Black Magic Woman
If Van Morrison can play "Astral Weeks" at the Hollywood Bowl can’t the original Santana get together there and perform "Abraxas"?
Hey, it doesn’t even have to be the original players. Just as long they only perform music from that era. Not the bogus "Supernatural" crap from the Clive Davis period. Create new stuff like the old stuff and I’m interested. Sell out by playing the modern game and you’re no different from that bozo Rod Stewart performing classics his audience hated during his original reign, JT covering tracks you never need to hear again. We want Carlos’ sustain, played to some Latin-infused rock with Rob Thomas nowhere in sight.
Why do I care?
BECAUSE BLACK MAGIC WOMAN IS MY FAVORITE SONG ON GUITAR HERO!
If you’d asked me a year ago what my favorite cut on "Abraxas" was, I’d have said "Mother’s Daughter". It’s pure sex. With that organ intro giving you the power to make your entrance, that distorted guitar representing your erection and then the song goes off into WILD PASSION!
My second favorite was always "Hope You’re Feeling Better". I love the ATTITUDE!
Still, about a year ago, I became enraptured by "Incident At Neshabur". That’s what it sounds like, a scurrying about after an incident in the agora. This isn’t calculated, the band is locked in without thinking about it. That’s the glory of seeing great musicians in action. They can do what we can’t. We admire their ability to transcend the present, to levitate the whole room.
And of course there’s a great take of "Oye Como Va".
But all these years later, when I hear "Black Magic Woman", the hit that I pushed the button on in the seventies, really a Fleetwood Mac track, my blood starts to pulse, I stand up and pay attention, I wait for my turn, to hit those notes and bend that whammy bar!
I’ve switched allegiance to Guitar Hero. It’s got better songs than Rock Band. And it’s all about the songs. The ones you remember, the ones in your DNA, playing them brings you right back to how you felt when they were hits. But there’s no sense of nostalgia, playing "Sunshine Of Your Love" on Guitar Hero is BETTER than seeing the reunited Cream’s dash for cash. Because tapping your plastic guitar you’re involved! It’s not like going to a museum, rather the song truly comes alive, it breathes.
Still, that’s not as much fun as playing "Black Magic Woman". Because of Carlos’ SUSTAIN! You’re not only hitting the notes, you’re HOLDING THEM! Wringing all the power, all the sensuousness out of each.
You crank the music to the max, maybe even bump the play level up a notch, you can’t think about anything else, it’s like skiing, it demands all of your attention, and it delivers an incredible rush.
Then there’s the big finish. 3:45 in. This is the test. Can you match Carlos note for note? You’ve held your own this long. Ah, the SATISFACTION when you nail it!
You don’t want to play alone. It’s best with an assembled multitude. Egging you on, maybe playing along.
And when the song ends and the crowd cheers, you laugh hysterically, through your sweat.
Since "Abraxas" fit no niche in its heyday, it’s still fresh today.
Some people don’t need new hits. They hit the peaks once, you want to see them reach them again. It’s best with those focused on playing more than songwriting. Those who can stretch out and improvise, who can make the songs come alive in a new way today.
I don’t need an exact replication, I just need the volume so loud I can’t talk to the person next to me. Better yet, let me come with my plastic Gibson and let me play along to the notes on the giant screen!
