Santana
Supernatural (Legacy Edition)
Arista/Legacy
Ten years ago, Santana’s Supernatural took the music industry by storm. Combining Santana’s guitar-god playing with some of the biggest names in music (along with a couple of not-so big names), the album went on to sell over 25 million copies and win eight Grammy awards (nine if you include Rob Thomas’s Song of the Year Grammy for “Smooth”).
Now, Legacy Recordings has released the Legacy Edition of Supernatural complete with the original album, a bonus disc, and new liner notes. So, is it worth it? It depends on how big a fan you are of the album and Santana.
For completists, this is a must have. The bonus disc is loaded with previously unreleased tracks like the killer “Angel Love (Come for Me),” the very Dave Matthews-sounding “Rain Down on Me” featuring Matthews and drummer Carter Beauford, and “The Calling Jam” with Eric Clapton and Santana shredding back and forth as if they are having a contest to see who’s the better soloist.
You do get a couple of duds though, like the Spanish Dance Remix of “Corazon Espinado,” featuring Mana and the Pumpin’ Dolls Club Mix of “Maria Maria” with then-unknown (and still unknown) The Product G&B.
The original album stands the test of time. It’s still just as good now as it was then, except you’re not hearing “Smooth” on the radio every ten minutes. “Love of My Life” with Dave Matthews and Carter Beauford (both of the Dave Matthews Band) is still a stellar song, as is Santana’s collaboration with Everlast on “Put Your Lights On.”
The gem here though is one of the few collaborations that wasn’t released to radio. “Do You Like the Way” with Lauryn Hill and Cee-Lo is by far the best song on the album. It combines Hill’s signature layered vocals and old school hip-hop with Cee-Lo’s then-new falsetto stylings that he has now made famous with Gnarls Barkley.
So was this album worth all the praise, sales, and Grammys that it garnered? Yes! It revived the career of one of the greatest guitarist ever and brought the best out of every other artist attributed to this project.
Is the Legacy Edition worth it? If you do not own the album, then this is the edition to get. There are enough good tracks on the bonus disc to make the extra couple of bucks worthwhile. If you already own the album, then you would be better off picking and choosing which tracks to download from the bonus disc.
Supernatural is a classic and while this edition isn’t a must-have, the original album is.
Carlos Santana: http://www.santana.com
