I know there are other Santana CD threads, but they only tend to focus on the first 3 albums, with little tidbits on the jazz/fusion stuff here and there. The purpose of this thread is to discuss any and all Santana albums that have seen more than one mastering on CD. Compilations and the solo albums from Carlos himself are fair-game to talk about as well. Here are the various versions of Santana on CD that I've seen or have: Original, unremastered Columbia/CBS CD's from the mid-80's to early/mid 90's: All albums up to and including Spirits Dancing in the Flesh. Joe Gastwirt mastered Lotus and the first version of Moonflower. IIRC, some of the Japanese CD's are the same as the domestic versions and some are different, though I could be wrong. Vic Anesini remasters: First 5 albums plus Moonflower. The first 3 remasters are also available as 2-CD Anniversary sets. Anesini also mastered several compilations, including Multi-Dimensional Warrior and all versions of The Essential Santana. These comps allow you to hear material from albums that haven't been remastered in the US, like Inner Secrets and Blues for Salvador. MFSL Gold CD's and Hybrid-SACD's:The first 4 albums plus Love, Devotion and Surrender. All 5 of these albums are available as hybrid-SACD's. There's also a standard gold CD for the debut and 2 of them for Abraxas (the first is from 1991 and the second was released in 2008). MasterSound Gold CD: The only one appears to be Santana (the debut), which came out in 1994. This gold CD seems to be held in high regard here. Japan Mini-LP's: There were 2 waves of these. The first batch came out in 2006 and covers Santana through Moonflower. The next batch was released in 2010 and covers Inner Secrets through Spirits Dancing in the Flesh. Viva Santana! was issued in the second batch. Carlos's solo albums were also issued as mini LP's at some point, but they're way too expensive now. According to an old thread about the first batch and the OBI's from the second batch, these mini-LP's have been remastered from a DSD source. Sony BMG Music Entertainment/CMG Reissues: Only 3 from what I've seen; Beyond Appearances, Freedom, and Spirits Dancing in the Flesh. Since these are budget releases, the packaging is crap. You only get the basic songwriting credits and the inside of the insert is blank; no lyrics are included. They also don't appear to be remastered (Freedom has the same DR and peak levels as the standard version). Avoid these reissues and get the original CD's! Friday Music 30th Anniversary remasters: Marathon, The Swing of Delight, Zebop!, and Shango. Shango is OOP and extremely rare, and I was lucky enough to secure a relatively inexpensive copy. I received it yesterday and I'll let you know how it sounds. Marathon and Zebop! are still in print, though I'm not sure if The Swing of Delight still is. Supernatural: 2-CD Deluxe Edition. Sony SACD's: Abraxas and Caravanserai. I think Abraxas was mastered by Vic Anesini. Caravanserai was exclusive to Japan IIRC. Audio Fidelity Hybrid-SACD: Lotus will be released on November 25th. Hopefully it'll be great! If I missed any CD's, please let me know!
As far as i know, for a long while this 1988 Castle release was the only digital version of these titles https://www.discogs.com/Santana-Car...rlos-Santana-Buddy-Miles-Live/release/3557618
I may have to check this out. Thanks for letting me know. It's strange that Welcome wasn't part of the inital Columbia CD releases in the US.
Thanks for this info. I knew Santana CDS had not been remastered very often. This is good info to have. I was not aware of who did the mastering.
I forgot to mention that Vic Anesini remastered Love, Devotion, and Surrender. Also, there was NOT a 2-CD anniversary edition of Abraxas. It was just an honest mistake since I always tend to group it with Santana I and III.
Let me know if you need a sample of some tracks to compare the mastering. Here's the peak infos, a bit on the quiet side: Track Peak -- 77,2 01 58,0 02 67,6 03 73,7 04 73,8 05 77,2 06 66,8 07 75,9 08 74,3 09 37,7
I've always been baffled by the inclusion of the 12" remix version of the song "One Chain" on the original CD release of Inner Secrets. Does anyone know if a subsequent edition has the original album version? The 12" mix would be a great bonus track, but not as the sole version in place of the original.
