SANTANA – MILE HIGH STADIUM 1991 (CD-R)

Description

Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO, USA 28th June 1991

　SANTANA, who moved to a new label and started anew with their 25th anniversary, now has the ultimate soundboard album that will pour their live performance into your brain.

　This recording was made at the Denver concert on June 28, 1991. It’s a stereo soundboard recording. While 1991 was shortly after the release of the album ‘SPIRITS DANCING IN THE FLESH’, the tour situation was a little different. To understand that situation, let’s first take a look at the overview of their activities at the time.

●1990: “SPIRITS DANCING IN THE FLESH Tour”
– April 12th – May 26th: North America #1 (14 shows)
《June: Release of ‘SPIRITS DANCING IN THE FLESH’》
– May 29th – June 30th: Europe #1 (26 shows)
– July 13th – November 21st: North America #2 (68 shows) ←※GREEK THEATRE 1990
●1991: “A 25-YEAR CELEBRATION Tour”
– January 19th + 24th: ROCK IN RIO appearance
– April 27th – May 11th: North America #3 (6 shows)
– May 15th – 22nd: Japan (6 shows)
– May 25th – June 28th: ​​North America #4 (9 shows) ←★HERE★
– July 7th – 27th: Europe #2 (17 shows) ←※ATHENS
August 30th – November 3rd, 1991 : North America #5 (19 shows) ← *COSTA MESA 1991

[The ideal soundboard recording left behind by Don Pearson]
　In 1991, Santana was in the midst of their “A 25-YEAR CELEBRATION Tour,” celebrating their 25th anniversary. This Denver performance was the final show of “North America #4.” While our store also stocks the classic soundboard recording “ATHENS 1991 (Uxbridge 2524),” this recording takes place about a month earlier. On this day, Santana took to the stage at Mile High Stadium as the opening act for the Grateful Dead.

　This collaboration with the Grateful Dead brought a decisive benefit to the sound of this album. The recording was done by Don Pearson, president of Ultrasound, the company that handled the Grateful Dead’s sound. He had a deep understanding of collector recordings and trading culture, and left behind a vast amount of documentation. This album is a masterpiece of the ultimate generation, directly digitized from Pearson’s original masters.

　What flows from this album is, quite simply, the “ideal form of a soundboard recording directly connected to the mixing console.” The raw, unprocessed live performance roars out, and the panning is blown left and right with an intense stereo width. The raw performance sound is incredibly robust, something you wouldn’t find in an official release. But the real surprise comes next. Even when played on a home audio system, the ensemble is precisely aligned, and the dynamism remains completely intact. This is purely speculation, but this may be largely due to Pearson’s insight. He may have been well aware of the appeal of raw, direct-to-the-shock sound, while also keeping in mind that sound collectors would be playing it at home. This is a soundboard album that truly embodies the ideal, offering an otherworldly feeling as if your skull has become part of the PA system, and a sense of complete synchronization where your whole body is perfectly aligned with the live performance.

[A 25th-anniversary stage similar to, yet different from, the masterpiece ‘ATHENS 1991’]
　This ultimate soundboard recording captures the full, fulfilling show of the 25th-anniversary tour. Let’s organize the tracklist here by comparing it with the soundboard masterpiece “ATHENS 1991”.

●Spirits Dancing
– It’s A Jungle Out There / Peace on Earth / Mother Earth / Third Stone from the Sun / Spirits Dancing In The Flesh
●Others
– Milagro: Life Is For Living (★) / Somewhere In Heaven / We Don’t Have To Wait (★)
-Others: Mandela / Angels All Around Us / Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile) / Jingo
*Note: Tracks marked with “★” were not included on the soundboard masterpiece “ATHENS 1991”.

…And that’s how it is. Five tracks from their then-latest album “SPIRITS DANCING IN THE FLESH” and three tracks from their next album “MILAGRO”, which hadn’t even been released yet. “Life Is For Living” and “We Don’t Have To Wait” in particular are great tracks that weren’t included on the masterpiece “ATHENS 1991”. Including the encore which concluded with their signature songs “Europa” and “Jingo,” this was a magnificent show that was far beyond what you’d expect from an opening act, and it perfectly conveyed the band’s impressive performance as they celebrated their 25th anniversary.

　This is a recording that embodies the “ideal form of soundboard recording” from Don Pearson’s original master. This ultimate sound captures Santana’s 25th anniversary. Please enjoy this ultimate generation recording to the fullest.

★Stereo soundboard recording of the “Denver concert on June 28, 1991”. This is a masterpiece of ultimate generation, directly digitized from the original master by Don Pearson of Ultrasound, who handled the sound for the Grateful Dead, and it is the ideal form of soundboard recording that combines the rawness of a direct connection to the mixing board with a precise balance. This is an absolute must-have to enjoy the full show of the 25th anniversary tour.

01 – Mandela
02 – Life Is For Living
03 – It’s A Jungle Out There
04 – Somewhere In Heaven
05 – We Don’t Have To Wait
06 – Bass Solo
07 – Peace On Earth
08 – Mother Earth
09 – Third Stone From The Sun
10 – Angels All Around Us
11 – Spirits Dancing In The Flesh

Encore:
12 – Encore break
13 – Europa
14 – Jingo

STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING

Carlos Santana – Guitar, Percussion, Vocal
Benny Rietveld – Bass
Billy Johnson – Drums
Raul Rekow – Percussion, Vocal
Karl Perazzo – Percussion, Vocal
Chester Thompson- Keyboards, Vocal
Tony Lindsay – Vocal