Can anyone comment on how the MFSL SACD of Santana (I) sounds compared to the original MFSL gold redbook CD?
DR for Friday Music's remaster of The Swing of Delight: Album details - Dynamic Range Database Does anyone have the DR values for any other versions of the album?
Multi-Dimensional Warrior: 5 songs have newly-recorded overdubs. Spirit and Right Now have new guitar parts done by Carlos himself. Let There Be Light has new piano and harp overdubs, while Praise also gets harps added on. The problem here is that these overdubs are very lazily tacked on. The mixes of the 5 songs are exactly the same as they were before, just with a new instrument slapped on top. The biggest case in point here is with Spirit and Right Now. Not only do they have the new guitar dubs, but they also have pre-emphasis, just like the original Beyond Appearances CD! Well, the PE isn't actually detectable (same deal as the 2007 Beyond Appearances reissue), but the EQ is the same as the old CD. The sound of the other songs is a big hodgepodge too. I think the engineer just took the standard US CDs for each album and called it a day, since every song sounds nearly identical to how it does on the individual album it came from. That would explain why the Beyond Apearances tracks have PE. It's a shame that this comp feels so rushed since it has a great song selection. I love how it puts most of its focus on the late-70s to early-90s material, as I feel the albums from this time frame are highly underrated (and in the case of the mid-80s albums, get way too much hate), but what's the point if it's so clumsily-done? It makes me wonder why the overdubs were even added in the first place. I think the songs were fine as is, and personally, I would've preferred either the original unaltered tracks or full re-recordings over what we ended up with.
In the 90s, I used to own a mid mid price version of "Borboletta" that I sold for some reason but would gladly have back now. It was the old mastering. You know these collections that are mid mid price ? Albums by big artists from the back catalogue of Sony, Warner, or whichever big company but NOT the popular/big albums by them. Usually sold around 4 bucks tops instead of 7/8 to 10 bucks. I got Television's "Adventure" in this type of collection, "Who's Missing", Blue Oyster Cult "Club Ninja" (what a waste) and others, including Santana's "Borboletta". The name of the collection was "action prix" and "Sony Music" was printed in white on the tray itself and I don't know if they had more Santana ("Welcome" would have been nice. Good album). I loved these collections, being financially quite poor and always wanting more music...nice way to hear "deep cuts".
I've seen a Zebop CD on eBay that matches your description. If you want the a good mastering of Borboletta, the original US CD is still in print. Somewhat off-topic, but I actually like Club Ninja.
Good to know, thanks. Maybe there was "Zebop" in the same collection at the time, i don't remember it - but i was drawn to albums i didn't know at all, and my uncle had "Zebop!" on LP so if i had to make a choice and pick just one, i'd say that's why i picked "Borboletta" out of the two. I've reevaluated some old Santana in the past year and this era "Borboletta"/"Welcome" has some very good music so yes, i might pick an original US CD sometime.
What's the best version of Carlos'"Blues for Salvador" on CD ? Childhood memory (one of many), as my uncle gave me the LP just months after he'd purchased it because he then got the CD version! I was 9. It's a very 80s sounding album so some versions must be better than others (my main reference is my old LP...).I still think it's a very good album.
The standard US CD sounds nice. I think the only remaster is the Japanese mini-LP from a few years ago. BTW, Blues for Salvador is one of my favorite Santana albums, solo and band efforts included. It's basically a more experimental version of Freedom, which is also one of my favorites. In addition to both albums coming out in 1987, they share many of the same musicians (including the excellent Buddy Miles) and have almost identical production.
Buddy Miles is great! I'm glad to read this. It's not just me being sentimental then...YOU and other people find quality in "Blues for Salvador". Carlos' playing is very good on this album.It will always have a special place in my heart. Not feeling too well on sunday evenings at the prospect of going to school the next morning, the title track fit my mood perfectly (other albums i listened to at the time remind me of sunday evenings back then )but many tracks were uplifting, "Bailando", "Deeper Big Deeper"... Living in a smalltown at the time, going to a show was a fantasy of mine, and the audience recording of "Now That You Know" would put me right there! I love this track. I was very surprised to come across a review of a Santana album I'd never heard of a few months ago. My uncle had a lot of Santana records, and for some reason I thought Carlos went from "Shango" to "Blues for Salvador"and "Freedom". I had NO IDEA that "Beyond Appearances" existed, released in 86, and honestly, I don't even remember seeing it in the bins, ever! Was it constantly in print ?
