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 WARNING - This DTS 5.1 mix is awful Sep 01, 2008
I borrowed this disc from my sister to see if it was worth laying out a premium for it in the aftermarket. Buyer beware...this is a poor production. The bass is almost non-existent. The highs are overblown and the mix unto itself is bizarre. If you want to pay a premium for an audiophile version of Abraxas then treat yourself to the stereo SACD. It's really ashame as this would have been great album in 5.1 if done properly.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Abraxas May 29, 2008
Santana-Abraxas ****1/2
When some people think of the Gibson SG guitar they think of Angus Young of AC/DC or Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath or sometimes even Pete Townsend of The Who, and while all of those are great guitarists, None of them was able to make that baby cry like Carlos Santana was on the groups first two albums. Weaving his guitar lines through hit singles like their reading of the (original) Fleetwood Macs 'Black Magic Women' and 'Oye Como Va' for the mainstream to hear that the guitar could be played more than just one way....with passion.
Passion is what fueled Abraxas, the passion to make a better album than their first. This certainly did become a bigger album, and even to this day is the bands signature release, and while I myself am partial to the debut, I must give this the recognition it deserves.
Songs like the Aretha Franklin meets Miles Davis 'Incident At Nesbar' and the rocking 'Hope Your Feeling Better' are straight up rockers. The former contains a fantastic organ solo from Rolie, and the latter has amazing production and a catchy chorus, not to mention some amazing wha-wha pedal work from Carlos. The Carlos original 'Samba Pa Ti' transcends beauty with power to create one of the most sublime recordings in all of rock, rivaled only by his own 'Europa' which would come a few albums later. 'Se A Cabo' 'Mothers Daughter' and 'El Nicoya' show the percussion of the band as heard on the debut, and that is my only complaint with Abraxas is that the Latin and African rhythm has almost all but disappeared.
Santana set out to make a great rock n' roll record with Abraxas and ultimately that is what they did. I loved the debut because of it's variety and instrumental prowess into multiple genres and worldly music, some of that was lost here, but this still remains a great rock album, and one of the all time best in fact.
Now some releases of Abraxas come with three bonus tracks. 'Se A Cabo' and 'Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen' are both here live recorded at The Royal Albert Hall in 1970, but 'Toussaint L'Overture' is also included live from that same show, and it is one hell of a performance. So if you have the choice of either the original version or with the bonus tracks go for the extra as it costs the same and is way worth it.
5 of 12 found the following review helpful:
(4.5 stars) One of the best albums to come from the San Franscico scene May 20, 2008
And this is even better than the last one, or any other Santana album, for that matter! They're broadening out here, with some tracks even leaning towards fusion ("Incident at Neshabur") or even progressive rock ("Singing Winds, Crying Beasts"), and the branching out results in goodness - I especially dig "Singing Winds", an underrated song with a great atmosphere, though I also adore Rollie's piano solo on "Incident". Of course, the real selling point behind this is the pair of massive FM hits, which both are classics of the era. The group's creepy retelling of "Black Magic Woman" (with the rapid, fantastic guitar solo "Gypsy Queen" included on the end) is the bigger of the two, but my favorite is "Oye Como Va". It's not just because of Carlos, though his playing is up to his usual standard, but Gregg Rollie's organ solo is quite excellent too, and the percussion is awesome. And, of course, both of these songs are covers. Now, when they try to compose their own rock songs, things get a bit uglier. "Mother's Daughter" is poor generic blues complete with mock-Clapton vocals; "Hope You're Feeling Better" is a pale Hendrix imitation. But there are plenty of great moments to make up for that, especially Carlos' melodic solo "Samba Pa' Ti" (the obvious basis for the later "Europa") and the driving Latin rock of "Se a Cabo". It's not as consistent as the debut, III, or Caravanesari, but it hits higher, more frequent heights than any of them.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
MoFi does it once again May 08, 2008
This is a review of the sound quality of the latest MoFi remastering of this album, NOT a review of the merit or stature of Abraxas (we already know it is classic).
Having had several iterations of this album over the years, most recently the last Sony remaster, this MoFi blows everything else away. Incredible clarity, great 3-dimensional imaging... it's hard to believe that after all these years, Sony hasn't been able to get so much musical information out of the mastertape for their previous releases of Abraxas and that MoFi just did. I should note that the earlier MoFi release of this paled in comparison. It was surpassed by the last remastering of Abraxas that Sony did, BUT it was state of the art at time of release, and that's been many, many years ago... FIVE STARS!!!
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Worst sound I've ever heard Apr 17, 2008
If you think to spent your money on this DTS, save it.
If you already have it and think that it sounds good, please send me your recommendations in order that I can hear it to.
It's the worst mix of the century.
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