SANTANA – COLORADO SPRINGS 1977 SOUNDBOARD (CD-R)

Description

Colorado Springs Auditorium, Colorado Springs, CO, USA 7th February 1977 SBD
★This is a fantastic soundboard.

　Santana made a comeback in 1977 with a semi-studio masterpiece live album. Now, a soundboard album that could be described as a “super-realistic Moonflower” has appeared.

　This release features a recording of the “February 7, 1997 Colorado Springs concert,” a powerful soundboard recording. While it’s chronologically close to the official traditional release “MOONFLOWER,” the location and leg are different. To understand the situation, let’s first review the band’s activities at that time.

●1976
– February 1st to March 17th: Oceania #1 / Japan #1 (28 performances)
– March 20th: Tempe performance
(March 26th: “AMIGOS” released)
– April 6th to August 25th: North America #1 (36 performances)
– November 5th to December 15th: Europe #1 (33 performances) ← *MOONFLOWER and others
– December 31st: Daily City performance
●1977
(January: “FESTIVAL” released)
– January 25th to April 6th: North America #2 (47 performances) ← ★HERE★
– June 29th to July 9th: North America #3 (4 performances)
– August 19th to September 10th: Europe #2 (14 performances)
《October: Release of ‘MOONFLOWER’》
・October 8th-29th: North America #4 (4 shows)
・November 11th-17th: Oceania #2 (3 shows)
・November 19th-December 16th: Japan #2 (25 shows) ← *BUDOKAN 1977 2ND NIGHT and others
・December 31st: Daily City show

[A powerful soundboard that delivers PA output sound directly into your brain.]
　This is Santana in 1976/1977. They released albums one after another—’Amigos’, ‘Festival’, and ‘Moonflower’—and toured the world during this whirlwind period. The live tracks for ‘Moonflower’ were recorded during their “Europe #1” tour, but this Colorado Springs performance was recorded about two months later. It was the 10th show of their “North America #2” tour, shortly after the release of ‘Festival’.

　The sound of this album, which conveys such a show, is extremely raw and wild, directly connected to the mixing console. It’s so raw that it’s honestly a little noisy, but this isn’t due to any degradation of the master, but rather it feels like you’re absorbing the raw output of the soundboard from the actual venue. It might be misleading to call it “superb” or “official quality,” but that’s precisely why it offers an otherworldly level of immersion, as if your brain has become one with the PA system.

　In fact, every single instrument and every single note of this large band stands out, racing through your mind. Carlos Santana’s guitar drags along with scorching sustain, the percussionists pound out from multiple directions, and the keyboards and bass create a surging groove at the bottom. Even in moments where the mix balance wavers slightly, you can vividly see the on-site engineer manipulating the knobs, and the intense energy of the live performance is so overwhelming that it feels like it could burn out your brain. This is truly “the real MOONFLOWER.” It’s a raw, unpolished, yet incredibly realistic and powerful soundboard recording.

[An album that expands upon the official ‘MOONFLOWER’ album with a live performance.]
　The performance itself, which explodes with such a powerful sound, has a raw intensity that is truly worthy of being called “the real MOONFLOWER.” Let’s start by comparing and organizing the song selections.

●Festival
– Carnaval / Let The Children Play / Jugando / Give Me Love (★★)
●Others
– Guardian of Heaven: Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen / Oye Como Va (★)
– Amigo: Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana) / Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile) / Let Me (★★)
– Others: Savor-Toussaint L’Ouverture / Soul Sacrifice
*Note: “★” indicates songs not heard on the traditional album ‘MOONFLOWER’. “★★” in particular are limited songs that will no longer be performed after “North America #2”.

…And that’s how it goes. The ‘FESTIVAL’ numbers, starting with “Carnaval” and continuing with “Let The Children Play” and “Jugando,” are reminiscent of ‘MOONFLOWER’, but overwhelm you with a completely different rawness. After that, the flow continues with nothing but live performances without any studio tracks in between, which is the “real MOONFLOWER,” but then rare songs suddenly appear. “Oye Como Va,” “Let Me,” and “Give Me Love,” which come in rapid succession in the latter half, are numbers that were not on ‘MOONFLOWER’, and “Let Me” and “Give Me Love” in particular were limited tracks that were dropped from the setlist shortly after and have not been revived. This is a live album that goes beyond simply being “raw MOONFLOWER.”

　This soundboard album fully showcases the band’s potential, which is the same as their semi-studio recording of ‘MOONFLOWER,’ but in a 100% live setting. The raw energy of the live performance, gushing directly from the mixing console, hits you right in the brain in this unpolished, super-realistic recording. Enjoy this powerful, meter-boosting sound to your heart’s content.

★A soundboard recording of the “February 7, 1977 Colorado Springs concert.” This is a recording of the stage immediately preceding the official ‘MOONFLOWER’ album, captured with a powerful sound that makes your brain feel like it’s one with the PA system, with the meter going off the charts. This is a super-realistic live album that also features repertoire not found on ‘MOONFLOWER,’ such as “Give Me Love” and “Let Me,” which were only performed during this period.

(65:42)
01. Carnaval
02. Let the Children Play
03. Jugando
04. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
05. Dance Sister Dance
06. Europa
07. Oye Como Va
08. Let Me
09. Give Me Love
10. Savor/Toussaint L’Overture
11. Interlude and Roy Ayers Introduction
12. Soul Sacrifice (with Roy Ayers) ★The cut at 1:08 is a shame

Carlos Santana – guitar, percussion
Pablo Tellez – bass guitar
Tom Coster – keyboards
Greg Walker – lead vocals
Graham Lear – drums
Raul Rekow – percussion
Jose “Chepito” Areas – percussion

SOUNDBOARD RECORDING