Santana: Live at Montreux 2011

Amazing concert! Started with rap cover of Back In Black which sucked, but it got better and better from there. Very diverse, great guests, great solos! Don’t like rap? It goes away quickly!

This DVD documents the performance of the Santana Band at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 2, 2011. As such, it is the most recent performance available from the band. It is an outstanding recording of some of Santana's most loved composiitions, along with a few songs found on the last studio record,  Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time  I was skeptical since Santana has released numerous recordings of Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen/Oye Como Va, Europa, Soul Sacrifice and Samba Pa Ti. However, I was very pleased with the high quality of the performances, as well as the overall sound quality and video production. The music has a freshness and immediacy that belies the classic status of these and other compositions. Contrary to a previous reviewer's complaints about the presence of a horn section and a second vocalist, both dramatically enhanced the impact of the music. The live recordings of Back in Black and Sunshine of Your Love are far superior to the versions on the studio album. In this performance Carlos makes the songs his own, unlike the mere covers found on the CD. The horn section is superb, featuring Bill Ortiz on trumpet and Jeff Cressman on trombone. The percussion section, always an outstanding component of the ensemble sound, here reach new heights, in no small part due to the presence of Dennis Chambers on drums, now a regular member of the band. His solid background as one of the pre-eminent jazz and fusion drummers, known for his work with John McLaughlin and Mike Stern, serves him very well in this setting. Guest appearances from Carlos Santana's new wife Cindy Blackman, and rising stars Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi provide their own highlights and a little variety to the program. But the sheer joy and superb perfromances by the band and Carlos himself make this a must have video for fans old and new alike.

Bought this BD along with 4 others to go with my new Sony 800M2 BD player. The Pink Floyd disc I got seemed to have a/v sync issue and I used this disc to check. No issues here. Just an unbelievable picture and the sound is spot on. I have not gotten all the way thru this BD yet. Two or 3 song in Carlos tears into an AC/DC song with two "vocalists" rappin', scattin' and bebopin' the lyrics (?) Whut? Anyway, it sounds great and looks great and thats all I care about. Carlos guitar is a little thin in the mix. I would have preferred him to be front and center and little hotter. Lots cameo appearances on this one. I could do without that too.

Cons - Opening is slow, thank God for song selectionPros - This Blu Ray & a good audio system, make for sound that is truly Better than being there! I have been to many concerts close in and far bac. It is often a crap shoot if you are in the "sweet spot" for the audio. This Blu Ray puts you in THAT sweet spot. I have a Yamaha home theater receiver with 150W/channel, Kipsch Ref 7-IIs, equivalent center channel, 15" & 12" powered subs, and 4 decent quality 8" ceiling (surround) speakers. Better than most, but certainly not the best. This disc sounds amazing!! It shows just how good a well recorded live concert can sound at home. As most Santana sounds end in unbelievable jam sessions, you just gotta love this album. The percussion of essentially 3 drummers draws you totally into those jams. Out of 20 Blu Ray concerts that I have bought so far (& I try to avoid any disc that has a hint of poor sound mixing reviews), this is a 10+.

Excellent...

Wow. Again wow ! Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr. Santana and fellow artists for a magical evening, a musical and rhythmic feast, a true rock music Tour de Force of guitars, multiple percussionists and vocalists, bass, horns, and organ.This concert shows Carlos Santana seasoned and shaped by so many years as a creative artist and popular musician on a spiritual journey that you will feel in your heart, your gut, and in your dancing feet that will not be able to keep still. Mr. Santana's musical prowess, his grace, beauty, and humility are felt throughout the performance with his extremely talented and tightly knit band.The set list covers Santana's entire career back to the enduring beauty of Woodstock Days, and includes tributes to other greats, such as BB King, John Coltrane (A Love Supreme) and Cream - Clapton, Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker (Sunshine of Your Love). The alchemy of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Truck's contribution in "Make Somebody Happy" was a nugget of emotional, spiritual, musical gold.This is a performance delving into so many musical dimensions with dynamic, ever changing rhythms and energy that build to an oh-so-satisfying climactic conclusion. There are so many layers to be experienced in this concert for those of us that missed that evening at Montreaux, this wonderfully produced and edited HD DVD is a treasure well worth its price. Bless you Santana & Company, and thank you for blessing us with your art and this performance.

