Santana/MA, USA 1981

In 1981, SANTANA released “ZEBOP!” into the US Top 10 for the first time in a while and embarked on a large-scale world tour. A masterpiece soundboard album that conveys such an exciting stage is now available. This work includes “Hyannis performance on July 4, 1981.” This is a stereo soundboard recording of the radio broadcast. In 1981, they were just live after live. In addition to the album’s success, the intensive tour that included Japan was also overwhelming. First, let’s look back at the schedule at that time to understand the situation.・January 12th – April 28th: ​​North America #1a (42 performances) [ZEBOP! released on April 29th] ・April 29th – July 11th: North America #1b (35 performances) ←★Here ★・July 25th-August 7th: Japan (8 performances)・August 11th-September 2nd: North America #2 (7 performances)・September 11th-November 15th: Europe (34 performances) )・December 1st: Pontiac performance This is SANTANA in 1981. The incredible number of performances, exceeding 120, is the highest in the 1980s…not to mention, it is the third highest in history, approaching 1969 and 1973 immediately after their debut. Since then, we haven’t done any more crowded tours. The main event was a US tour lasting about six months and 77 performances, but the Hyannis performance of this work is the final stage. This was the 30th concert of “North America #1b”. Such shows were broadcast on the radio, and FM soundboards became standard. Of course, the reason it became a classic is because the sound is great. The freshness of the master is so beautiful that you can’t believe it was an FM broadcast from the 1980s, and the mix and balance are superb. The vividness of the sound of fingers rubbing the guitar strings makes me hesitate to call it official quality, but I can’t help but think that’s a bad thing. The sound of Santana’s passionately crying and dancing phrases is etched into your brain down to the finest nuances. What is depicted with such direct sound is a show that has been trained in one of the best live performances in a long career. Speaking of the “ZEBOP!” era, the FM sound board of the San Francisco performance (North America #1a) is also known as a standard, so let’s compare and organize it here. 60’s/70’s (11 songs) Santana: Savor/Jingo/Soul Sacrifice Heaven’s Guardian: Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen/Incident at Neshabur Amigo: Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile) Moon Flower: She’s Not There – Treasure of the Sun: Well All Right/Open Invitation – Marathon: All I Ever Wanted/Runnin’ J-Bop! (7 songs) – Primera Invasion/Searchin’/Tales of Kilimanjaro/E papa re/Winning (★)/The Sensitive Kind (★) / American Gypsy *Note: Songs marked with a “★” cannot be heard on the FM soundboard at the San Francisco performance. …and it looks like this. Perhaps because it has been over two months since its release, 7 out of 12 songs from “ZEBOP!” are big hits. There are some songs like “Primera Invasion” that were played up until the “FREEDOM” era, but others were only played during this period, and even “All I Ever Wanted” and “Runnin'” from the previous album. The song “Well All Right” also has a strong early 80’s flavor. Among these, the one that particularly catches my attention is the last song, “American Gypsy.” Based on a simple piano riff, the solo unfolds as the guitar, keyboard, and percussion weave around the riff. The song builds up excitement over the course of 7 minutes, which is about twice as long as the studio version. The passionate ensemble shows that the passion for this tour, which will be one of the best in their career, has not diminished at all even after half a year since its start. No, in fact, because it took half a year to create, the breathability that has gone into it so well is exploding deliciously. Although SANTANA has always enjoyed live performances during her long career, she still has her share of waves. It is a masterpiece that allows you to stream the passionate performance of 1981, which was the peak of that wave, into your brain with a stereo sound board. Even if you just call it a “live album,” it has a variety of charms, such as a festival-like sense of presence and a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Under such circumstances, this work is a musical work that brings out the “greatness of live performance”. You could say it’s the highest peak. Live at Cape Cod Colliseum, Cape Cod, Hyannis, MA, USA 4th July 1981 STEREO SBD Disc 1(52:39) 1. All I Ever Wanted 2. Primera Invasion 3. Searchin’ 4. Tales of Kilimanjaro 5. Black Magic Woman 6. Gypsy Queen 7. Well All Right 8. Europa 9. E papa re 10.Savor 11.Jingo 12.Winning Disc 2(51:26) 1. Incident At Neshabur 2. Runnin 3. Soul Sacrifice 4. Open Invitation 5 . She’s Not There 6. The Sensitive Kind 7. American Gypsy 8. Outro. STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING