Saturday, March 14, 2009

Song of the Week: A Love Supreme (Santana and McLaughlin)

So I'm hopefully back for a weekly basis, my apologies for the absence.  This week's song is a track off a new purchase of mine.  Love Devotion Surrender is a stellar collaboration by two guitar greats:  Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin. The album also pays tribute to a jazz great;  the first two tracks and subsequent bonus tracks are takes of famed saxophonist John Coltrane.  "A Love Supreme" covers "Acknowledgment" from Coltrane's 1964 release A Love Supreme.  It features a blaze of solos from both guitarists.  They constantly feed off each other and dance around the center of the song.  The song, like a lot of fusion, has a constant build up.  Although it didn't receive praise when first released, Love Devotion Surrender has been enshrined as one of the great fusion albums of all time.  Enjoy.