Join Jesse and Pieter as we listen to an early vinyl pressing of the classic Santana album, Abraxas. Released in 1970, this album is a sprawling blend of sounds, incorporating influences from latin jazz, electric blues and rock. Featuring Carlos Santana’s incredible electric guitar work and an extensive percussion section, our opinion is that this album is best experienced on vinyl. While there are many newer pressings to pick from that get great reviews, the one that we’re going to play is from the early 1970’s. And the album jacket is a classic! Painted by artist Mati Klarwein in 1961, the artwork drew inspiration from Hermann Hesse’s novel, Demian. The novel is quoted on the back cover of the jacket: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas….”. The artwork incorporates symbology from several religions. Interestingly, Klarwein also designed the album art for many other classic albums, including the covers of Miles Davis’s "Bitches Brew” and “Live-Evil”. To round out the hour, we’ll also feature a few tracks from an original analog tapes sourced reissue of the 1967 LP, Axis Bold As Love! Vinyl Rocks!
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