Moonflower (album)

Moonflower
Studio album partially live by Santana
Released	October 1977
Recorded	December 1976 (live tracks / Europe) 1977 (studio tracks / San Francisco)
Genre	Latin rock
Length	86:50
Label	Columbia
Producer	Carlos Santana, Tom Coster
Santana chronology
Festival (1977) Moonflower (1977) Inner Secrets (1978)
Singles from Moonflower
"She's Not There" Released: 1977

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[2]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[3]

Moonflower is a 1977 studio and live double album by Santana. The recording features both studio and live tracks, which are interspersed with one another throughout the album. It is perhaps the group's most popular live album, because Lotus did not receive a U.S. domestic release until the early 1990s. It displays a mix between the fusion of Latin and blues-rock styles of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the much more experimental and spiritual jazz fusion sound that characterized the band's mid-1970s work. The live material was recorded during the supporting tour for the Festival album, which displayed a similar mix of styles, and many of the album's songs are featured here – namely, the three song medley which opens Festival.

A cover version of the Zombies' mid-1960s hit song "She's Not There" was released as a single and peaked at #27. The song was the first Santana recording to hit the Top 40 of the Billboard charts since "No One to Depend On" reached #36 in 1972. The album reached #10 on the Billboard charts and was eventually certified platinum, neither of which occurred again until the star-studded Supernatural in 1999.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Dawn/Go Within" (Coster, Santana) – 2:44 (studio)
2. "Carnaval" (Coster) – 2:17 (live)
3. "Let the Children Play" (Santana) – 2:37 (live)
4. "Jugando" (Santana) – 2:09 (live)
5. "I'll Be Waiting" (Santana) – 5:20 (studio) (also issued on single)
6. "Zulu" (Santana, Coster) – 3:25 (studio)

Side two

1. "Bahia" (Santana, Coster) – 1:37 (studio)
2. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (Green, Szabo) – 6:32 (live)
3. "Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)" (Chancler, Coster, Rubinson) – 7:45 (live)
4. "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)" (Santana, Coster) – 6:07 (live)

Side three

1. "She's Not There" (Argent) – 4:09 (studio) (also issued on single)
2. "Flor d'Luna (Moonflower)" (Coster) – 5:01 (studio)
3. "Soul Sacrifice/Head, Hands & Feet" (Santana Band, Lear) – 14:01 (live)

Side four

1. "El Morocco" (Coster, Santana) – 5:05 (studio)
2. "Transcendence" (Santana) – 5:13 (studio)
3. "Savor/Toussaint L'Overture" (Santana Band, Santana) – 12:56 (live)

Bonus tracks on 2003 reissue

1. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (single edit) (Green) – 2:37
2. "I'll Be Waiting" (single edit) (Santana) – 3:12 (studio)
3. "She's Not There" (single edit) (Argent) – 3:19 (studio)

Musicians

• Carlos Santana: Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
• Greg Walker: Vocals
• Tom Coster: Keyboards
• Pablo Tellez: Bass, Vocals (live tracks)
• David Margen: Bass (studio tracks)
• Graham Lear: Drums
• Raul Rekow: Percussion
• José "Chepito" Areas: Percussion (live tracks)
• Pete Escovedo: Percussion (studio tracks)

References

1. ^ Ruhlmann, William (2011 [last update]). "Moonflower - Santana | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/moonflower-r48673. Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
2. ^ Christgau, Robert (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: Album: Santana: Moonflower". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7721. Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
3. ^ Swenson, John (2011 [last update]). "Santana: Moonflower : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/20090211183642/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/santana/albums/album/217345/review/5941473/moonflower. Retrieved 28 August 2011.