So after the tough sledding of the past few days, it’s time for us all to frolic a bit in the shallow end of the cultural pool: it is, after all, still summer, and Labor Day’s just around the corner. Here, then, a parlor game: What are your ten favorite “rock movies”? That phrase wobbles [...]
[Part 3 of 4] As he tells it, Santana’s rise back to the top of the pop music charts was fueled by a very human desire. After signing with Arista records in 1997 and being reunited with his friend and producer Clive Davis, he complained: “I’ve got three kids at home and they want to [...]
[Part 2 of 4] The name “Santana” points always in two directions: both to the band originally called the Santana Blues Band (shortened to Santana by the release of their first album), as well as the band’s founder and lead guitarist. The ambivalence captured in that name—is Santana a band or a man?—registers something [...]
[Cherished Readers: I'm going to use the occasion of Carlos Santana's (re-)appearance at Woodstock last month to think a little bit about the shape of his extraordinary career: today and for the next three days. My thanks, in advance, for your bearing with me.--KD] On July 17, guitarist Carlos Santana played the Bethel Woods Center for [...]
Listening to the new Jimi Hendrix album a few weeks ago started me thinking about what we might call counterfactual recording sessions. The Righteous Brothers suggested back in 1973 that if there’s a rock & roll heaven, you know they’ve got a helluva band; I guess I’m hoping that they’ve got some incredible remixing facilities, [...]
Let’s get finished with Valleys of Neptune now with all due dispatch. “Mr. Bad Luck”: forgettable (given the proviso, ventured yesterday, that all of these tracks bring something of value). Let’s move on. Hendrix’s almost seven-minute instrumental version of “Sunshine of Your Love” is the track (after “Valleys of Neptune”) that’s been getting the most media [...]