I bought a sealed copy of the standard US Inner Secrets CD earlier this year and it contains the remix. Wikipedia says that the original version is on the Japanese mini LP, so I ordered a copy of it last week. Once it arrives, I'll confirm whether or not it has the original mix.
Thanks, that would be helpful. Of you're still up for it, could you provide WAV pr FLAC samples of Light of Life and Love, Devotion and Surrender?
Hi all. New here. Forgive me if I stumble in early going. Great thread! I've long been searching for audio-enhanced SWING OF DELIGHT, in my opinion a very under-appreciated solo effort by Carlos but, in contrast, probably the worst sound-engineered in his entire catalog. Such a shame. If a remastering is out there, would really appreciate info how to acquire. Thanks so much!
Welcome (no pun intended)! This seems to be the cheapest Swing of Delight remaster that I could find: https://www.discogs.com/Devadip-Carlos-Santana-The-Swing-Of-Delight/release/2566750
Thanks! Again, sorry, but one question on account of my ignorance with these things, do I get what I pay for? In other words, I'm willing to pay higher if it necessarily equates to the audio quality. Does more $ sound better necessarily, or no? Thanks again, and please forgive my learning curve.
I wouldn't be able to answer that question about this TSOD remaster. The only issue that I didn't catch earlier is that the $8 copy doesn't have the OBI or the front insert. However, there's a sealed Japanese CD that came out this year for $13.60 with free shipping on eBay right now. Carlos Santana - Swing Of Delight [CD New] 4547366259032 | eBay ยป. I believe it's a jewel case reissue of the Japanese mini LP, but I've no idea how it sounds. If you really like TSOD, then this might be worth picking up. If you ended up not liking the remaster, then you could always sell it to recoup your funds.
About the Friday Music remaster of Shango; it's, urm... not good. My first problem is that the EQ sounds almost exactly the same as the original US CD. For curiosity's sake, I made an EQ graph and it pretty much confirmed what I was hearing. The second (and more important) issue is the compression. The CD is very fatiguing to listen to for more than 5 minutes and the difference in volume between the both discs is quite jarring. For the most part, the DR is nearly cut in half compared to the older CD's. However, the packaging isn't too bad. It's a digipak, but fortunately, it's not the crappy kind that has the disc tightly tucked inside just waiting to be scratched. You also get the lyrics, a short essay about the album, and an ad under the disc tray showing the other Santana albums the company has reissued. Because of the compression and minuscule differences in EQ, I wouldn't recommend the Friday Music remaster. To be on the safe side, I'm likely going to avoid the other FM remasters as well (unless I somehow find dirt cheap copies)... FYI - The original US Shango CD that I own doesn't have pre-emphasis. Most of the other early versions of this album do have PE, like the 35-8P.
Try to find the Japan Sony Mastersound version of Swing Of Delight SRCS 9382. Released as mini lp & jewel case. Excellent sound, the best that I've heard for this album. Not cheap or easy to find but well worth it if you dig this album. Song For My Brother is my fave from this album.
The early version of Shango that I've got (purchased in the 1980s) has pre-emphasis, and it's basically unlistenable. I think its pre-emphasis flags are set incorrectly, so CD players don't properly apply de-emphasis. Many years later, I ripped the disc to PC and used Audacity to apply a de-emphasis filter (which is an inexact science), and it sounds decent now.
Does "Now Made in the USA" appear on the back of the jewel case? That's what's on my copy. The DR values for my CD are also a little bit lower (the track with the highest rating is 17 for the one with PE, and 15 for mine).
Is there a 2-CD version of Abraxas? I didn't think that one ever got the Anniversary treatment, oddly enough.
I've got the Swing Of Delight that was released earlier this year. I have to say that I always assumed this was a terrible sounding album, but this edition sounds full and warm with lots of bass but not overdone. There's only one thing about this edition I do not like, it is compressed. Listening to it isn't very fatiguing though. An audiophile remaster of this album would work wonders on this disc. Also I suspect this is a clone of the mastersound disc. I can share EAC values to compare if one of you can do the same for the mastersound.
don't know why you thought that,the Lp always sounded great ,there are two Japanese mini sleeves of this ,I have the earlier one
