MID-1970s BROADCAST RECORDING OF SANTANA AT THEIR MOST EXPERIMENTAL Having made a major breakthrough following their legendary performance at Woodstock, Santana released a string of wildly successful albums, and by the mid-1970s were undertaking a period of experimentation. Broadening their horizons from the scorching brand of Latin rock with which they made their name, the group began to incorporate more jazz and funk influences into their sound. This trend was first apparent on Welcome, released on 9th November 1973. Keyboard player and vocalist Greg Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon had left to form Journey, and were replaced by Tom Coster on keys and Leon Thomas on vocals. The 73 album also included contributions from leading fusion guitarist John McLaughlin, as well as from John Coltrane s widow, Alice Coltrane. Bandleader Carlos Santana would return the favour by appearing on LPs of his two guests, 1973 s Love Devotion Surrender and 1974 s Illuminations respectively. The avantgarde sounds on Welcome were difficult for some fans to grasp, but the record still reached a respectable No. 25 on the Billboard albums chart, eventually going Gold. Welcome was followed in 1974 by the magnificent live album Lotus, recorded at the Koseinenkin Hall in Osaka, Japan across the 3rd and 4th July 1973. This in turn was succeeded by Borboletta in October 1974, which brought further new ideas into the fray as Carlos took a more of a minimalist approach with his guitar, favouring percussion, saxophone and keyboards to set the mood. Further line-up changes also occurred, most notably when keyboardist and vocalist Leon Patillo joined the group. The album outperformed its predecessor, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard chart and also achieving Gold in the US and Silver in the UK. The release of Borboletta was followed by extensive touring in the US and Japan throughout 1974 and 1975. The recording featured on this CD is taken from the group s performance at the Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on 25th May 1975. Broadcast in excellent audio quality over FM radio, the set features a wide range of Santana classics - including Black Magic Woman , Oye Como Va and Incident At Neshabur - as well as the previously unreleased Time Waits For No One . With the band on top form, this release remains an essential addition to any Santana collection and a glorious example of Santana live in the mid-1970s.
