Abraxas (album)
Encyclopedia
Abraxas is the second studio album by the Latin influenced rock
band Santana
. Consolidating their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival
in August of 1969, and the interest generated by their first album, Santana
(released in May 1969), the band took some time to issue a follow-up. Released in September, 1970
, the album's mix of rock
, blues
, jazz
, salsa
and other influences made it a classic that defined Santana's early sound, and showed a musical maturation from their first album.
, which is quoted on the album's back cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...." The word Abraxas
has use within Gnostic cosmology.
for You".
This instrumental was covered by José Feliciano
, who added lyrics. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby
's book 31 Songs
. It was used in the UK as the background music for TV ads for Marks and Spencer food in 2006. It was also featured as the ending song in the Cold Case episode "Dead Heat", which aired November 8, 2009.
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
. Consolidating their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in August of 1969, and the interest generated by their first album, Santana
Santana (album)
Santana is the debut studio album by the San Francisco rock group Santana released in 1969. It is a release of largely instrumental music, recorded by what was originally a purely free-form jam band...
(released in May 1969), the band took some time to issue a follow-up. Released in September, 1970
1970 in music
- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....
, the album's mix of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and other influences made it a classic that defined Santana's early sound, and showed a musical maturation from their first album.
Album name
The title of the album comes from a line from Herman Hesse's book DemianDemian
Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth is a Bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919; a prologue was added in 1960. Demian was first published under the pseudonym "Emil Sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, but Hesse was later revealed to be the author.-Plot summary...
, which is quoted on the album's back cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...." The word Abraxas
Abraxas
The word Abrasax was a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the “Great Archon” , the princeps of the 365 spheres...
has use within Gnostic cosmology.
"Samba Pa Ti"
"Samba Pa Ti" translated into English means "SambaSamba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
for You".
This instrumental was covered by José Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
, who added lyrics. It is also one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
's book 31 Songs
31 Songs
Songbook is a 2002 collection of 26 essays by English writer Nick Hornby about songs and the particular emotional resonance they carry for him. In the UK, Sony released a stand-alone CD, A Selection of Music from 31 Songs, featuring 18 songs. The hardcover edition of Songbook, published in the U.S...
. It was used in the UK as the background music for TV ads for Marks and Spencer food in 2006. It was also featured as the ending song in the Cold Case episode "Dead Heat", which aired November 8, 2009.
Legacy
Abraxas features a mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as showcased electric guitar, organ and heavy drums. The album also demonstrates Santana's stylistic versatility, including tracks such as "Samba Pa Ti" (a classic slow-burning piece) and "Incident at Neshabur", both being instrumentals. The latter has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion — congas, bongos and timbales, as well as a conventional rock drum setup, made this Santana's first foray into true Latin rhythm. In 2003, the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Track listing
While the original track listing lists track 5 as "Se a Cabo", the correct Spanish spelling for the phrase is "se acabó", meaning "it's finished".Versions
- In 1990 CBS/Sony published a remastered edition on Audio CD (Universal Product CodeUniversal Product CodeThe Universal Product Code is a barcode symbology , that is widely used in North America, and in countries including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand for tracking trade items in stores. Its most common form, the UPC-A, consists of 12 numerical digits, which are uniquely assigned to each trade item...
: 7464301302 ). - In 1991 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 552).
- In 1998 Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se A Cabo", "Toussaint L'Overture" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on April 18, 1970.
- In 1998 SME recordsSony Music Entertainment Japanis Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
in Japan, part of Sony Music, also released the remastered version as an SACDSuper Audio CDSuper Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
. This disc is stereo only, and furthermore, it is a single layer SACD, which means that ordinary CD players will not play it. This disc contains the same bonus tracks as the ordinary 1998 remastered CD. - In 2008 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a remastered version on their Ultradisc II (24K) Gold CD (UDCD 775) & GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog LP 180g Series (MFSL305).
Personnel
- Carlos SantanaCarlos SantanaCarlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
– GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Gregg RolieGregg RolieGregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
– KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, Lead VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - David BrownDavid Brown (musician)David Brown was the primary bass guitar player for the band Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1973 until 1976. David grew up in Daly City, California...
– BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Engineer - Michael ShrieveMichael ShrieveMichael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
– DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - José "Chepito" AreasJosé AreasJosé Chepito Areas is a Nicaraguan percussionist. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as a percussionist for Santana, which he was from 1969-1980. In 1997 he performed on the album Abraxas Pool with other former members of Santana.-References:...
– PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, CongaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
, TimbalesTimbalesTimbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned... - Mike CarabelloMike CarabelloMichael Carabello in San Francisco, California. In 1998, Michael Carabello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the latin rock group Santana....
– PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, CongaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
Additional personnel
- Rico Reyes – PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Alberto Gianquinto – PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on "Incident at Neshabur" - Steven Saphore – TablaTablaThe tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
- Robert VenosaRobert VenosaRobert Venosa was an American artist residing in Boulder, Colorado, USA. He studied with what are termed the New Masters. His artworks reside in collections around the world. -Life and works:...
– Artwork, Graphic Design - John Fiore – Engineer
- Mati KlarweinMati KlarweinAbdul Mati Klarwein was a painter best known for his works used on the covers of music albums.-Biography:...
– Illustrations - Victor Gonzalez – Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Album
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS | AUT | FRA | NLD | NLZ | NOR | SWE | SWI | UK | |||||||||||||
| 1970 |
|
1 | 1 | — | 7 | 9 | — | 3 | — | — | 7 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock | US AC | US AP | AUS | NLD | GER | NZL | SWI | UK | |||||||||||||
| 1970 | "Black Magic Woman Black Magic Woman "Black Magic Woman" is a song written by Peter Green that first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1968, subsequently appearing on the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums English Rose and The Pious Bird of Good Omen . In 1970, it became a classic hit by Santana, as sung... " |
4 | — | — | — | 15 | — | 14 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| 1971 | "Oye Como Va Oye Como Va "Oye Como Va" is a song written by Latin jazz and mambo musician Tito Puente in 1963 and popularized by Santana's rendition of the song in 1970 on their album Abraxas, helping to catapult Santana into stardom with the song reaching #13 on the Billboard Top 100. The song also reached #11 on... " |
13 | — | — | — | 13 | 16 | 29 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Hope You're Feeling Better Hope You're Feeling Better "Hope You're Feeling Better" is the eighth track and third single from the 1970 Santana album Abraxas. It was written by the band's singer Gregg Rolie and released as a single in 1971.The song opens with four bars of organ riff... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Certifications
| Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
|---|
US: 5× Multi-Platinum UK British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Gold FRA: Platinum |