Very good in parts
Santana at their best are unbeatable, but their material can be very weak. As someone weaned on the great early days of the band (1st album through Borboletta), most recent Santana albums are a disappointment with what seem to me to be token latin rhythms and a very good but ultimately rather soul-less vocalist. The good material is just not there. Most of the allbum falls into this category ('Winning' is a case in point - insipid is what I call it). Having said all this this album does have some real highs. In particular 'American Gypsy' is an outstanding guitar and keyboard workout in the classic Santana jam style. Carlos can do this stuff in his sleep, but when he is on form it is breathtaking - this is really one of his best. This is followed by 'I love you too much'. A cover of somebody else's song, it is a marvellous example of Carlos in his ballad mode. It is a song in the style of 'Samba Pa Ti'. He positively burns up the fretboard and pumps the song up to an incredible high. Beautiful and thrilling in a way only a very few guitar players can manage. I think it is worth buying the CD for this track alone. 'Tales of Kilimanjaro' and 'Sensitive Kind' are also not bad, but I keep thinking that they would have been much better with the old great rhythm section with Michael Shrieve as the drummer and Gregg Rolie on organ. Still, good in parts: if you admire his guitar paying there is material here that you will like. If you want a classic Santana album, this is not it.
Winning In Every Way!
This is one of the Santana band's finest albums!It's the ideal blend of the percussive,psychedelic funky latin jazz/rock that Carlos Santana has made so famous!All of those bases are covered here,sometimes together as on "Searchin" and other times on songs like the grooving "E Papa Re".Overall 'Zebop!' also marks a return from late 70's stabs at progressive rock and disco back to Santana's classic sound,marked by "The Sensitve Kind",a JJ Cale cover very similar to the bands Woodstock-era radio hits of yore.The bluesy instrumental version of the standard "I Love You Much Too Much" shows that while strong tunesmiths in their own right Santana can TEAR IT UP on covers!"Brightest Star" is a very soulful ballad showcasing some KILLER organ work and a
great vocal arrangement.
"Changes" and "Winning" are both catchy covers given
a little dose of latin-rock even as the firey instrumentals
"Primera Invasion" and the frenetic closering chant "Hannibal" are just shattering fabulous!Ditto for "American Gypsy"-noting that all four tracks wouldv'e fit perfectly on any of
Santana's first trio of albums.Over twelve songs there is no filler,no weak songs and (as always) outstanding production. And happily it lacks the abundance of filler the permeated albums like 'Marathon' and the follow up 'Shango!'.So for those interested in a peak at the early 80's-era Santana,this album
is the best choice by far,in addition to rating very high in
terms of quality within his entire catalog!There should be nothing keeping music fans away from this!
O.K.
It's okay not the best. there r better 1's. i think carlos did have a pretty album though and whoever put the song in the order they're in is good. so is it reccomended 2 u? Ya.
g2g
Finally in a respectable format.
Most of the other reviews focus on the fantastic, must-have content of Zebop (eg; Tales of Kilimanjaro, Primera Invasion) so I won't dwell on this.
The purpose of this review is tell Santana fans that this version is the most definitive available at this moment in our world on cd. This cd has the correct red cover (not pink!), doesn't have the ugly "Compact Disc, Digitally Mastered Analog Recording" symbol in the bottom right hand corner, contains all the lyrics in the booklet plus a photo - and even sports a clear spine!
If you're like me and you appreciate authentic reproductions of LP artwork etc., then this is the version for you. Stay away from the ugly American 1980s cd releases (I mean they were pressed in the 80s). It seems that on www.amazon.co.uk, most of the Santana catalogue bar Caravanserai was released in the last couple of years.
By the way, this review will also show up under the pink Zebop 80s release for some crazy reason - DO NOT BUY THAT ONE!!!
One Of Santana's Best
This cd is 3 time purchase for me. I first bought on 8 track in 1981 when it first came out and then on cassette a few years later and now just recently on cd. Carlos' guitar work is top notch as always on this cd as well as the great vocals of Alex Litgerwood. I think the rockin' songs SEARCHING and OVER AND OVER are better than the 2 hit singles off this cd WINNING and SENSITIVE KIND. LOVE YOU MUCH TOO MUCH is the best instrumental on the cd with some very intense moving guitar solos. The track THE BRIGHTEST STAR is well worth a listen with a blues rock style with blistering guitar solos by Carlos and a great vocal performance by Alex Litgerwood. I also love the excellent guitar work on HANNIBAL which is the last track on the cd;Carlos really gets jammin' on this song.
Remastered Reissue Presented in a Clear Tray with Improved Original Artwork. Santana's 18th Album features the Hit 'winning.'
