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Santana
T
Santana
Santana
Mobile Fidelity, 180g 45RPM 2LP set
here are more than 100 different pressings of the
self-titled Santana album. As former Rolling Stone
scribe Ben Fong-Torres likes to say: “Crazy.” While
the number pales in comparison to the 300-plus
different versions of Dark Side of the Moon, it
makes it tough to evaluate Santana. Shaking the
pot seeds out of the Columbia original brings back
great memories, yet spinning the record reveals why
we needed trendy chemical amusement aids in the
first place: The original is a lousy-sounding record.
Mobile Fidelity issued a
single 33RPM LP and SACD
of Santana’s debut back in
2007 and they are excellent,
light years ahead of the original
in every way. Comparing
this new, dual-disc version
with the prior edition proves
enlightening. The older MoFi
pressing offers a smidge
more high-frequency extension
(and we are really splitting
hairs here), no doubt
due to the further degradation
of a tape going on
40-plus years old, but this
version is all about dynamics
and separation. Splitting
this 37-minute-and-change
album across four sides,
MoFi engineers still ran the
tracks to the center of the
record—benefitting both the
vocals as well as the percussive
nuances.
The newfound dynamics
on the 45RPM pressing
transform the presentation,
making it more lively, engaging,
and three-dimensional
whereas the original Columbia
pressing renders
the performance along a
single, ruler-flat plain. MoFi’s
33RPM release adds more
dimension but the 45RPM
version stuns, with Santana’s
signature lead guitar
locked in place like a planet
and the rest of the instruments
orbiting near and far.
And yes, there is plenty of
cowbell.
November 2015 125