Totally agree! I prefer Illuminations in that regard as it is nearer to the spacier end of Lotus and no vocals. Actually I may make a mix of just the instrumentals of Welcome and Borboletta to listen to!
Good call re Cosmic Debris! George Duke actually had some nice vocals on his albums Feel and Faces In Reflection. I also like his vox with Zappa but in general I agree, fusion sounds better instrumental.
I know why take him all the way to Japan to play maracas for three hours. He is only on BMW on Lotus I think, maybe some weird yodelling on some tracks.
The yodeling was a trademark of his (cf. "The Creator Has A Master Plan" by Pharoah Sanders) but it is too bad he didn't sing more. In one Santana book there was a quote from Tom Coster that it wasn't easy to work with Thomas. If they ever release the 12/31/73 show Santana probably has in the vault, it is similar to Lotus but has a few more songs Thomas sang.
Does anyone remember how Welcome and Borboletta were received at the time? While a step down commercially from the first three albums they still seemed to have healthy sales and of course in concert the band was a still a major draw.
The people who appreciated Caravanserai took Welcome & Borboletta in their stride & those that didn't tended to stick in the past. Roughly at the same time Carlos Santana released the Santana McLaughlin Love Devotion Surrender album which was received quite warmly. His other albums from that time Illuminations wasn't taken so kindly. Carlos Santana then proceeded to "dumb down" his music & regained those that found the music from this period too adventurist. The album Oneness: Silver Dreams - Golden Reality from 1979 is highly recommended to those who like the Lotus style period. It features some wonderful interplay between Calos & Tom Coster.
The smart thing to do would be to at least wiki this and get some numbers, but having lived through that time, the first three Santana LPs were pretty massive, and when Devadip decided to take a left turn and veer into Spirituality, I'm pretty sure Sales fell off in a major way. There were plenty of other distractions back then. I imagine critics were mixed. Some intrigued, some bored.
I never liked Lotus...but haven’t heard it for many years. Maybe I should give it another listen I always thought Moonflower was much superior...
Santana could do no wrong in the 70s. All those albums having something to offer. Lotus is a mindblowing experience for those of us who could’t experience him live at the time. Love it. Don’t know what happened to Santana in the 80s. He seems to be one of those artists who didn’t manage to make the transition artistically ... though he did have some later chart success with Supernatural.
Lotus is good in small doses. I especially find Side 1 invigorating. I have the stereo vinyl - I have a feeling the guitar is not quite so high in the mix as in the quad version. Singers: both the Leons were fine by me - very different from each other, but I've always liked the vocal interludes on Welcome and Borboletta. An equal pairing of male and female vocals might have worked better - Wendy Haas has a pretty voice which suits the material. Rolie? Nah - not during this period, great as he is on the first three albums. But poor old Leon Thomas - under-used! (His solo albums and work with Pharoah Sanders are a lot of fun BTW.) I get a little frustrated when people compare Amigos and Moonflower to the fusion period. Different kettle of fish altogether, despite the proximity chronologically. Amigos is pure polished commercialism, and Moonflower is moribund (to me anyway) - the flame had been snuffed out by this time. Critically Santana suffered a backlash. People were all over Caravanserai - it was number 1 in the UK for several weeks IIRC. The reaction had set in by the time Welcome appeared. I think this affected Carlos badly. He grew quickly embarrassed about the whole fusion period and started playing Latin-style disco pop "to get closer to the streets".
That Welcome, Lotus, Greatest Hits, Illuminations and Barboletta were all released within a 12 month period is simply mind blowing. What a boon for Santana fans.
The big issue that I have with Moonflower is that it tries to sit in 2 camps at the same time. Part studio part live. The live sections were probably included to appease the punters who were disappointed that their only live album (Lotus) was only available in Japan. IMO 2 releases, a single studio album & a double live album would have been so much better.
I must be the odd one out then as i love Caravanserai but do not enjoy Welcome, Borboletta or the Carlos/McLaughlin lp much. Also i wanted to love Lotus but didn't and i love the band live!
Absolutely my favorite Santana period. As much as I love Lotus, Welcome and Borboletta are tied for my favorite Santana records. Can't find a single thing wrong with either. Love the singing as well.
I think that Caravanserai is a far better album than those others but there is enough great stuff scattered through them for me to enjoy. I've often thought of making a CDR edit of the best parts of Welcome & Love Devotion & Surrender. To my mind Borboletta sits in another different space. I have heard a good quality bootleg of the band from this era which was also excellent. It would be nice to see it released officially. I think that Lotus is one of the absolute best live albums that has ever been released. A document of a really great band right at the very top of their craft.
Agree..I never heard Lotus until about a year ago, when I finally found a used CD reasonably priced. After hearing so much praise for it for so many years, I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed. Santana's guitar is distorted, and not in a good way, throughout the album. It's very fatiguing to listen to.
...Don't forget Love, Devotion and Surrender, which is a feast of inspired Carlos on the axe and features part of the band!
Welcome must have been, at least, pressed in huge quantities since the original version with the embossed cover is still relatively easy to find in the shops after all these years. And it was even repressed later with a non-embossed cover w/o the invitation card (same looks as the redbook CD), so it must have sold at least reasonably well. I remember it was played quite a lot upon release, for a while, on our progressive FM station. The only period recollection I have of Borboletta is Mirage getting played some on the radio. And indeed, the original album is scarcer around, these days, in my experience.
According to Discogs, the Dutch and Italian releases of the 3-LP set happened the year after the Japanese release.
One thing I find frustrating with Santana's fusion period is the Oneness: Silver Dreams - Golden Reality had completely passed me by, thanks for the recomendation I will check it out!
