Moonflower – SANTANA***

Dawn/Go Within/Carnaval/Let The Children Play/Jugando/I’ll Be Waiting/Zulu/Bahia/Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen/Dance Sister Dance/Europa/She’s Not There/Moonflower/Soul Sacrifice/Heads Hands & Feet/El Morocco/ Transcendance/Savor/Toussaint L’Overture

Moonflower was a DLP comprising earlier live and more recent studio tracks. Thus it is a mixture of their original sound and their more contemporary sound, so providing the right balance to satisfy fans. (US:10 UK:7)

“I am a sucker for live recordings of good rock bands and half of this release or more is just that. The studio side is the best Santana has done in awhile. Most double long plays have some filler, but there is none here, just great rock and roll.”

“A mix of new studio tracks and live versions of familiar songs from his 1976 tour. Many Santana releases from this time forward are inconsistent, but this is not one.”

“Moonflower is interesting in that being released later in the 1970s after the original line-up of Santana had changed a few times, as well as the sound of the band. Almost totally gone were the lain sounds and the hard rock feel. The band had since moved to a more R & B and soul sound. But here on Moonflower we have the group reaching back to their original sound, just slightly mixing it with their more contemporary sound.”

“What an incredible band as the live portions of this record show. Carnival was a song that I was not crazy about in the studio version, but listening to them present it live is breathtaking.”

“Moonflower has a bunch of great musicians making great music. A two record set blending live and studio material for a very complete listening experience.”

“This is about the only late seventies Santana record that I would recommend because the group struck the right balance to satisfy those fans that dug the rock group, and those who liked the jazz-fusion group. Also it contains an excellent mixture of live and studio work that makes it appear seamless in conception.

“Moonflower is a mix of studio and live cuts, with the live stuff rising far above that of the studio in terms of great playing and overall quality of songs. Anyone who has seen Santana live can tell you that they never disappoint, and that's absolutely the case here.”