Corazón (Santana album)
2014 studio album by Santana
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Corazón is the twenty-third studio album (thirty-seventh album overall) by Santana, released on May 6, 2014.[1]
- Odds On Studios, Las Vegas
- The Bank, Burbank (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 12)
- Cia. dos Técnicos Studio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Spanish-language vocals of "Saideira")
- ART House Studio, Miami (Spanish-language vocals of "Amor Correspondido")
- Crescent Moon Studios, Miami ("Beijo de Longe")
- Art Dealer Chic Studios, Los Angeles ("Indy")
- Tarpan Studios, San Rafael (tracks 10 and 11)
- Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood ("Iron Lion Zyon")
| Corazón | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 6, 2014 | |||
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| Genre | Latin rock | |||
| Length | 45:20 | |||
| Label | RCA/Sony Latin Iberia | |||
| Producer | Lester Mendez | |||
| Santana chronology | ||||
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Produced by Lester Mendez,[2] the album features collaborations with various singers like Gloria Estefan, Ziggy Marley and Cindy Blackman.[3]
"La Flaca" featuring Juanes, the first single from the album, was released in November 2013. The album was certified double platinum in the Latin category (Disco de Platino) by the RIAA for shipping over 120,000 copies in the United States;[4] furthermore, it has sold over 95,000 copies in the country according to Nielsen SoundScan.[5]
Reception
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 60/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| The Independent | [9] |
| New York Daily News | [10] |
| Ultimate Guitar Archive | 6/10[11] |
The album received mixed to positive reviews by critics. Rolling Stone's Will Hermes considered the album a Latin pop version of Supernatural and that its music "remains an unmistakable, undeniable sound".[8] Thom Jurek from AllMusic felt "Santana actually sounds hungry again" and stated that "while some of these cuts are forgettable, his inventive engagement with Latin pop here is not only successful, but satisfying".[7] Billboard's Leila Cobo considered the album to be guitar-driven despite the many vocalists.[12] Overall, she praised the album, but pointed a few songs that she considered not to have worked, such as "Feel It Coming Back", in which she felt that Diego Torres struggled with the language; and "Indy", in which Miguel's improvisations "lack structure and tend to meander".[12] Jeremy Williams-Chalmers from So So Gay felt the album might "be the record that finally knocks Supernatural off its throne as Santana's definitive release" and considered it to be "everything a Santana record needs to be", while joining Cobo on criticizing Torres' English skills.[13] The Independent's Nick Coleman said the album "contains a brightly recorded, punchy collection of 'Latin' beats and melodies, plus some rock, featuring a handful of distinguished guests and the familiar overflying drone of Carlos's own guitar obbligati" and that it "is certain to be a hit in its target territories".[9]
Relix's Bill Murphy considered Carlos Santana's guitar playing in the album to be the "best he's done in decades" and felt that "where too many cooks may have overwhelmed Supernatural, Corazón simmers with spicy variety".[14] Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, considered the songs to be radio-aimed and described the contrast between Santana's guitar and the guest singers vocals as follows: "The way Mr. Santana answers the lyrics and grapples for the foreground until verse and chorus gave way to full-fledged guitar solos is the audio equivalent of photobombing the lead vocal. Luckily, Mr. Santana's guitar can be as impassioned as any singer's voice."[15] However, he considered some tracks (such as "Oye 2014" and "Yo Soy La Luz") to be "awkward moments".[15]
Writing for New York Daily News, Jim Farber was not so impressed by the album. He criticized it being promoted as a Latin pop album while having half of its lyrics in English.[10] He also saw negatively the artists chosen for this album: "Santana's glistening leads compete with, rather than complement, these artists. [...] Latin alternative music features so many artists who would have paired better with Santana's style. [...] Wrangling artists like those would have made this album a true first".[10] Ultimate Guitar Archive's team felt Santana himself had little space in some of the songs and considered the album to be "a compilation of well formulated, radio-friendly Latino pop which often times ends up sounding somewhat bizarre".[11] They also labeled the lyrics as "repetitive" and concluded by saying: "The outcome which appears on [...] Corazon falls short of any preset expectations. [...] Considering the album's pop-driven outcome it leaves the listener puzzled as to where Santana was hoping to proceed with this effort".[11]
Accolades
