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Blessings and Miracles (2021)

Where the lyrics of Blessings and Miracles take you, and where it was really made.

Santana's twenty-sixth studio album was built largely from remote collaborations, and its recording locations are logged in several different studios.

Key places

Recorded at Shangri-La in Malibu (2021)

Recording site Shangri-La — The album's recording location is listed as Shangri-La in Malibu, California. The studio's exact location is not stated beyond the listed address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios (2021)

Recording site Larrabee Sound Studios — The album was mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles, according to the listed credits. The record's mixing was done at this studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Blessings and Miracles: twenty-sixth studio album by American rock band Santana
• Released October 15, 2021 by Starfaith LLC and BMG Rights Management
• Produced by Carlos Santana himself, who prepared it over two years
• Guests include Chris Stapleton, Ally Brooke, Corey Glover, Kirk Hammett, Mark Osegueda, Chick Corea, Gayle Moran Corea, Steve Winwood and Rob Thomas
• Santana recorded with Rob Thomas again more than 20 years after their hit Smooth
• Many of the collaborations were recorded remotely
• Cover art shows Tlāloc, the Aztec god of rain

Background

• In July 2021 Santana announced his signing with BMG Rights Management to release the album
• He said the change of style from Africa Speaks came from intuition, which told him to get back on the radio in the four corners of the world
• He said the pandemic left people in need of hope and courage
• He held a think tank meeting at his office and asked for names that could help him get back on the radio
• He said the title comes from his belief that people are born with heavenly powers that let them create blessings and miracles
• He saw the album as mystical medicine music to heal an infected world of fear and darkness

Recording

• Many collaborations were recorded remotely
• Recording location listed as Shangri-La in Malibu, California
• Mixing location listed as Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles
• Mastering location listed as The Lodge in New York

Cover

• Cover art features an image of Tlāloc, the Aztec god of rain

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 by Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana.
• Named the Santana Blues Band at a January 1967 Fillmore audition; shortened to Santana by the end of 1967.
• Signed with Columbia Records in late 1968.
• The "classic" line-up stabilised in May 1969: Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello, David Brown, Michael Shrieve and Jose "Chepito" Areas.

Members

• Carlos Santana is the only consistent member across the band's history.
• Classic line-up: Santana, Gregg Rolie (organ, lead vocals), Michael Carabello and Jose "Chepito" Areas (percussion), Michael Shrieve (drums), David Brown (bass).
• Brown died in 2000; Areas was not invited to the 2014 reunion.
• Classic line-up members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Career

• Breakthrough at the 1969 Woodstock Festival; the debut album Santana peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200.
• Abraxas (1970) and Santana III (1971) both reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200.
• Early 1970s experiments with jazz fusion on Caravanserai (1972), Welcome (1973) and Borboletta (1974).
• Amigos (1976) returned the band to commercial success; Moonflower (1977) was its most successful album since Santana III.
• Commercial decline in the 1980s, followed by a seven-year recording hiatus.
• Supernatural (1999) won eight Grammy Awards and sold an estimated 30 million copies worldwide.
• Santana IV (2016) reunited the classic line-up, the first recording together in 45 years.
• Estimated 100 million records sold worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: generally favorable reviews based on a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 from 5 critic scores
• Kronen Zeitung: the album only partially succeeds in the quality of its 15 songs and does not come close to Supernatural from 1999
• Kronen Zeitung: some aspects of the album, such as the guests, were calculated
• Rolling Stone France: the album may be a little too mainstream for those hoping for a real return to roots, and it rated the album 3.5/5
• Rolling Stone France: praised Santana Celebration and Peace Power
• Metal.de, Christian Flack: the album shows Santana's creativity and musical genius are far from exhausted, and it felt fresh and charismatic
• Metal.de, Christian Flack: called it a strong, broad-based and highly ambitious album with a star cast and outstanding guitar solos
• Laut.de, Philipp Kause: saw the album as a sampler because of its many guests and genres, and praised it for containing something for everyone
• Laut.de, Philipp Kause: said the album failed to harmonize sentimental songs such as Whiter Shade of Pale with crowbar production

Reappraisal

• Michael Galluci: the album is all over the place but not without occasional highlights
• Michael Galluci: Santana was less overshadowed by guests than on his successful 1990s and 2000s albums
• AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine: the album's spirit felt formulaic rather than fresh as it was in 1999
• AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine: the guest vocalists seemed genuinely enthusiastic and the awkward fusions made the album feel created by artists rather than a corporate boardroom
• AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine: as a collection of moments, the album does the job

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Santana first invited Aerosmith's Steven Tyler to sing America for Sale, but Tyler was not available, so Kirk Hammett suggested his friend Mark Osegueda of Death Angel
• Move was originally written by Rob Thomas and American Authors for a separate project before Thomas asked Santana to contribute guitar
• Two songs were written by Santana's children: Breathing Underwater by Stella and Rumbalero by Salvador
• Santana had to use Shazam to learn that Rumbalero was his own son's music when he first heard it
• Yo Estaré, the Spanish version of Break with Ally Brooke, was released as a single on April 15, 2022, after previously appearing only on the vinyl version of the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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