Beyond Appearances is one of my favorite albums of all time, let alone from Santana. Most people say it's the band's worst album, but I don't think it's that big of a disaster TBH. If you haven't heard it yet, give it a shot. The best way I can explain the album's style is that it combines elements of 80's pop and a little bit of Santana's signature Latin rock sound. While it does have lots of synths, they're mainly used to add a somewhat otherworldly atmosphere that invokes the surreal imagery of the album's cover. Honestly, it's kind of like an 80's version of Amigos if that makes sense. They both have similar artwork and were an attempt to combine Latin rock with contemporary pop and R&B. I'm always happy to give Beyond Appearances some much needed exposure. I'm not sure if the album was in print for a long time. Of all of the band's releases up to Freedom, it is the easily the hardest to find on CD (at least outside of online stores). To put this in perspective, every used copy of the original US CD that I've seen has a smooth-sided jewel case, and these haven't been used since the mid-80's. Also, the reissued from 2007 still has pre-emphasis, which was present on the original CD! I have a Japanese mini-LP CD and it sounds much better than the domestic masterings. Alternatively, HDTracks and iTunes have good sounding remasters, though the CD-exclusive track, Two Points of View, is missing.
My Japan CD mastering of Welcome is different from the original UK mastering. It's more dynamic and less bassy.
Review of the Castle edition or for a CBS/Columbia edition of Welcome? I have no clue about when it has been released by CBS/Columbia other than very late nineties. I haven't seen it in the stores as a CBS/Columbia pressing before 2000 - and i have the entire Santana discography on cd (including Beyond Appaerances, bought at the time as a japanese import).
I have a 1988 UK Castle release of Welcome and Santana and Buddy Miles Live 2 cd set made in Sweden that I like the sound on. The only other version I had was the post 2000 remaster with the bonus track. While I liked that one as well, the 2 cd set was more attractive to me and the sound was fine to my ears.
Can you post pictures of your Castle Welcome? I've never heard of this edition, I'd love to acquire it and compare to my CDs.
If you look in Discogs under Santana compilations, you'll find a picture and detail there. May even be one for sale. Good luck.
You are very welcome. I am a little challenged from a technology standpoint so to point you to Discogs was easier than posting a picture. Hope you find one for a reasonable price.
Now that I have the rest of the Friday Music remasters, I'm going to give my final word on them: Marathon - The regular US pressing is one of the most underwhelming unremastered CDs I've ever heard. It has murky bass, weak midrange, grainy highs, and and unimpressive soundstaging/imaging. It was basically a prime example of what many non-audiophiles hated about older CDs in general. In contrast, Friday Music's remaster came from a far superior tape. This one has info up to 22 kHz, whereas the old version had a steep drop at 20 kHz. The remaster's EQ is much better and more vinyl-like, with improved soundstage to top everything off. I was pleasantly surprised TBH. My only complaint is that a fair dose of compression was applied. It's still in print, so buy it if you're curious. The Swing of Delight - Not good. Shrill and brickwalled, but the bass is alright. I haven't heard any other versions of this album, and since it doesn't do much for me anyway, I'll stick with this remaster for the time being. Zebop - The EQ is very similar to the original US CD, if not identical. Once I lined up the waveforms in Audacity, I discovered that both versions run at the same speed as well. I guess Joe Reagoso just took the old CD, added lots of compression (the new one has half the DR of the old one), and called it a day. Yet somehow, it didn't sound too harsh to my ears. The drums were dull and lacked "omph" though, so there's that. Shango - What I wrote for Zebop applies here as well, but unlike that album, Shango was a bit harsh sounding. I suppose it's alright at lower volumes, but why would you want to turn it down when you're listening to Santana? Bottom line: Get Marathon if you find the original CD to be thin and weedy. Avoid the other 3. Zebop is okay for what it is, but it's absolutely not worth the extra $10 over the standard CD. On the other hand, if you want slightly compressed versions of these titles that still sound good, the Japan mini-LPs are a better way to go. If those are too pricey, Zebop, Shango, and Swing of Delight were each reissued last year in jewel cases, with each carrying the mini-LP mastering.
I managed to get an original of this album & really enjoy it. If you enjoy Weather Report &/or the electric period of Miles etc it's possible that if you can track down an original you'll enjoy it. On the other hand, if you don't like Latin tinged jazz-rock I'd stick with what you have & save your money.
I believe the non-remastered Swing is included in one of the Original Album Series box sets. I should probably get it someday since it also has Oneness. Counting both band and solo material, that's the only Santana album I'm missing.
