Carlos Santana/John McLaughlin - Love Devotion Surrender

A hopelessly misunderstood record in its time by Santana fans -- they were still reeling from the radical direction shift toward {jazz} on Caravanserai and praying it was an aberration -- it was greeted by Santana devotees with hostility, contrasted with kindness from major-league critics like Robert Palmer. To hear this recording in the context of not only Carlos Santana's development as a guitarist, but as the logical extension of the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis influencing { ock} musicians -- Mclaughlin, of course, was a former Davis sideman -- this extension makes perfect sense in the post-Sonic Youth, {post-rock} era. Read More