The 500 - #149 - Self Titled Debut - Santana

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #149

Album Title: Self-Titled Debut

Artist: Santana

Genre: Latin Rock, Jazz Fusion, Psychedelic Rock

Recorded: Pacific and San Mateo Studios, California

Released: August, 1969

My age at release: 4

How familiar was I with it before this week: A couple of songs

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Soul Sacrifice

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957) attracted both praise and criticism for his approach to form, tonality and architecture in his seven symphonies. His response to the criticisms was dismissive when he famously said: “Pay no attention to what critics say. No statue has ever been put up to a critic.”

Perhaps the six members of the San Francisco-based Latin rock band, Santana, reflected on the wisdom of Sibelius when they saw the early reviews of their 1969, self-titled debut record.

Santana (1969).

Rolling Stone magazine writer Langdon Winner called the record “a masterpiece of hollow techniques” and “a speed freak’s delight – fast, pounding, frantic music with no real content”. He further compared the music’s effect to the drug methedrine (a powerful stimulant popular in the drug culture of the late ‘60s) saying, (the music) “gives a high with no meaning…featuring repetitively, unimaginative playing amidst a monotony of incompetent rhythms and inconsequential lyrics”.

Robert Cristgau - Village Voice Magazine.

Meanwhile, on the other coast, New York Village Voice writer Robert Christgau echoed Winner’s sentiments calling the record “a lot of noise… (from) the methedrine school of American music.”


Ouch!


Initially formed in 1966 as The Santana Blues Band, the group evolved into a free-form jam band, experimenting with a fusion of blues, rock, and Latin rhythms—drawing inspiration from the Mexican and Nicaraguan heritage of two of its members. By the time they recorded their debut album, their name was shortened to Santana and the lineup included Carlos Santana (lead guitar), David Brown (bass), Gregg Rolie (keyboards and lead vocals), Michael Shrieve (drums), Michael Carabello (congas and percussion), and José "Chepito" Areas (timbales and percussion).

Santana (1969).

The group performed at the now legendary Woodstock Music Festival on Saturday, August 16, 1969, a week before the release of their debut title. The group performed six songs from their upcoming album including two cover songs – Jin-Go-Lo-Ba by Nigerian percussionist Babatundi Olatunji and the Willie Bobo song Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries. I’ll admit, I enjoyed a phonetic preoccupation when I discovered the name “Ba-ba-tundi Ola-tun-ji” and the pleasing syllables that comprise it. I caught myself repeating it as a mini-mantra.

“Ba-ba-tundi Ola-tun-ji” (give it a try).

Thirty-one years after its release, Santana’s debut album received a far warmer reception from Rolling Stone. In 2000, critic Chris Heath described the record as “thrilling ... with ambition, soul and absolute conviction – every moment played straight from the heart.” This marked a dramatic shift from the magazine’s original 1969 review, which had dismissed the album as hollow and frantic. By 2003, Rolling Stone included it at #150 on its original list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, nudging it up to #149 in the 2012 revision. However, it was dropped from the most recent update in 2020. The album’s fluctuating status lends weight to Jean Sibelius’s famous observation: “No statue has ever been put up to a critic.”

Santana on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine 1n 1999.

Sibelius himself, of course, has a monument in his honor -- an elegant sculpture nestled in a Helsinki park that also bears his name. His legacy extends further: an academy, a high school, a museum, several streets across Europe, and even a widely used music notation software all carry his name.

Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park, Finland.

Carlos Santana, who recently celebrated his 78th birthday, has built a legacy just as enduring. He’s been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and ranks #20 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, his influence spans generations.

One imagines Santana has long since recovered from the early barbs hurled by critics like Langdon Winner and Robert Christgau. And if not, he can surely take comfort in nearly six decades of musical achievement – or, at the very least, in the towering pile of money he’s earned. Big enough to fund a statue of his own.

The 500 - #189 - Happy Trails - Quicksilver Messenger Company

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #189
Album Title: Happy Trails
Artist: Quicksilver Messenger Company

Genre: Multiple genres: Acid Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Recorded: Live at the Filmore West Music Club (San Francisco) and the Filmore East Music Club (New York City).

Released: March, 1969
My age at release: 3
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Mona

Earlier this month, October, 2024, the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The DMB is a divisive band -- people tend to love or loathe them. I fall into the first category. I went through a passionate DMB phase in the 1990s and early 2000s, seeing Dave with and without his band perform live at least six times in various locations, including Mississauga, Toronto, Rochester, N.Y., and Tampa Bay.

My first DMB show at Arrow Hall in Mississauga, Ontario.

Much like the DMB, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is divisive. Musicians become eligible for entry into the Hall 25 years after the release of their first recording. After being nominated, ballots are sent to more than 1,000 "rock experts". Seven to nine bands or musicians are chosen for induction. As of 2012, fans could also participate in the voting. It was they who put the Dave Matthews Band over the top and secured their admission this year.

