Wow! I was listening to Carlos Santana’s back catalog all of the “Endless Summer” of 2021. It was magnificent! I finally, completed purchasing all of the major albums that make up his expansive discography. Then, I saw on his website he was releasing another…and Blessings and Miracles is a wonderful addition to that discography.
Carlos Santana is one of the most adaptable, multi-cultural, diverse and versatile musicians in history. His music can be classified as Latin, jazz, rock, progressive, dance, rhythm and blues, pop, spiritual, soul and probably another fifteen or more genres and categories. He feels comfortable playing in all of these genres. And he has friends to perform with him in all of these genres, including rap as well.
Blessings and Miracles is a great sample of some of those influences. “America for Sale”, sounds like it could have been written by The Guess Who. Yes, there is a real, “American Woman” feel to the beat and rhythm of this one. But it has two Metal Gods playing alongside Carlos – Kirk Hammett from Metallica, and Mark Osegueda, from Death Angel. Add metal to Carlos’ list of genres and accomplishments. This is a powerful album opener.
Then Carlos teams up with Chick Corea and Gayle Moran Corea to deliver “Angel Choir”/ “All Together”. A beautiful antithesis to “America for Sale”, with the metal gods. Beautiful angelic voices surrounding piano and keyboards, with a soft Latin rhythm, xylophone and Carlos golden, electric guitar chords.
Ally Brooke’s lovely voice decorates Santana’s wonderful electric guitar-work, with accompanying keyboards and orchestration surrounding. Magic. Almost good enough for a James Bond theme, or an alternate movie soundtrack.
“Breathing Underwater”, is full of beautiful acoustic and electric guitar, surrounded by a wonderful vocal duet by Carlos Santana’s daughter, Stella Santana and Avi Snow. The surrounding synthesizers and orchestration make this sound like an underwater dreamscape.
“Ghost of Future Pull/New Light”, and “Ghost of Future Pull II”, sound like something left off one of my favorite Santana albums, Caravanserai. The second track even brings in a little of that windy Jimi Hendrix’ playing from “Third Stone from the Sun”. Thank you for all of it Carlos!
“Joy”, is a beautiful song of, well yes, joy. Country music star Chris Stapleton and Carlos Santana perform magic, set to a soft rhythm, with great drum support. Did I say versatility. Country music melded with reggae. Nice.
Tommy Anthony sings a real Santana rocker “Mother Yes”. Another rocker that would have fit well on Santana IV. Tommy sounds a lot like Jimi Hendrix here. Excellent!
Rob Thomas is back with Santana for the sequel to their massive hit “Smooth”. This time it is “Move”, and it will make you do the same. Full of Latin flavor, like the first. It is almost as good.
“Peace Power”, features Corey Glover from the band Living Colour. This is a Black Power rocker re-drawn from the 1960s, capitalizing on the energy of the Black Lives Matter protests.
“Rumbalero”, is an electric rhythm machine full of rumba and drums, with Santana’s guitar joining in. It is a dance track supreme. Turn it on and move.
“Santana Celebration”, is a traditional organ and lead electric guitar Santana song, full of rhythm and the beat of many drums. Wonderful. Celebrate!
“She’s Fire”, is the perfect descriptive title for this song. With G-Easy on lead vocals, he describes the kind of lady you don’t bring home to Mom, but enjoy nonetheless. Wonderful. A rapper song, full of soul.
“Song for Cindy”, is a slow instrumental love song full of lead electric guitar and of course drums played just right by Carlos’ wife Cindy.
Did I say progressive rock earlier? I meant it. A lot of his catalog is progressive in nature. Well, you cannot get any more progressive than, “Whiter Shade of Pale”. When Carlos gets together with Steve Winwood to play this classic, it is complete magic and well worth the ticket for admission. What a way to close this wonderful album. Thank you Carlos! A++++.
Every moment of this album is a ‘can’t miss’. Please do yourself a favorite and get this album. So much variety you will definitely find something you like. Or hopefully be introduced to something new. It truly is a Blessing and a Miracle to behold, how Carlos Santana can keep producing Grammy level albums. Earlier in December, Carlos had heart pain and had to cancel some Las Vegas shows. Even more reason to appreciate this legend and enjoy every minute of his talent. Peace, blessings and miracles to all.
Track List
- America for Sale – 6:14
- Angel Choir/All Together – 3:17
- Break – 5:16
- Breathing Underwater – 3:34
- Ghost of Future Pull/New Light – 1:25
- Ghost of Future Pull II – 1:47
- Joy – 3:47
- Mother Yes – 4:35
- Move – 2:45
- Peace Power – 4:40
- Rumbalero – 3:56
- Santana Celebration – 3:18
- She’s Fire – 3:33
- Song for Cindy – 3:49
- Whiter Shade of Pale – 4:54