It is not necessarily a terrible idea for an album, having Santana interpret classic rock standards.
Carlos Santana is one of the great rock guitarists and he has a jazzy interpretative bent, cutting duet albums with no less of a heavy hitter as John McLaughlin back in the ‘70s.
It goes without saying that those were different times and that the Santana of 2010 is not the Santana of 1972, although he’s remarkably close to the Santana of 1999, the one who gave himself over to Clive Davis for a shot at chart success.
Davis once again follows his patented formula of teaming Santana with guest singers, having his team of producers polish everything so it will glisten on as many cross-platforms as possible.
This worked remarkably well on 1999’s Supernatural, thanks to the freshness of the concept and the presence of powerhouse pop tunes like “Smooth” and “Maria Maria,” but Guitar Heaven isn’t Supernatural, no matter how much the producers try to replicate its success, right down to bringing in all the superstars of 2000 -- Rob Thomas, Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland, Jacoby Shaddix, Gavin Rossdale, Pat Monahan, Chester Bennington -- to act as frontmen, along with Chris Daughtry who feels like he should be part of this class.
They’re balanced by a handful of non-rockers (India.Arie, Nas), a blues guitarist in the form of Jonny Lang, and, for old fans, Joe Cocker singing Hendrix, but it doesn’t matter who is singing because every track is produced as a pop tune, not a rock song.
The vocals are pushed to the front and little room is left for extended solos, so Santana winds up tossing off frilly fills while the vocalist is singing and each cut winds up as a cheery bright wall of sound constructed from constrictive computer loops.
There are no reinterpretations -- not even the Nas-fronted “Back in Black” changes the song much -- just restatements of riffs and replicated effects, each familiar element offering a reminder that Santana, Davis, and company chose to take the easy road by settling for gauche pop instead of guitar rock, winding up with a truly terrible album.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whole Lotta LoveJohn Bonham, Willie Dixon, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant | Santana | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | Can't You Hear Me KnockingMick Jagger, Keith Richards | Santana | Play | 05:38 | 12 MB | 45 MB |
| 3 | Sunshine of Your LovePete Brown, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton | Santana | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | While My Guitar Gently WeepsGeorge Harrison | Santana | Play | 06:02 | 13 MB | 45 MB |
| 5 | PhotographSteve Clark, Joe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Rick Savage, Pete Willis | Santana | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | Back in BlackBrian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young | Santana | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | Riders on the StormJohn Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Jim Morrison | Santana | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| 8 | Smoke on the WaterRitchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice | Santana | Play | 05:06 | 11 MB | 39 MB |
| 9 | Dance the Night AwayMichael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth | Santana | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | Bang a GongMarc Feld | Santana | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 11 | Little WingJimi Hendrix | Santana | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 12 | I Ain't SuperstitiousWillie Dixon | Santana | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 55 mins | 126 MB | |||||
| 55 mins | 428 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ed Adair | Crew |
| 2 | Micki Alboff | Management |
| 3 | Michael Anthony | Composer |
| 4 | Tommy Anthony | Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 5 | Angie Aparo | Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Alex Arias | Assistant, Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 7 | Keith Armstrong | Mixing Assistant |
| 8 | Chester Bennington | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 9 | Howard Benson | Arranger, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 10 | Ritchie Blackmore | Composer |
| 11 | John Bonham | Composer |
| 12 | Pete Brown | Composer |
| 13 | Sherree Brown | Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Jack Bruce | Composer |
| 15 | David Bryant | Assistant |
| 16 | Kim Bullard | Keyboards, Programming |
| 17 | Sarah Cervinski | Management |
| 18 | Dennis Chambers | Drums |
| 19 | Eric Clapton | Composer |
| 20 | Steve Clark | Composer |
| 21 | Joe Cocker | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 22 | Chris Concepcion | Assistant |
