LOTUS: COMPLETE EDITION
by SANTANA

Stunning music re-packaged beautifully, the way it was originally intended

By Rick Hines, Feb. 4, 2019

I'm guessing most people looking at this product are familiar with Santana's music. This was his second lineup which focused more on jazz fusion with long instrumentals and minimal vocals. The concert is incredible, caught at Santana's height during a time when he was playing with John McLaughlin and Buddy Miles (in other projects, not here). Santana himself is on fire, playing with an assurance that is breath-taking, and the dual keyboardists often solo with a fluidity that is remarkable. The rhythm section is funky and tight as all get out. Meanwhile, the percussion propels the whole thing along to an amazing finale.

But what I wanted to point out is that the additional 35 minutes or so added to this release is worth it. Vocalist Leon Thomas displays his jazz chops in quieter settings, and the percussionists get some, so to speak. This provides a bit more textural variety to the album. I can see why this was excised originally: Santana himself seems to have left the stage to let the spotlight focus on the band in these parts. The song "Japan" is a nice tribute to the locals, but most Western listeners will find its orientalisms jarring in contrast with the rest of the album.

The label does an impressive job of making an almost exact half-scale replica of the original album's origami-like cover art. There are numerous panels that fold/pull out with some striking visuals combining old religious imagery with computer generated space age graphics (which reflects the concert feel quite well, spiritual and futuristic simultaneously). When music finally goes totally digital, I will really miss these kind of over-the-top packages. I'll be pulling this off the shelf to show to friends for years.

Lots of other goodies in here as well: ticket facsimile, tour program, additional photos, a long expansive booklet in almost total Japanese (the exception is the in-English tour itinerary for some reason), etc. A really well done re-issue, and even if you have an earlier CD release, the album packaging here is a real Wow for the collector. An unquestionable 5-star release. The only possible improvement would be for Carlos Santana to personally drop it off and autograph it for you.