The eight bands and solo artists inducted in 2024.

Fans of the DMB – sometimes called "Daveheads" or "Ants" (after one of their earliest and most popular song, Ants Marching), are a passionate lot. They often travel to multiple Dave shows every summer. The DMB are often called a jam band. Unlike many other touring band, they do not have an established setlist for the songs they play at their performances.  Instead, they decideon stage which song to play next. Then, they "jam" each piece – collaboratively improvising on the chord patterns and rhythmic groove, with different members taking solos. Their musicianship is exceptional -- even those who loathe the band will concede this point.

Dave Matthews Band, mid jam, Dave at centre. 

DMB's jam-style has its roots in the psychedelic music of the 1960s, which included The Grateful Dead (four records on The 500) and this week's artist, Quicksilver Messenger Service (QMS). Formed in 1965, QMS rose to popularity in the San Francisco music scene. They were not as commercially successful as their Bay Area contemporaries (The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane - with, collectively, six records on The 500) but were integral to the improvisational movement.

The Quicksilver Messenger Service in 1970 (l-r) John Cipollina, 
Greg Elmore, Nicky Hopkins and David Freiberg

It would be disingenuous if I didn't mention the other commonality between all these bands -- recreational drug use. QMS are often called an acid rock band, a genre that evolved out of the garage band sound of the 1960s when it interacted with the psychedelic subculture, with San Francisco being, arguably, ground zero. Thousands of teens and young adults migrated to the area, protesting the Vietnam War, celebrating peace and love and experimenting with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) -- commonly dubbed "acid".

West Coast "Hippies" protesting the Vietnam War.

As I listened to Happy Trails, the second record from Quicksilver Messenger Service, I could feel the connections between the acid rock of the ‘60s and the jam bands that I loved in the ‘ 90s, including the DMB. I imagine I would have been happy to experience the San Francisco scene during those strange, turbulent days, and delight at the musicianship of QMS, particularly their guitarist, John Cipollina. There is something magical about talented musicians who can communicate and collaborate with each other with seemingly effortless precision -- I am filled with both awe and envy.

John Cipollina with his one-of-a kind amplifier stack, featuring
six Wurlitzer horns, modified from an organ.

QMS are, much like DMB, still touring today. Only guitarist David Freiberg remains from the original band. They continue to release live records that capture their improvisational, acid rock style. Unfortunately, they have not been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall, and without a passionate fan-base like the Daveheads, they likely will not be. You can, however, see Cipollina's incredible amplifier stack at the Hall on your next visit. Just don’t confuse your QMS with your DMB or that LSD…it might not work out well.

The 500 - #247 - Live Dead - Grateful Dead

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #247
Album Title: Live Dead
Artist: Grateful Dead
Genre: Acid Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Jam Rock
Recorded: Two venues, the Fillmore West and The Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, California 
Released: November, 1969
My age at release: 4
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Death Don't Have No Mercy 

Live Dead is the fourth of four records from American rock legends Grateful Dead appearing on the 2012 edition of The 500. Previously, I have written about Anthem Of The Sun (#288) and American Beauty (#261). My pal Joram guest blogged for me in May, 2023, for Workingman's Dead (#264). In his terrific post, he shares his introduction to the music of "The Dead" and his trip to see them perform in Buffalo, New York, in 1993.

Joram at Grateful Dead - Orchard Park (Buffalo), New York (1993).

This week, I recruited another chum to help me with this post. Jason Marshall is a friend I met in the late '90s at the same London, Ontario, tavern where I met Joram -- The Brunswick Hotel. The three of us, and many mutual friends, often gathered at this historic London watering hole on weekends to hear live music.

Ice being delivered to the Brunswick Hotel in 1922.

Jason, like Joram, is a "Deadhead" -- the moniker of devoted fans of the Grateful Dead. He currently resides in Quebec, but returned to London this summer and we met over coffee to catch-up about the influential psychedelic jam band from San Francisco. He agreed to our conversation, and subsequent online discussions, being the basis for this blog. I mean, how could I not talk to the guy who has the title of this album on his knuckles?

Me: Okay, what's the origin story? How did you become a fan of "The Dead"?

Jason: "How did I "get on the bus"?  Well, I was doing a lot of acid (lysergic acid diethylamide - aka LSD) in high school and was trippin' all the time. During that time, I met some cool friends who were at  Cawthra Park Secondary, an arts school in Mississauga, Ontario. One of them was already a Deadhead and he played me a recording of a Grateful Dead concert on a car stereo system. It was like nothing else I had ever heard and the acid just elevated it to a new level. It was like a musical orgasm".

Cawartha Park Secondary School - Mississuga (2021).

