Santana - Tropical Spirits Parts 1 & 2 (2 CD)

Tropically Inspired: The Early Santana

Capitalizing on the recent popularity of Carlos Santana, Cleopatra affiliate Purple Pyramid released Tropical Spirits Part I & II on Leap Day 2000. It is essentially a collection of early Santana tunes and unreleased material. "Acapulco Sunrise", which was slated to appear on Santana's debut disc (1969's Santana) but did not, is included.

The stellar (but blandly named) "Jam In E" and "Jammin' Home", taped at Pacific Recording Studios in 1969, actually served as part of guitarist Neal Schoen's audition to Santana. "El Corazon Manda", "Jingo" and "Soul Sacrifice" - all Santana classics - appear on Tropical Spirits in their original versions. This rare non-Columbia, non-Polydor, non-Arista Santana release, by virtue of content, does merit ownership. It contains 15 tracks in all on two CD's, mostly highlighting the very early part of the band's career. The songs appear in their original arrangements; extended versions that mirror the Santana reputation in the first place: live, tight and technically sizzling performances. Nine selections surpass six minutes in playing time; the longest clocks in at 11:24 ("Latin Tropical"). The set also includes four "Millennium Remix 2000" versions of "Jingo", "Acapulco Sunrise", "Fried Neckbones and Home Fries" and "Soul Sacrifice", which make for danceable club play. In all, though most of the songs are available elsewhere. However, this is a definite must-own for any die-hard Carlos Santana fan. It is a portrait of an artist that captures him during his classic period before his jazz-fusion jaunts of the seventies, world beat inspired themes of the 80's and phenomenal, all-star collaborative effort of 1999 (Supernatural).