Stephen Stills' "Manassas": "Both of Us (Bound to Lose)" (1972)

In the spring of 1972 perspective, Stephen Stills' band Manassas, Crosby and Nash, and Neil Young shared the Top Ten Billboard LP charts with three separate releases. During this record dominance by former members of the shattered supergroup, Rolling Stone found it "reassuring to know that Stills has some good music still inside him". (RS (109). Manassas stands by far as the best of what those artists released in '72. And with this record Stills expands on his original song structures.

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes established Steven Stills as a composer who could take three shorts songs about his ex-girlfriend and form an exquisite suite. On Manassas, each of the double albums four sides consist of a multi-song suite. Below is the track Both of Us (Bound to Lose) that closes the side one -- Suite: The Raven. On this track Stills not only gets to show off his harmony vocal prowess with Chris Hillman, but the song also closes with a fine latin rock movement powered by Joe Lala's percussion. Stills' deft electric lead guitar is on display throughout.

Yep, it was 1972.

(Manassas percussionist and Tampa native Joe Lala passed away this month. This one's in memory of you, Joe.)

"A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Crustacean)"

Jimmy Buffett, once a local hero here in Florida before he sold out to the man, titled his best album, all ballads of a elderly combat veteran surviving in the keys on a drinking his "Green Label" each day and another about a piano players in mortal danger when playing into a Havana Cuban Crime of Passion. is best album is titled, A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Crustacean) (1973), a tip of the hat to Marty Robbins' song A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation) (1957).

The highlight of Buffett & The Coral Reefers record packaging is the cover art: a photo of Jimmy sitting on lobster infront of is rusted-out Florida lobster trawler, a real working boat. The pink crustacean Jimmy's reaching for is the species of Florida lobster found only in sub-tropical waters such the Florida Keys. Buffet still regularly performs the songs from White Sport. Here's a little taste:

Jimmy Buffett performing at the Key West Streetfest, 2011

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Nobody Can Sit Still When "Oye Como Va" is Playing

Great Youtube mining by a friend gave me a little more "evidence" for my theory that nobody can sit still when I'd play Oye Como Va by Santana -- or the original by Tito Puente -- at parties. See what you think when "Laurel and Hardy Meet Santana".

(Note: For anyone who wants to avoid the years that I spent finding a translation of the lyrics to English, see here.)

My First Record: "Evil Ways" (1969), The Original Santana Band

Evil Ways by was my first single, first favorite song, and Santana my first favorite band back when I got my first stereo for Christmas back when I was 13. And the firsts keep coming. Santana, on their first national tour in support of their above pictured first album was my first concert. They tore the house down that night and I was hooked.

And one side note: I got my first chance to see the Woodstock documentary the following summer of 1970 -- at a drive-in. The film was rated R and with me being 13, that presented a logistical problem. Just picture the front seat of my mother's car, her in the driver's set, my girlfriend in the middle and me riding shotgun simply glued to the screen and the music coming out of that tiny metal speaker hanging on the car window. I am blessed to have a great mom.

The Original Santana Band: "Incident At Neshabur"

For those of us who became fanatics at the beginning, that original line-up, for a while, meant something special. They were hot off a mesmerizing performance at Woodstock. And as fate would have it I had just gotten my first record player. Santana's single Evil Ways was my first favorite song.

Touring on their first self-titled album, still riding high on the Woodstock film excitement about their performance, Santana was also the first concert I ever saw. The show was to me indescribably great. It was the night as a teenager I had my rock 'n' roll revelation. I was hooked and this music -- Afro-Cuban, latin, rock, jazz, San Francisco street music, with a full Latin rhythm section -- was the drug.

Then, in the fall of 1970, Santana released their quite astounding second album, Abraxas. Great as that album was -- some songs such as Black Magic Woman and Oye Come Va are still out there in the mix today -- the first musical fissures that would soon split the band were beginning to show. On Abraxas we begin to see guitarist Carlos Santana head in his musical direction (Latin-infused jazz) and keyboard player/vocalist Gregg Rolie in his (hard rock --that is, what was considered hard rock in the early 70s.)

Those fissures, apparent in tracks such as Incident At Neshabur featuring song co-writer and pianist Alberto Gianquinto, are some of the best music the original line-up created. As Rolie noted about this track (in an interview for the 1998 reissue liner notes), "We did time changes, colors, and things that were very sophisticated."

The best recorded performance of Incident At Neshabur was live in Japan in 1973, with long searing guitar solos tempered by jazz keyboards, on Lotus (1974). This version comes in at almost 16 minutes. The studio version below is much shorter, but more importantly, Rolie is still in the line-up, adding a rock sensibility that's an essential part of the mix.

The Original Santana Band will always be special -- no matter what Carlos achieved in his jazz fusion period. That original band had a distinctive magic. See what you think -- check out the track below.

The Original Santana Band: Incident At Neshabur (Abraxas version)

Los Lobos Has Still Got It

I've written about Los Lobos here before. I followed them in their early years -- their first major label release was in the mid-80s -- but I lost track of them in the late 90s while the members pursued side projects. Until last Friday night. The band played a gig in St. Petersburg (Florida) and I got a chance to see them live for the for the first time. The show was all I could have hoped for: rock/latin/jazz fusion with an East LA spin that is unsurpassed.

Los Lobos often close their sets with their 1987 cover of La Bamba (clip above), recorded for the film about the late Richie Valens, the first artist to infuse this Mexican folk song with a rock rock beat (back in '58). Los Lobos had an international with their '87 cover and theirs remains the definitive version of the song.

Another Gem from Santana: "Song of the Wind"

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Santana, "Song of the Wind", Caravanserai (1972)

By 1972, the original Santana band, brought to international prominence with their appearance at Woodstock, and their second album, Abraxas, had broken up. Carlos was taking control and entering an intensely spiritual period that would last through the mid-seventies. But their fourth album, Caravanserai, contains a gem. It's not the perfect latin / rock fusion of the early days, but rather a shimmering, searing example of Carlos at his studio best. (I say studio best because, for the hard core fan, the jazz / rock / fusion of a full concert from these days, Lotus, is unsurpassable.)

So for those who have never heard it, hear's a treat for you ears, heart, and mind: Song of the Wind from 1972.