The first song that really locked me in was St. Stephen. It was apocalyptic. It's the same version that's on the Live Dead album you're writing about. Actually, it was St. Stephen and the way it flows into the next track, The Eleven. They were recorded at two locations in San Francisco, the Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom, but they came together so well, and that experience instantly made me a Deadhead.

Jason and his brother Dana at a Dead show in
Hamilton. (March, 1990)

Me: So, that made you a Deadhead? I know that "following the Dead" to multiple concerts on the same tour is pretty common for Deadheads like you. How many times have you seen them?

Jason: I've seen 70 Grateful Dead shows and three with the Jerry Garcia Band. (Garcia is one of the group's founding members, guitarist, songwriter and singer). I've actually been at well over 100 Dead shows but sometimes you don’t have a ticket to get in. That doesn’t matter, though. That is just the way a Dead tour rolls. The party in the parking lot or campground is sometimes so awesome that some fans skip the show and stay to party there.

Deadheads camping at Oxford Speedway in Maine, July, 1988.

Me: So, I know Dead shows are an experience. The band allows audience members to record them because every show features a different set of songs often determined on stage, in the moment. The arrangement of each song is also unique to that show. The group plays in a "jam style", with musicians improvising and taking solos extemporaneously, as the mood strikes them. Live Dead captures one of those performances, can you share some thoughts on it?

Jason: Live Dead is considered Acid or Psychedelic Rock. It was made by musicians who enjoyed LSD and other psychedelics and it was the first Acid Rock record I heard while on acid. The first, and longest track, Dark Star, comes in at 23 minutes. It is a mind-bending, psychedelic trip. I love the lyrics, penned by the late poet and musician Robert Hunter who wrote many verses for The Dead.

"Dark Star crashes, pouring its light into ashes. Reason tatters. Forces pull loose from their axis. Shall we go, you and I, while we can through the transitive nightfall of diamonds?"

Now, that's what I call lyrics!!

Robert Hunter (2013)

I already mentioned St. Stephen and Eleven, the first songs that hooked me. The Eleven has become iconic and I think you'll find that many Deadheads will also list it as their "first fling", if you will. The song gets its name because the time signature is a bit of a rhythmic oddity. It is written in 11/8 (11 beats to the bar with an eighth note getting one beat). The beats are subdivided in each bar as three triplets and one group of two. So it goes 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2, with those last two eighth notes emphasized, creating sort of a wonky shuffle. My favourite part is the transition between St. Stephen and Eleven and, if you listen closely, you can hear the moment where the beat switches. It is magical.

The next song is also an fan favourite. It is Turn On Your Love Light and it is sung by Pigpen (aka: Ron McKernan who is the organ player and occasional singer for The Dead). He's completely in charge of the 15-minute epic. You can hear the electricity of the crowd on this one.

Me: I looked into that one. It was originally recorded in Nashville by an American blues singer named Bobby Bland. It was a minor hit for him and has been re-recorded by other artists including Van Morrison, Grand Funk Railroad, Conway Twitty and The Blues Brothers. 

Label on the 45 RPM record for Turn On Your Love Light.

Jason: Side Four on this amazing record opens with Death Don't Have No Mercy which is an old gospel-blues tune. I love it. It is so stripped down and raw and features Garcia's guitar and vocals at their best. Garcia was a huge fan of the blues and he incorporated this song into many of the Dead's setlists over the years.

Me: Yea, this became my favourite track on the record and I am putting it on The 500 playlist I am compiling on Spotify. I did some research and discovered it was written and originally recorded by American singer and guitarist Blind Gary Davis.  Born in 1896, he was still alive when The Dead released their version on this record in 1969.

Blind Gary Davis (1960)

Jason: The final long track is called Feedback. That track is a precursor of things to come for The Dead. Later in their career they began to incorporate instrumental breaks during their concerts which they called Space. Space always occurs in the middle of the group's second set, often after a drum solo, and it can last five minutes or longer. Feedback captures the spirit of this improvisational, instrumental jam session.

The album closes with And We Bid You Goodnight, a traditional gospel tune that the Dead do acapella. It's only about 30 seconds long and the band often used it to close out shows. 

Me: Thanks so much. I appreciate all of your insights. Anything else you'd like to share?

Jason: Although they became more popular in the '70s, this was a double album and few artists had released double records. This record was among the first. It was recorded using 16-track recording technology, which was also new. Only Blood, Sweat & Tears used in, on their second record in December, 1968. The Dead used it when recording this record a month later. 

It is an amazing record and I encourage you to "take a trip", listen to the album and when you get it, you're "on the bus"!

Jason in San Francisco while following a Dead tour. 

He is shown outside the door of 710 Ashbury

where the Grateful Dead lived in the ‘60s.