| 23 | Chris Cornell | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 24 | Jeff Cressman | Trombone |
| 25 | Chris Daughtry | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 26 | Clive Davis | Producer |
| 27 | Dan de Serpa | Management |
| 28 | Paul DeCarli | Digital Editing |
| 29 | John Densmore | Composer |
| 30 | John Deskin | Crew |
| 31 | Willie Dixon | Composer |
| 32 | Mark Dobson | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 33 | Edan Dover | Assistant |
| 34 | Shaul Dover | Assistant |
| 35 | Nate Dubé | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 36 | Joe Elliott | Composer |
| 37 | Libby Fabrio | Crew |
| 38 | Alia Fahlborg | Management, Producer |
| 39 | Marc Feld | Composer |
| 40 | Adam Fells | Management |
| 41 | Arik Garcia | Assistant |
| 42 | Rita Gentry | Management |
| 43 | Ian Gillan | Composer |
| 44 | Lee Gipson | Crew |
| 45 | Roger Glover | Composer |
| 46 | Matt Goldman | Stylist |
| 47 | Erwin Gorostiza | Creative Director |
| 48 | Doug Grean | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 49 | Matt Griffin | Production Coordination |
| 50 | Sean Guthriw | Crew |
| 51 | George Harrison | Composer |
| 52 | Jimi Hendrix | Composer |
| 53 | Bob Higgins | Crew |
| 54 | Michelle Holme | Art Direction, Design |
| 55 | Graham Hope | Assistant |
| 56 | Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki | Engineer |
| 57 | India.Arie | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 58 | Mick Jagger | Composer |
| 59 | Ted Jensen | Mastering |
| 60 | Brian Johnson | Composer |
| 61 | John Paul Jones | Composer |
| 62 | Nik Karpen | Mixing Assistant |
| 63 | Mike "Hoss" Keifer | Management |
| 64 | Robby Krieger | Composer |
| 65 | Jonny Lang | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 66 | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | Composer |
| 67 | Mike Leisz | Assistant, Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 68 | Carmello Lomonaco | Crew |
| 69 | Jon Lord | Composer |
| 70 | Chris Lord-Alge | Mixing |
| 71 | Carlton Lynn | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 72 | Yo-Yo Ma | Cello, Featured Artist |
| 73 | Rob Mailman | Crew |
| 74 | Ray Manzarek | Composer, Featured Artist, Organ |
| 75 | Joël Margolis | Assistant |
| 76 | Zanna Margolis | Assistant |
| 77 | Chris McNair | Crew |
| 78 | Hal Miller | Crew |
| 79 | Pat Monahan | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 80 | Brian Montgomery | Crew |
| 81 | Jim Morrison | Composer |
| 82 | Kelle Musgrave | Production Coordination |
| 83 | Keith Naftaly | A&R |
| 84 | Nas | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 85 | Sean O'Dwyer | Assistant |
| 86 | Bill Ortiz | Trumpet |
| 87 | Jimmy Page | Composer |
| 88 | Ian Paice | Composer |
| 89 | Vanessa Parr | Assistant |
| 90 | Karl Perazzo | Congas, Percussion |
| 91 | Tim Pierce | Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 92 | Robert Plant | Composer |
| 93 | Mike Plotnikoff | Engineer |
| 94 | Renee Rael | Grooming |
| 95 | Robin Randolph | Crew |
| 96 | Gary Rashid | Crew |
| 97 | Freddie Ravel | Keyboards, Organ, Piano |
| 98 | Jim Reitzel | Engineer |
| 99 | Raul Rekow | Congas |
| 100 | Keith Richards | Composer |
| 101 | Paul "Skip" Rickert | Management |
| 102 | Benny Rietveld | Bass |
| 103 | Gavin Rossdale | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 104 | David Lee Roth | Composer |
| 105 | Denny Rothhardt | Crew |
| 106 | Timothy Saccenti | Photography |
| 107 | Matt Salveson | Assistant |
| 108 | Santana | Primary Artist |
| 109 | Carlos Santana | Arranger, Guitar, Producer |
| 110 | Rick Savage | Composer |
| 111 | Andrew Schubert | Mixing |
| 112 | Matt Serletic | Arranger, Keyboards, Organ, Producer, Programming, Synthesizer |
| 113 | Alberto Seveso | Illustrations |
| 114 | Jacoby Shaddix | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 115 | Joel Shearer | Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 116 | Kathy Suhy | Management |
| 117 | Chad Tasky | Crew |
| 118 | Rob Thomas | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 119 | Brad Townsend | Mixing |
| 120 | Doug Trantow | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 121 | Robyn Troup | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 122 | Marc VanGool | Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar Technician |
| 123 | Alex Van Halen | Composer |
| 124 | Eddie Van Halen | Composer |
| 125 | Enzo Vollmer | Crew |
| 126 | Maria Vrionis | Management |
| 127 | Michael Vrionis | Management |
| 128 | Steven Vrionis | Management |
| 129 | Scott Weiland | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 130 | Pete Willis | Composer |
| 131 | Chad Wilson | Management |
| 132 | Angus Young | Composer |
| 133 | Malcolm Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |