Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove
Woodstock will never get old…it will just keep getting better.
If any of you old-time rockers haven’t found out yet, the folks handling the original recordings of the Woodstock performances have recently released entire sets of certain bands. Those lucky few bands include Santana, Sly & the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and Johnny Winter.
I just got my hands on a copy of the entire Santana set, and boy, am I glad I spent that 20 bucks. The band, virtually unknown before their famous performance in White Lake, New York, completely kills it in this live album. It’s full of strong, funky, latin drum beats, blaring guitars and organs, and a flavor unlike any other band that played at Woodstock. But would we expect any less?
The sound makes it pretty close to impossible for you to stand still. I keep listening to the cd over and over again, and always find at least some part of my body moving and grooving along with Santana’s charm.
Drummer Michael Shrieve, who happened to be the youngest (and maybe the best?) drummer at Woodstock, is one of the main driving forces that makes this performance so powerful. His beats, along with the addition of the congos and bongos, make the entire set sound so intense that it’s almost tribal. And of course, where would we be without Carlos Santana, the lead singer and guitarist? His latin flavor brings even more authenticity and spark into the music.
Here’s a list of the tracks on the Woodstock Experience:
- Waiting
- Evil Ways
- You Just Don’t Care
- Savor
- Jingo
- Persuasion
- Soul Sacrifice
- Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries
If you’re any kind of Santana fan, you might want to consider picking yourself up a copy of this cd. It comes packaged with the band’s album “Santana” and also a poster capturing them onstage at Woodstock. Also, each one is individually numbered, so you can feel like you’ve really got something special there.
If you’ve never been a Santana fan before, but are considering giving them a go, start with this cd. It is one of their best.
On a side note, I still can’t believe Carlos Santana was on mescaline for this whole performance. Imagine that.
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