A gift for my wife who is a big Santana fan. Thank you.

I've been thinkiing about buying this blu-ray ever since it was first released but some of the initial reviews were on the negative side. To be fair, there are two or three songs during the mid show section where the horns become a bit overpowering and the lead vocalists sound a bit strained. The rest sounds really good and the band is strong. Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi show up for a couple of songs and add nicely to the performance. The total concert time here is more than two hours and forty five minutes. I have a number of Santana dvds / blu rays and this one (for me) is one of the better ones. This isn't Lotus or Woodstock but it's much better than I expected it to be.

This item was shipped from Hongkong so it took awhile to arrive as indicated at time of order, but well worth the wait because the excellent quality of the video recording and the superb DTS HD sound, make it very enjoyable to watch as well as listen to. This is a great recording in Blu-Ray format that has all of Santanas best music and the 'bonus' interviews with both Carlos as well as his wife Cindy were well watching. Santana is a legend in the music industry and this BR DVD shows exactly why he has such a huge following of fans. Highly recommended.

Perfect picture and sound.What a treat!

Carlos Santana has a legacy he can easily be proud of. I've always greatly respected his work, and he continues to recruit and promote younger musicians, which I see as a positive. Added to that, the production quality of this release is stunning. Superb video, well-shot technically, and the sound is jaw-dropping. It's really hard to find live concert video of this quality, and this is currently my top pick as a demonstration disc for my new Klipsch/Yamaha Atmos system. One of the best rock concert videos ever. Additionally, the concert is musically interesting, as the band drifts over into a jazz sound pretty regularly --- lots of improvisation, and the sound of every instrument is crystal clear, with great surround separation. If you have any interest in what Santana does, then you don't want to miss this one.

Can I give it 6 or 7 stars?Must be one of the best concerts captured on Blu Ray, or perhaps the best! Not only the performance is brilliant, the video and audio are also best of the best!Carlos was 64 years old, still looked so physically fit, and his guitars can really speak!Too many highlights, so touchy to listen to a great guitar player playing.Listening to 'Benny (bass) and Cindy-Carlo's wife (drum) solo', and 'Europa ..... and other songs' are so enjoyable. The songs from 'Supernatural' were below his standard, but still better than most of the songs we can get nowadays.I am speechless, and was so lucky to have gone to Santana's concerts two times when I was young.MUST BUY if you consider yourself a music lover!

Seguo il chicano dagli anni 70 : ho visto molti dei suoi concerti dal vivo e ho una collezione di dvd ufficiali e non di questo artista tra le eccellenze della musica rock e non solo. Il concerto è " splendido " un mare di suoni , ritmi , stili che si sovrappongono e nascono dalla Madre Africa ( qui di Latin Rock non c'è niente di niente ) . Santana dal primo album in poi è visceralmente afro , il jazz ad esempio entra di prepotenza in molte sue composizioni sin dagli inizi cosi' come le musiche etniche che risolve in formule nuove , la World Music nasce con lui questo è certo e indiscutibile . Torniamo al concerto Santana e i suoi eccellenti collaboratori tra i migliori al Mondo nei loro strumenti hanno un modo particolare di suonare , mi spiego suonano uno su l'altro ed è complicatissimo il batterista deve " seguire i percussionisti " gli altri musicisti devono avere una sorta di timer incorporato se no il disastro , sono l'unica band a farlo ( notevole no !? ) ... Nota a margine l'unico album di Carlos di Latin Rock è Corazon mi è piaciuto , perchè lui può suonare di tutto ma sempre stravolgendo le regole !!!