Santana - Supernatural

Santana was still a respected rock veteran in 1999, but it had been years since he had a hit, even if he continued to fare well on the concert circuits. Clive Davis, the man who had signed Santana to Columbia in 1968, offered him the opportunity to set up shop at his label, Arista. In the tradition of comebacks and label debuts by veteran artists in the '90s, Supernatural, Santana's first effort for Arista, is designed as a star-studded event. At first listen, there doesn't seem to be a track that doesn't have a guest star, which brings up the primary problem with the album -- despite several interesting or excellent moments, it never develops a consistent voice that holds the album together. The fault doesn't lay with the guest stars or even with Santana, who continues to turn in fine performances. There's just a general directionless feeling to the record, enhanced by several songs that seem like excuses for jams, which, truth be told, isn't all that foreign on latter-day Santana records. Then again, the grooves often play better than the ploys for radio play, but that's not always the case, since Lauryn Hill's "Do You Like the Way" and the Dust Brothers-produced, Eagle-Eye Cherry-sung "Wishing It Was" are as captivating as the Eric Clapton duet, "The Calling." But that just confirms that Supernatural just doesn't have much of a direction, flipping between traditional Santana numbers and polished contemporary collaborations, with both extremes being equally likely to hit or miss. That doesn't quite constitute a triumph, but the peak moments of Supernatural are some of Santana's best music of the '90s, which does make it a successful comeback. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Abel Figueroa Trombone Al Anderson Guitar (Rhythm) Alberto Salas Keyboards Alex Gonzales Producer Alvaro Villagra Engineer Andy Grassi Engineer Angus Sutherland Guitar Anton Pukshansky Engineer Benny Faccone Mixing, Engineer Benny Rietveld Bass Brian Montgomery Monitors Carlos Santana Vocals, Guitar, Sleigh Bells, Performer, Vocals (Background) Cee-Lo Vocals Charles Goodan Producer Che Pope Programming Chester Thompson Keyboards Chris Theis Engineer Clive Davis Producer Comissioner Gordon Engineer Danny Seidenberg Viola Danny Wolensky Saxophone, Flute Dante Ross Producer Dave Matthews Performer David Crockett Drums, Percussion David Frazer Engineer David Thoener Engineer, Mixing Eagle-Eye Cherry Performer Earl Gardner Trumpet, Flugelhorn Eric Clapton Performer Everlast Performer Fher Vocals Fher Olvera Producer Francis Dunnery Guitar (Rhythm) G&B Product Vocals Glen Kolotkin Engineer Gonzales Alex Vocals (Background) Hodge, Art Producer Horacio "El Negro" Hernández Drums Jeff Cressman Trombone Jeff Poe Engineer Jeremy Cohen Violin Jerry Duplessis Producer Jim Gaines Engineer Jim Scott Engineer John Gamble Engineer John Karpowich Engineer John Seymour Engineer Joseph Daley Tuba Joseph Hebert Cello Julius Melendez Trumpet K.C. Porter Programming, Vocals, Accordion, Producer Karl Perazzo Vocals (Background), Percussion Kobie Brown Programming Lauryn Hill Producer, Performer Lenesha Randolph Vocals (Background) Loris Holland Keyboards Maná Performer Marvin McFadden Trumpet Matt Serletic Producer Matty Spindel Engineer Mic Gillette Trumpet Mike Couzzi Engineer Nico Nibbering Keyboards Patrick Murray House Sound Pete Ganbarg A&R Ramon Flores Trombone Raul Rekow Conga René Martínez Guitar Rob Thomas Performer, Vocals Sergio Vallin Guitar (Rhythm) Stephen Harris Producer Steve Farrone Engineer Steve Fontano Engineer Steve Touré Trombone T-Ray Engineer The Dust Brothers Producer Tom Barney Bass Tom Lord-Alge Engineer Tony Lindsay Vocals (Background) Tony Prendatt Engineer Warren Riker Engineer William Oritz Trumpet Wyclef Jean Producer