Maps of Music

Marathon (1979)

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

Santana's commercial decline is said to begin with this album, even though it contains a Top 40 hit.

Key places

Recorded at The Automatt (1979)

Recording site The Automatt — Marathon is listed as recorded at The Automatt in San Francisco. The point uses the studio's listed position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixed at Sound City Studios (1979)

Recording site Sound City Studios — Marathon was mixed at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys. The point uses the studio's listed position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Marathon: 11th studio album by Santana, released in 1979
• Eleven tracks: five on side one, six on side two
• Side one: "Marathon", "Lightning in the Sky", "Aqua Marine", "You Know That I Love You", "All I Ever Wanted"
• Side two: "Stand Up", "Runnin'", "Summer Lady", "Love", "Stay (Beside Me)", "Hard Times"
• Three instrumental titles: "Marathon", "Aqua Marine", "Runnin'"
• Lead vocals by Alex Ligertwood, who joined the group for this album
• Producers: Keith Olsen and Santana
• Engineers: Keith Olsen and David De Vore
• Mastering by Joe Gaswirt

Background

• Marks the beginning of the group's commercial slide
• Still produced a Top 40 hit, "You Know That I Love You"
• Ligertwood would sing with the group throughout the 1980s
• Eight musicians credited: Alex Ligertwood, Carlos Santana, Chris Solberg, Alan Pasqua, David Margen, Graham Lear, Armando Peraza, Raul Rekow
• Chris Solberg credited on guitars, keyboards and backing vocals
• Alan Pasqua credited on keyboards and backing vocals
• David Margen credited on bass; Graham Lear credited on drums
• Armando Peraza and Raul Rekow credited on percussion

Recording

• Recorded at The Automatt in San Francisco
• Mixed at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys
• Stuart Graham credited as assistant engineer and for mixing
• Chris Minto credited as assistant engineer
• French credits list Jaco Pastorius on bass for track A3

Cover

• Art direction credited to John Paul Jones, who is not the Led Zeppelin bassist
• Mick Brigden credited for coordination and design
• Charlie Hampton credited for calligraphy
• A text by Sri Chinmoy appears on the vinyl and in the CD booklet

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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

• English Wikipedia: the album marked the beginning of the group's commercial slide
• English Wikipedia: this came in spite of the Top 40 hit "You Know That I Love You"
• French Wikipedia: the album has a much more pop-oriented tone
• French Wikipedia: the album is described as the start of a commercial downward slope for the group
• French Wikipedia: Alex Ligertwood's entry into the group is noted with this album
• Portuguese Wikipedia: the album reached No. 25 on the Billboard chart

Records

• Billboard album chart: No. 25 (Portuguese Wikipedia)
• Discogs lists a Costa Rican pressing made in Costa Rica by INDICA S.A.
• Record company listed as Indica, S.A. (Discogs)
• Released in 1979 (Portuguese Wikipedia)

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

Trivia

• Art direction credit goes to John Paul Jones, explicitly not the Led Zeppelin bassist
• The opening track "Marathon" runs only 1:28, the shortest track on the album
• A Sri Chinmoy text on the vinyl and CD booklet compares an athlete's marathon with a seeker's inner journey
• Discogs lists a Costa Rican pressing produced by Indica, S.A.
• French credits list Jaco Pastorius on bass for track A3

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

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