Description

Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 2nd February 1973 SBD
★A newly unearthed, official-grade soundboard recording!!

　This project unearths master recordings from the estate of a West Coast collector who has consistently produced a steady stream of highly acclaimed works. The latest release is a superb soundboard recording from early 1973.

　This release features a recording of the “Salt Lake City concert on February 2, 1973,” in stereo soundboard format. Recently, superb soundboard recordings of Santana have been appearing almost weekly, and the source of these is a treasured archive left behind by a core West Coast collector who passed away a few years ago. Before his death, he digitized his long-standing collection and entrusted it to a friend who had been involved in the Bay Area music scene for decades. This archive has now been meticulously examined and released by the renowned discovery label “JEMS.” While classic Santana recordings from 1973, such as “Providence 1973 Soundboard (Uxbridge 2847)” and “Sao Paulo 1973 Soundboard (Uxbridge 2880),” are still fresh in our memories, this release is actually a little different. To explain this further, let’s first take a look at their activities.

●1972
– January 1st + 28th: North America #1 (2 shows)
– September 4th – October 30th: North America #2 (16 shows)
《October 11th: “CARAVANSERAI” released》
– November 4th – December 5th: Europe #1 (25 shows) ← *PARIS 1972 and others
– December 9th – 17th: North America #3 (5 shows)
●1973
– January 18th – April 8th / June 21st: North America #4 (48 shows) ← ★HERE★
– June 27th – July 19th: Asia (16 shows) ← *Official LOTUS
《July 20th: “LOVE DEVOTION SURRENDER” released》
– July 23rd – August 8th: Oceania (12 shows)
– August 12th – September 14th: North America #2 (24 shows) ← *PROVIDENCE
September 21st – October 21st, 1973 : Central and South America (21 performances) ← *SAO PAULO 1973
(November 9th: “WELCOME” released)
November 13th – December 12th: Europe #2 (27 performances)
December 31st: San Francisco performance

　This is Santana in 1972/1973. After completing “Caravanserai,” Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie left the band, and they were touring the world with a new lineup including Tom Coster. Their legendary first visit to Japan, which produced the masterpiece “Lotus,” was the “Asia” leg in July 1973, but this Salt Lake City performance was about five months earlier, the fourth show of their 48-show “North America #4.” While “Providence 1973” and “Sao Paulo 1973” were released after “Love Devotion Surrender,” this album captures the period when the framework of their set that would lead to “Lotus” was beginning to solidify.

[A first-generation master unearthed by a prestigious label, setting a new record for the highest quality recordings]
　The heart of this recording, which conveys such a show, is undoubtedly its sound. While the soundboard recording of this day has been known for some time, this release is a newly unearthed master that sets a new record for the highest quality recordings. Like the previous recordings in the legacy series, judging from the source, it is likely a first-generation master (or a backup copy made by the recorder himself), making it an extremely fresh recording.

　Some of the masters that have been circulating until now have a rough, degraded sound due to repeated overdubbing, but there is absolutely no trace of such overdubbing in this work. The sound is glossy down to the smallest detail, and simply superbly beautiful. Carlos’s guitar long tones extend straight without the slightest distortion, and the fleeting moment when each note fades away is vividly depicted.

　And precisely because the details are so vivid, the sonic contours unique to a soundboard recording stand out even more clearly. Carlos’s guitar, Tom Coster and Richard Kermode’s keyboards, and the percussionists Peraza, Areas, and Mingo Lewis—even with such a large group playing together, the individual instruments don’t blend together at all. The superb separation allows you to see every corner of the ensemble. It’s as if you’re listening directly to the monitor circuit of the mixing console, yet it possesses a rawness that’s impossible to find in official releases. This is a truly vivid soundboard recording that deserves to be called “official-quality unearthed material.”

[A full show accelerating towards the legendary Lotus]
　What you can experience with this superb sound is a full show in its prime, just before it culminated in the masterpiece album ‘LOTUS’. Let’s break down the setlist while comparing it to the masterpiece ‘PARIS 1972 SOUNDBOARD (Uxbridge 2871)’, which is also from the “CARAVANSERAI Tour”.

●The Legend of Lotus
– A-1 Funk/Batukada/Xibaba (She-Ba-Ba)/Castillos de Arena, Pt. 1 (Sand Castle)/Free Angela/Castillos de Arena, Pt. 2 (Sand Castle)
●Others
– Santana: Waiting/Savor
– Heavenly Guardian: Samba Pa Ti/Incident At Nashabur/Se A Cabo
– Caravanserai: Every Step Of The Way/Look Up (To See What’s Coming Down) (★)/Just In Time To See The Sun (★)/Stone Flower
– Welcome: Going Home/Mantra
– Immortal Butterfly: Promise Of A Fisherman (★★)/Aranjuez (★★)
-Others: Bambele (★)/Earth (★)/Toussaint L’Overture (★)
*Note: Tracks marked with “★” were not included in the original album ‘LOTUS’. Tracks marked with “★★” are especially unique as they weren’t even included on the classic album ‘PARIS 1972 SOUNDBOARD’.

…And that’s how it goes. It opens powerfully with a medley of “Going Home/A-1 Funk/Every Step Of The Way,” sharing the core structure that runs through the official ‘LOTUS’ album, but offering plenty of unique song selections. Of particular note are the two tracks marked with “★★,” where you can enjoy the flow from “Promise Of A Fisherman” to “Aranjuez,” which wasn’t even heard on the masterpiece ‘PARIS 1972 SOUNDBOARD’. There are also plenty of other great songs that weren’t featured on the official ‘LOTUS’ album, such as “Look Up,” “Just In Time To See The Sun,” “Bambele,” “Earth,” and “Toussaint L’Overture.” You can enjoy the rich and diverse repertoire that was unique to this period when the band was deepening into jazz-rock.

　The “Master Series of Legacy Records,” which has continued to impress collectors around the world, presents its latest installment: a new masterpiece from the “CARAVANSERAI Tour.” This newly unearthed master, free from the dubbing marks that render previous masters meaningless, allows you to fully experience the passionate performance from the eve of “LOTUS.” The ultimate real soundboard experience that imprints even the slightest note onto your mind. Please enjoy it to the fullest.

★A stereo soundboard recording of the “Salt Lake City concert on February 2, 1973.” This is the latest release in the prestigious “JEMS” project to unearth relic masters, and it is a first-generation master that sets a new standard. There are no signs of overdubbing whatsoever, and Carlos’s long guitar tones are captured in vivid detail, even down to the last note as it fades away, and the separation of the instruments, even with a large ensemble, is superb. The fulfilling set from the night before “LOTUS” includes “Promise Of A Fisherman” and “Aranjuez,” which were not even included in the masterpiece “PARIS 1972 SOUNDBOARD,” making this a vivid soundboard recording of official-level quality that has been unearthed.

Disc:1 (65:07)
01. Going Home / A-1 Funk / Every Step Of The Way
02. Samba Pa Ti
03. Look Up (To See What’s Coming Down)
04. Just In Time To See The Sun
05. Incident At Neshabur
06. Bambele
07. Stone Flower
08. Batucada
09. Xibaba (She-Ba-Ba)
10. Stone Flower (Reprise)
11. Waiting
12. Castillos De Arena, Part 1 (Sand Castle)

Disc:2 (27:22)
1. Free Angela
2. Promise Of A Fisherman
3. Aranjuez
4. Mantra
5. Castillos De Arena, Part 2 (Sand Castle)
6. Earth
7. Se A Cabo
8. Savor
9. Toussaint L’Overture