The album was nominated for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2014.[16]
Track listing
Standard edition
| No. | Title | Music | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saideira (Spanish version)" (featuring Samuel Rosa) | Samuel Rosa, Rodrigo F. Leão | Skank | 3:55 |
| 2. | "La Flaca" (featuring Juanes) | Pau Donés | Jarabe de Palo | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Mal Bicho" (featuring Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) | Flavio Oscar Cianciarulo | Los Fabulosos Cadillacs | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Oye 2014" (featuring Pitbull, remixed version of Santana's cover of "Oye Como Va", released in their 1970 album Abraxas) | Ernesto "Tito" Puente, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, Amando Christian Perez | Tito Puente | 3:24 |
| 5. | "Iron Lion Zion" (featuring Ziggy Marley & ChocQuibTown) | Bob Marley | Bob Marley | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Una Noche en Nápoles" (featuring Lila Downs, Niña Pastori & Soledad) | Thomas Mack Lauderdale, China F. Forbes | Pink Martini | 4:30 |
| 7. | "Besos de Lejos" (featuring Gloria Estefan) | Teofilo Chantre, Gerard Mendes | Boy Gé Mendes | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Margarita" (featuring Romeo Santos) | Romeo Santos | 4:01 | |
| 9. | "Indy" (featuring Miguel) | Miguel Pimentel | 3:26 | |
| 10. | "Feel It Coming Back" (featuring Diego Torres) | Rafael Esparza-Ruiz, Yoel Henríquez | 4:10 | |
| 11. | "Yo Soy La Luz" (featuring Wayne Shorter & Cindy Blackman) | Carlos Santana | 4:06 | |
| 12. | "I See Your Face" | Bola Sete | Bola Sete | 1:19 |
| No. | Title | Music | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Saideira" (featuring Samuel Rosa) | Samuel Rosa, Rodrigo F. Leão | Skank | 3:55 |
| 14. | "Beijo de Longe" (Portuguese-language version of "Besos de Lejos" (featuring Gloria Estefan)) | Teofilo Chantre, Gerard Mendes | Boy Gé Mendes | 4:17 |
| 15. | "Amor Correspondido" (Spanish-language version of "Feel It Coming Back") (featuring Diego Torres) | Rafael Esparza-Ruiz, Yoel Enríquez | 4:10 | |
| 16. | "Santana: The Making of Corazón" (Directed by Lourival Rodriguez & Ruslan Shakirov) | 32:10 |
Latin American edition
| No. | Title | Music | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saideira" (featuring Samuel Rosa) | Samuel Rosa, Rodrigo F. Leão | Skank | 3:55 |
| 2. | "La Flaca" (featuring Juanes) | Pau Donés | Jarabe de Palo | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Mal Bicho" (featuring Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) | Flavio Oscar Cianciarulo | Los Fabulosos Cadillacs | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Amor Correspondido" (featuring Diego Torres) | Rafael Esparza-Ruiz, Yoel Henríquez | 4:10 | |
| 5. | "Una Noche en Nápoles" (featuring Lila Downs, Niña Pastori & Soledad) | Thomas Mack Lauderdale, China F. Forbes | Pink Martini | 4:30 |
| 6. | "Beijo de Longe" (featuring Gloria Estefan) | Teofilo Chantre, Gerard Mendes | Boy Gé Mendes | 4:17 |
| 7. | "Margarita" (featuring Romeo Santos) | Romeo Santos | 4:01 | |
| 8. | "Indy" (featuring Miguel) | Miguel Pimentel | 3:26 | |
| 9. | "Oye 2014" (featuring Pitbull, remastered version of Santana's cover of "Oye Como Va", released in their 1970 album Abraxas) | Ernesto "Tito" Puente, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, Amando Christian Perez | Tito Puente | 3:24 |
| 10. | "Yo Soy La Luz" (featuring Wayne Shorter & Cindy Blackman) | Carlos Santana | 4:06 | |
| 11. | "I See Your Face" | Bola Sete | Bola Sete | 1:19 |
| 12. | "Iron Lion Zion" (featuring Ziggy Marley & ChocQuibTown) | Bob Marley | Bob Marley | 4:32 |
| Total length: | 45:20[18] | |||
| No. | Title | Music | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Saideira (Spanish-language version)" (featuring Samuel Rosa) | Samuel Rosa, Rodrigo Leão, Juan Pablo Sorín | Skank | 3:55 |
| 14. | "Feel It Coming Back" (English-language version of "Amor Correspondido") (featuring Diego Torres) | Rafael Esparza-Ruiz, Yoel Henríquez | 4:09 | |
| 15. | "Besos de Lejos" (Spanish-language version of "Beijo de Longe") (featuring Gloria Estefan) | Teofilo Chantre, Gerard Mendes | Boy Gé Mendes | 4:17 |
Personnel
Source:[19]
- Carlos Santana – lead guitar on all tracks except "Una Noche en Nápoles", in which he plays the twelve-string guitar and the classical guitar; percussion (tracks 8, 10, 11); producing and mixing (tracks 10, 11); arranger (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12)
Musicians
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Additional vocalists
Guitars and bass
Keyboards
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Percussion
Brass
Other instruments
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Technical staff
Producing
Mixing
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Engineering
"Beijo de Longe"/"Besos de Lejos" (track 14)
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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