "Rolling Stone".
For German fans there is a small downer in the year of Santana's anniversaries. Until August, the 71-year-old will be on "Supernatural Now" tour with his "Supernatural" album - but so far no concerts have been announced in Europe.
