Marathon – SANTANA***

Marathon/Lightning In The Sky/Aqua Marine/You Know That I Love You/All I Ever Wanted/Stand Up/Runnin'/ Summer Lady/Love/Stay (Beside Me)/ Hard Times

Some critics considered that Santana, by the time of Marathon, might have lost direction, dabbling in jazz fusion and commercial pop-rock. However, they continued to admire the guitar skills, and enthused abut the instrumental track Aqua Marine. (US:25 UK:28)

“On Marathon, Santana as a group lose everything that made them great except their instincts for pop hooks and the guitar. The first victim of this is good taste as this is a tired work-out, entirely made of kitsch.”

“An interesting album from Santana that starts out fantastically with the stunningly beautiful Aqua Marine that provides the perfect soundtrack for the ultimate cruise ship sunset of dreams. And then the wheels come completely off.”

“Santana's late 70s period is when Carlos Santana would occasionally show signs of his brilliant guitar skills, but other times he'd go commercial and focus on somewhat generic soulful vocals. Marathon is somewhere between both styles.”

“The only song worth listening to is Aqua Marine, thankfully, an instrumental. If you’re a fan of Carlos’ guitar work, stick to the early ’69-’74 work and give this one a major pass.”

“The music on this falls, some in the pop-rock genre and some in the Latin rock, yet it is difficult to give it a perfect identity or description. Santana seems lost between his love for the rock jazz fusion music, his worries about sales and his commercial ranking.”

“Carlos infuses each song with his special sound of spirits crying for enlightenment, but without the excessive pyrotechnics that sometimes make his albums tiresome after repeated listenings. My favourite song is the haunting, transcendent instrumental, Aqua Marine, which will calm jagged nerves.”

“Santana is still knocking on the spiritual door but this album lacks any true spirit and is devoid of soul. While the guitar playing is typical of Carlos, the vocalist Alexander screams out radio friendly rock. His voice borders on the embarrassing.” “The arrangements are not always particularly poppy, even at its rockiest. A great way for Santana to end the 70s on a high energy level.”