Santana: Corazón - Live From México Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Santana: Corazón - Live From México Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 15, 2014

In 1972, Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana's immediate predecessor as Latin ambassador to American Top 40, bucked the label marketing honchos by releasing Primal Roots, a really fascinating album that recreated indigenous sounds of Africa and Brazil in an almost atavistic setting. Now Santana is revisiting his roots with Corazón, being touted as his first ever "Latin music" release (most but not all of the songs are sung in Spanish). The difference between these two albums is fans back in the seventies got the distinct impression Mendes couldn't have cared less if his album sold one copy or one million, while Corazón does nothing if not smack of overly planned commercialism, with stunt duets and an eye (and ear) toward the marketplace. This concert Blu-ray coinciding (more or less) with the album’s release offers some decent but strangely ersatz sounding south of the border sounds, including elements like a mariachi band and flavorings that hint at Tejano and other popular music styles of Mexico. Still able to solo with a fierce brilliance, this enjoyable enough concert is still probably going to disappoint fans who want "their" Carlos back again.

Carlos' set list for this concert includes:

• 01. Our Prayer
• 02. Jing
• 03. Iron Lion Zion featuring ChocQuibTown and Elan Alias
• 04. La Flaca featuring Juanes
• 05. Black Magic Woman
• 06. Gypsy Queen
• 07. Oye Como Va
• 08. Samba Pa Ti
• 09. Amor Correspondido featuring Diego Torres
• 10. Margarita featuring Romeo Santos
• 11. Indy featuring Miguel
• 12. Maria Maria featuring Miguel
• 13. Evil Ways
• 14. Europa
• 15. Una Noche en Napoles featuring Lila Downs, Nina Pastori and Soledad
• 16. Besos De Lejos featuring Gloria Estefan
• 17. Kyoto, November 5, 1976 Part 1 as performed by Salvador Santana
• 18. Corazon Espinado featuring Fher Olvera and Cindy Blackman Santana
• 19. Cindy Blackman Santana Drum and Benny Bass Solo
• 20. Smooth
• 21. Soul Sacrifice
• 22. Saideira featuring Samuel Rosa
• 23. Cielito Lindo/Descarga Divine Explosion

Santana: Corazón - Live From México Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Santana: Corazón - Live From México is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of RCA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. This is a just slightly soft looking presentation that is nonetheless very colorful and stable. There are no oversaturated lighting schemes here, and so no resulting problems like posterizing. Contrast is strong and consistent, offering deep, true blacks and some nicely vivid hues in elements like the ethnic art projections. The progressive presentation probably helps to keep those projections from ever dissolving into moiré. Close-ups reveal very good fine detail.

Santana: Corazón - Live From México Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Santana: Corazón - Live From México features a fantastic sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Spacious but focused, the track recreates the stage array very realistically, but the mix almost always emphasizes Carlos' guitar. There's great clarity and fluidity in Santana's solos that is beautifully rendered here. Fidelity is top notch and crowd noises, while realistic sounding, never overpower the music.

Santana: Corazón - Live From México Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Documentary (1080p; 29:36) features tons of interviews and shots of various Mexican locations.


• Vallarta Nayarit: Live it to Believe It (1080p; 1:01) is a very scenic commercial for the resort.

Santana: Corazón - Live From México Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Santana has tended to be a "guest star" on his own albums recently (kind of like Mendes, actually), and that tendency is still on display here. This concert has a lot of energy, but it also seems over calculated and produced to a fine point. How you feel about this effort will probably depend on whether your personal preferences lean toward Supernatural or Abraxas. If it's the former, there's probably enough here to enjoy, despite its over calculated feeling. With caveats noted, Recommended.