Carlos Santana's music for the mature

By Devi M. Asmarani

JAKARTA (JP): When a once-famous artist suddenly makes a comeback after over a decade of nonproductivity, it usually raises one of two reactions: curiosity or skepticism.

In the case of Carlos Santana, guitar maestro and legendary Latin-rock musician, the skeptics could immediately link the relevancy of Santana's return with the current Latin music revival -- albeit in the form of a bunch of gorgeous singers -- across America and across the globe.

Yes, Ricky Martin is hot. Jennifer Lopez is irresistible. Enrique Iglesias seduces his listeners as his father did -- and still does -- their mothers.

But anyone who listened to Santana then, knows full well that this 52 year-old is no match for the flawless skinned, pumped up new Hispanic stars.

For one thing, he is an extraordinary guitarist, a highly decorated musician. The Woodstock veteran's hits are actually categorized under classics in record stores -- while the new batch's hits linger as long as capry pants wrapping the hips of spaghetti-strapped mall girls.

Santana's modest looks -- he could be the guy serving you in a Mexican restaurant -- are no head-turner like the tightly-clad Ricky Martin's.

So, having distinguished the differences, listeners can begin listening to Carlos Santana's new album Supernatural without prejudice.

Santana said in an interview recently with CNN that his new album is a "masterpiece of joy".

"It's really music that it like sounds, resonance and vibration creates acupuncture for the listener, so people won't feel so desolate so much, because this is kind of like a desolate planet," he said.

"As you know, most people are not happy unless they're miserable, so we want to rescue and present them a new menu -- or a new alternative with this music, that truly rearranges the molecular structure."

It's a bit ambitious, but not too far from the truth.

From the very beginning, when he and his band the Santana Blues Band were aspiring musicians in the late 1960s in San Francisco, his pure love for music, nurtured since the age of five by his mariachi violinist father Jose, has given the world a refreshing blend of rock and Hispanic music.

Blending 12-bar blues, fiery rock riffs and sensuous Afro- Cuban rhythms, he created a unique, free-spirited sound with rhythms so seductive they're almost certain to get listeners on their feet. Among these most memorable songs are Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen and Oye Como Va.

They were never deep music. Not the kind that makes listeners pensive but the kind that will cheer them up with a sprinkle of magic and mildly superstitious lyrics, reflecting the Hispanic community's culture.

This album is no different.

In this album -- produced jointly with Arista Records' seasoned producer Clive Davis, whose sharp commercial sense for hits has linked him with some of the most successful musicians in the industry -- Carlos serves his old musical charm mixed with saucy contemporary sounds.

He does this by embracing talented rising stars like Dave Mathews from the Dave Matthews Band, Lauryn Hill, Eagle-Eye Cherry as well as fading star Eric Clapton.

The result is a collection of songs unbridged by generations, races and nationalities, without making him appear too much like an aging star with a make-over.

But a star-tribute album this is not. Instead, it combines the various talents harmoniously, creating a sort of energy that makes this bilingual album live up to its name.

It starts out with (Da Le) Yaleo, a standard jazz number with an upbeat Spanish rhythm and excellent improvisation by Chester Thompson on keyboard and Santana on guitar.

It is followed by Love of My Life, featuring Dave Matthews, which starts out a bit bluesy -- in a Sting kind of way -- that progresses into a medley of Santana's trademark guitar riffs.

Put your Lights On featuring Everlast is a solemn song with lyrics like: Hey now, all you killers/Put your lights on, put your lights on.

Smooth, the album's first single, mixes salsa with bluesy, midtempo rock. It features Matchbox 20's lead singer Rob Thomas, whose deep bass voice accompanies the album's most somber number.

There are songs with timely 1990 infusion like Do You Like The Way, where Grammy-award winner Lauryn Hill's rap and Goodie MoB's Cee-Lo's voice mix with song-bytes in the style of hip-hop group The Fugees, in which Hill started her career.

Wishing It Was, sung by new talent Eagle-Eye Cherry, is similarly vigorously dynamic. With a smart beat, it is certain to be the next hit out of the album after Smooth.

But Santana has not abandoned his roots.

In songs like Africa Bamba, one of only two songs on the album with him as the lead singer, and the sultry Maria Maria, he brings on the haunting sound of classic Spanish guitar and cello.

Maria Maria was cowritten and coproduced by Wyclef Jean, also a former member of The Fugees. Songs like Migra and Primavera, are also laden with raw Hispanic ingredients.

If Santana's -- or his producer Davis for that matter -- original aim when the new album was being planned was to seize the "Latin craze" momentum, he would not likely be able to come between Ricky Martin and his adoring fans.

But -- if it's any consolation -- they were never in the same league anyway.