Amigos - SANTANA***

Dance Sister Dance/Take Me With You/Let Me/Gitano/Tell Me Are You Tired/Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)/Let It Shine

The music of jazz-rock artist Santana continued to evolve, not always for the better. Amigos sees him moving with the times with the introduction of some disco-funk tracks. (US:10 UK:21)

“I never expected one of the most famous Santana songs Europa would be found on a mediocre 70s funk album.”

“The emphasis has shifted away from the jazz fusion stuff this time out although I must admit I'm not keen when it's replaced with straight funk, like it is here on a couple of tracks.”

“Amigos finds Santana well and truly locked into the commercial trajectory their music would take for a long while. Playing jazzy disco-funk with occasionally infuriating lyrics, the album is saved from being a complete waste by Carlos Santana's guitar heroics, which are extremely technically accomplished though more than a little bland and generic this time around. This has to be considered one for the Santana fanatics only, I fear.”

“Europa may be one of Santana's best songs but it doesn't make up for the rest of the album.”

“If you love great music, soft music, music to dance to Santana is the guy. With Europa you will be transported to a different world with one of the greatest songs I've ever heard.”

“Dance Sister Dance is a perfect mix between a Latin groove and a pop/rock song. The final part, which is played in double time, work toward a climax. A strange but effective contrast between slow and dreamy guitar lines, with cooking drums underneath. Europa hardly needs any introduction; a classic instrumental in the tradition of Samba Pa Ti, but more smoothly executed.”

“Amigos features two solid instrumentals, the most noteworthy being Europa, one of Carlos' trademark guitar works. Starting with pretty high-pitched twangs, it evolves into a potent solo in the Santana tradition. For the rest this represents the beginning of the slippage from Santana's top-notch studio album work.”