Santana Altamont
November 2009
This month’s copy of the UK’s Classic Rock magazine (December 2009- Issue number 139) carries a five-page feature with photos, on Santana circa 69 onwards. It essentially deals with the success and troubles within the “original” Santana group. Who, in many peoples view, are the greatest of ALL the Santana incarnations to date.
For those of you that have not read any of this before, this will be to some degree eye opening. But be aware that the feature by Ben Fong-Torres is essentially a “remix” as he puts it from an original Rolling Stone feature from December 1972.
It is actually more of a condensed piece as the Rolling Stone piece was much lengthier than here. For Santana historians it is good to see the early band getting some “props. Albeit thru a vortex of all the inner strife they personally encountered within this volatile but ground breaking ensemble. This article broke the wall of silence and the then seeming mystique around the group. Years later Michael Shrieve would say they were open to interviews but simply did not get the requests thru from management.
However, it all added to the band’s glamour and made the music completely stand on its own, without reason or explanation. Anyone who is interested in this period may wish to seek out a December 1972 issue of Rolling Stone, with the cover proclaiming The Resurrection Of Santana.
Santana 69
Also; forthcoming to this website is a lengthy interview with Herbie Herbert, iconoclastic rock entrepreneur and then Santana road manager, who answers many questions about the early Santana history and is known for his forthright honesty, openness to telling the truth and anecdotal insight to those early times. He has a fairly photographic memory and even though I had twenty questions ready, we only got past two or three and that was with Herbie talking for nearly two hours.
Look out for this piece coming soon here!!
Jim McCarthy – November 2009.
Tags: Carlos Santana