The mark that the recording of
Caravanserai and Love Devotion Surrender had left on
Carlos Santana was monumental. The issue of
Welcome, the band's fifth album and its first with the new lineup, was a very ambitious affair and was regarded by traditional fans of
Santana with even more strangeness than its two predecessors. However, issued as it was at the end of 1973, after
Miles had won a Grammy for
Bitches Brew and after
Weather Report,
Return to Forever, and
Seventh House had begun to win audiences from the restless pool of rock fans,
Santana began to attract the attention of critics as well as jazz fans seeking something outside of the soul-jazz and free jazz realms for sustenance. The vibe that carried over from the previously mentioned two albums plus the addition of vocalist
Leon Thomas to the fold added a bluesy, tougher edge to the sound showcased on
Caravanserai. The band's hard root was comprised of
Carlos, drummer
Michael Shrieve, bassist
Doug Rauch, and keyboard king
Tom Coster. Add to this the percussion section of
Armando Peraza and
Chepito Areas as well as a second keyboard by
Richard Kermode, and space was the place. The
John Coltrane influence that inspired the
Santana/
John McLaughlin pairing on Love Devotion Surrender echoes here on "Going Home," the album's opening track, arranged by
Coltrane's widow, pianist and harpist
Alice. The deeper jazz fusion/Latin funk edge is articulated on the track "Samba de Sausalito," and to a much more accessible degree on "Love, Devotion & Surrender," which features
Thomas growling through the choruses and also features
Wendy Haas, a keyboardist on Love Devotion Surrender who is enlisted here as a second vocalist. In fact, her pairing with
Thomas on
Shrieve's "When I Look Into Your Eyes" is nothing less than beatific.
McLaughlin makes a return appearance here on the stunningly beautiful guitar spiritual "Flame Sky." Brazilian song diva
Flora Purim is featured on "Yours Is the Light," a gorgeous Afro-Brazilian workout that embraces Cuba son, samba, and soul-jazz.
Welcome also marked the first appearance of French soprano saxophonist
Jules Broussard on a
Santana date. He would later collaborate with
Carlos and
Alice Coltrane on
Illuminations. Ultimately,
Welcome is a jazz record with rock elements, not a rock record that flirted with jazz and Latin musical forms. It is understandable why
Santana punters would continue to be disenchanted, however.
Welcome was merely ahead of its time as a musical journey and is one of the more enduring recordings the band ever made. This is a record that pushes the envelope even today and is one of the most inspired recordings in the voluminous
Santana oeuvre. ~ Thom Jurek