What an album!
When I stumbled upon Beyond Appearances on a lazy afternoon on the discount rack at Circuit City, I had no idea the power that was about to grace my ears. With the first listen I was transformed into a world of absolute awe. Carlos takes the listener on a trip straight through the 80's and really captures all the great musical influences of that wonderful generation of music. The vocals are fantastic with hints of Sting, Michael Mcdonald, and even Steve Winwood. I recommend this disc to anyone trying to enjoy an afternoon entertaining friends with great music. The best way to sum this album up is to thank the musical brilliance of Carlos Santana!
Everything Works!
Sanatana finally manages to blend the latin percussion sound
he was known for AND acknowledge the 1980's well on great tunes
such as "Breaking Out" and "Say it Again" while "Right Now"
boils a great groove as well."Spirit" and "Brotherhood" both shine with a slight Pater Gabrial/Sting "world-beat" feel and
overall the mix of synthesizers,percussion and vocal hooks and
melodies are the most appropriate used on a Santana album.Despite
it's critics "Beyond Appearances" draws you right in and is totally worth checking out.
A Favorite of mine
Much of this album is attached to memories I have of freshman year, 1985. Maybe it was the cool cover art, the association with the Raiders... who knows. Nevertheless, it made up part of the soundtrack to that part of my life and I love it. While this is a departure from Carlos' more traditional sound, I feel he did a great job updating his music to the mid-80's. Songs like "Breaking Out," "Brotherhood," and "Spirit" sound as good today as they did when the album was first released. My favorite tracks would have to be "Touchdown Raiders," and "Written in Sand". "Touchdown" is a great driving instrumental powered by Carlos' guitar; while "Written in Sand" is just a fantasic song.
I understand the negative comments - like I said, it is a bit of a departure, but standing on it's own merits, for the time and for the artist - I think it's a great piece of work!
Not his best but still worthy
This is not a great Santana cd. However, after 15 years, I still enjoy listening to it. Basically it's a soul album with a terriffic upbeat mood. Written in Sand, Who Loves You, I'm the One Who Loves You, these are good soul tunes. When I was dating my wife these songs always worked well to set a good romantic mood. I do find it difficult to listen to the whole cd, but when I pop it in my player with a couple of other Santana cds from the 80s and program my favorite tunes...watch out, it's party time.
Excellent Album
This is a great album if you ask me. Carlos modernized his sound to fit perfectly with 1985 and still retained his trademark sound to mix with it. Breakin' Out, Say It Again, and Written In Sand are excllent songs. There isn't a bad song on this CD. Greg Walker and Alex Litgerwood together are awesome.
