‘Zebop!’ was Santana’s eleventh album, and proved to be a commercial success, reaching platinum status in the USA.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Santana
ALBUM: Zebop!
LABEL: CBS
SERIAL: FC 37158
YEAR: 1981
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Alex Ligertwood – vocals, background vocals * Carlos Santana – guitar, percussion, producer, vocals, background vocals * Chris Solberg – guitar, keyboards, vocals, background vocals * Alan Pasqua – keyboards, vocals, background vocals * Richard Baker – keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer * David Margen – bass * Graham Lear – drums * Armando Peraza – bongos, percussion, vocals * Raul Rekow – congas, percussion, background vocals * Orestes Vilato – percussion, timbales, background vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Changes * 02 E Papa Re * 03 Primera Invasion * 04 Searchin’ * 05 Over And Over * 06 Winning * 07 Tales Of Kilamanjaro * 08 The Sensitive Kind * 09 American Gypsy * 10 I Love You Much Too Much * 11 Brightest Star * 12 Hannibal
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
‘Zebop!’ was Santana’s eleventh album, and proved to be a commercial success, reaching platinum status in the USA. The band lineup is pretty much the same as it was on the previous album, 1979’s ‘Marathon’.
The Songs
This LP was never played as often as the other Santana albums in my collection. I always had difficulty adjusting to their brand of Latin rock at the best of times. Not that there is anything wrong with ‘Zebop!’ per se. I’m listening to it again with renewed interest. It continues their run of commercial music fit for purpose, especially radio.
With songs like the Russ Ballard penned ‘Winning’ and the Robert Cray sounding ‘The Sensitive Kind’ (incidentally, written by J.J Cale), ‘Zebop!’ has some worthy songs on board. The album does move in different directions too. From the trademark Santana sound of ‘E Papa Re’ to the AOR-fied ‘Searchin’ with has a battery of synths in tow.
A couple of excellent instrumentals are also included; namely ‘Primera Invasion’ and ‘Tears Of Kilimanjaro’.
In Summary
As mentioned, this album did very well in the charts at the time. It went to number 9 on Billboard, and spawned four singles which also made the charts. The most successful of the quartet was the track ‘Winning’, which made it to number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
An under-appreciated album for mine, its about time I dragged it out and gave it more of a play. Thank you Google Play Music.
Santana on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