710 Ashbury (2020)

The 500 - #288 - Anthem Of The Sun - Grateful Dead

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #288

Album Title: Anthem Of The Sun

Artist: Grateful Dead

Genre: Acid Rock, Sound Collage

Recorded: 11 location, 5 studios and 6 live shows

Released: July, 1968

My age at release: 3

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: New Potato Caboose

If you are older than 40, you might remember the first time you got the news from the internet. For me, it was on August 9, 1995, at about 11 p.m. when I learned that Jerry Garcia, songwriter, lead guitarist, vocalist and founding member of Grateful Dead had died.

To provide some context, I have always been part of the early majority when it comes to computer technology. This, for the most part, is because my friendship circle included early adopters and high-tech innovators. During the summer of 1995, my connections were through my bartending pals (Tim and Marcelo) and my roommate (Steve). All three were involved in some capacity with the rapidly growing world of personal computers.

A nostalgic reminder of my 1995-era set-up

These chums had internet service in June and, by August, they had helped me install a modem which, by the magic of a telephone line, could download data at the seemingly incredible speed of 24 kilobytes per second (kbps) – the cutting edge of technology at the time. By comparison, my internet access right now is 230,000 kbps. According to tech historian Zachary Robinson, only 0.04% of the world had access back then, so I was chuffed to show it off.

The Windows Modem connection screen

That night of August 9, 1995, after working a bar shift, I invited a co-worker and friend, Kelly, over to see the setup. After a few false starts, we were connected to "The World Wide Web" and I showed her the homepage for America Online (AOL). As I clicked around the screen showing off the features, we noticed a news ticker in the top right corner that read. "Jerry Garcia, Dead at 53".

A typical AOL page in the 90s, News ticker circled in red

"Is that true?" Kelly asked.

"I think so." I answered, hesitantly.

For confirmation, we tuned the television to CNN, the 24-hour news channel. After about a dozen minutes, the news ticker item was verified. That segment from the broadcast is available on YouTube here.

CNN broadcast from August 9, 1995 announcing Garcia's death

We were dumbstruck, both by the early demise of a rock legend and the fact that we had received news through a computer. We had, for more than 20 years of our lives, become accustomed to more conventional news delivery -- radio, television or print. I know we didn't fully grasp that this was the start of a revolutionary shift in the delivery of mass communication.

Jerome John Garcia was born to Jose (Joe) and Ruth (Bobbie) Garcia, bar owners in the Excelsior neighbourhood of San Francisco. The young Garcia took an early interest in music, taking piano lessons for much of his childhood. He lost two-thirds of the middle finger on his right hand when he was four -- the result of a wood splitting accident. A year later while fly-fishing his father slipped wading into the Trinity River in Northern California and drowned.

Garcia and his dad (1947)

Jerry's mother took over the family-owned bar full-time and he lived with his grandparents for five years, which gave him considerable freedom and independence. During that time, he was introduced to the banjo and a Grade 3 teacher encouraged him to continue developing his musical talent.

By 1961, Garcia was entrenched in the burgeoning San Francisco music scene. He connected with four local musicians who became the founding members of Grateful Dead or "The Dead" as the band is known to its fans who are sometimes referred to as The Deadheads.

The band was originally called The Warlocks, but needed to change it after learning that another group was already using that moniker. The term “grateful dead” was spotted in an encyclopedia by Garcia in the context of an Egyptian prayer. In addition to Garcia, other members of the newly minted Grateful Dead were Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Bill Kreutzmann (drums/percussion). It wasn’t long before their self-titled debut record was released. In 1967, an additional drummer, Mickey Hart, was recruited to the group.

(l-r) Kreutzmann, McKernan, Garcia, Weir, Hart, Lesh (1970)

Anthem Of The Sun was the sophomore release by The Dead and was the first to feature Hart.

Subsequently, a major addition to the expanding group  was Tom Constanten who played organ pieces and provided innovative and avant-garde studio techniques. He and Garcia developed a "collage" process to editing by which sections of music were spliced together to create a record that is neither a studio recording nor a live recording, but an amalgam of both. The final product is often called "Acid Rock" -- a genre meant to replicate and enhance the hypnotic and psychedelic effect of the hallucinogen LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).

Drummer Hart has called Anthem Of The Sun the band's "springboard into weirdness" and Dead-aficionados mark it as the start of the "Classic Dead Era".

It's an enjoyable, but weird, record. Whenever I played it before or after my Grade 7 classes my students (who arrive early to drop off their backpacks) and the custodians (who popped in to empty bins and clean-up) reacted with peculiar expressions. They said nothing. I think they have all learned that “Mr. H. in Portable #16 has unusual tastes”.

I can only imagine how unique, interesting and impactful The Dead’s aural soundscapes would be to a late-sixties, LSD-activated hippy. Perhaps they, much like my friend Kelly and me, did not realize they were on the leading edge of a seismic shift in pop culture.