On July 15, 2004, Santana took to the stage in Montreux accompanied by a stunning line-up of guests to perform a concert of songs about peace and understanding that they dubbed "Hymns For Peace". Joining the regular Santana line-up in the band were Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ravi Coltrane and Idrissa Diop with further guest appearances through the night from Angelique Kidjo, Barbara Morrison, Patti Austin, Sylver Sharp, Steve Winwood and Nile Rodgers.
Disc One 1) Afro Blue 2) Adouma 3) Redemption Song 4) Exodus / Get Up Stand Up 5) Blowin' In The Wind / A Place In The Sun 6) Just Like A Woman 7) What's Going On Disc Two 1) Peace On Earth / Boogie Woman 2) Why Can't We Live Together 3) Light At The Edge Of The World 4) Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord 5) Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) 6) Day Of Celebration 7) Ah Sweet Dancer / In A Silent Way 8) Jingo 9) A Love Supreme 10) Ode To Joy Bonus Features * Additional tracks: 1) One Love / People Get Ready 2) Imagine 3) Give Peace A Chance. * Behind The Scenes footage and interview with Carlos Santana.
There's some thrilling music happening on Hymns for Peace: Live at Montreux 2004. That's not exactly a bulletin, considering that Carlos Santana and his New Santana Band, a crack outfit to begin with, are joined by several of the greatest jazz musicians of their generation, including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianists Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, and guitarist John McLaughlin--a recipe for brilliance that's fulfilled throughout the two-disc, three-hour show. If there's a mild surprise here, it's that the titular "hymns"--written by John Lennon, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Wonder, and described by Santana as "spiritual songs that bring healing and illumination to all of humanity"--do not provide the show's most compelling moments. There's no doubt that "Just Like a Woman," "Imagine," "Redemption Song," "What's Going On," "Exodus," "Get Up, Stand Up," and others are timeless classics; but while the combination of these compositions and the people playing and singing them is certainly intriguing, the actual performances are straightforward and not especially scintillating (vocalists include Angelique Kidjo, Barbara Morrison, Patti Austin, and Santana singer Andy Vargas; Steve Winwood shows up for a version of Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together"). Far more exciting are extended versions of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," Pharoah Sanders' "Light at the Edge of the World," Miles Davis and Joe Zawinul's "In a Silent Way," and John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" (one of several tunes featuring the sax legend's son, Ravi). McLaughlin never quite catches fire, but Hancock, Shorter, and Corea are astonishing, turning in solos that are marvelously unpredictable and adventurous models of chops and invention. It's all beautifully shot and recorded, making Hymns for Peace a must-have for fans of these extraordinary musicians, Santana included. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Two different Chester Thompsons....:
Just a note to correct the editorial review - Chester Thompson, the drummer and keyboard player, are two entirely different people, NOT one in the same. For the three people out there who could possibly care...But noted out of respect to the two musicians.
C. Santana / W. Shorter live in Montreux 1988:
20 years after having the chance to be in the concert room, I have finally been able to find the DVD & CD recordings of this memorable moment of shared music between two legendary musicians and their fantastic band. I can only recommend this material, the DVD provides the visual dimension of this great live performance.
fine audio streams:
In response to the reviewer who said that only the 2.0 DD stream would play, I'd like to let people know that both the 2.0 and 5.1 dts streams played just fine through my system. My DVD player was set to send the bitstreams to my receiver, and I used my receiver to decode them. Moreover, my receiver reported that the 2.0 dts stream was in 96 kHz and the 5.1 dts stream was in 24 bits / 96 kHz. In other words this appears to be a rare DVD-video disc with higher resolution audio, if my receiver can be... more info
Not only Santana & Shorter but Patrice Rushen as well:
One of my favorite Carlos Santana's albums is "Blues for Salvador," released just prior to this concerts with Shorter. There's lots of interplay with Santana's guitar and Shorter's saxophone, though they do take over with their own compositions, which is normal behavior. Rushen is in great form here, doing the keyboards duties and even gets to perform a couple of her numbers as well. There are percussion solos that included Amando Perraza who frequently performs and records with Santana. If you liked... more info
