Santana All That I Am CD

Santana: Carlos Santana (guitar, background vocals); Bill Ortiz (trumpet); Jeff Cressman (trombone); Chester Thompson (organ); Benny Rietveld (bass guitar); Dennis Chambers (drums); Karl Perazzo (congas, timbales, percussion, background vocals); Raul Rekow (congas, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Henry Garza (vocals, guitar); JoJo Garza (vocals, bass guitar); Joss Stone, Mary J. Blige, Michelle Branch, Andy Vargas, Anthony Hamilton, Steven Tyler, Bo Bice (vocals); Sean Paul, will.i.am, Big Boi (rap vocals); Gabriel Abularach (guitar, keyboards, bass guitar); George Pajon, Kirk Hammett, Tim Pierce (guitar); Robert Randolph (pedal steel guitar); David Stout (trombone); Moussa Diouf (piano, bass instrument); Preston Fullwood (organ); Dante Ross (keyboards); Kenny Aronoff, Jeff Rothschild (drums); Jessica Harp (background vocals).
Carlos Santana delivers his third straight star-studded pop album in a row with 2005's All That I Am. Like 2002's Shaman, this follows the blueprint that producer/record mogul Clive Davis laid down on 1999's Supernatural, which means that apart from a cut or two, Santana functions as a supporting musician to a parade of guest stars singing pop songs. Here, Santana and Davis try to make lightning strike again, having Michelle Branch, who sang "The Game of Love" on Shaman, sing the sound-alike "I'm Feeling You," which she also had a hand in writing, and the result isn't bad. The biggest names here are Mary J. Blige, Big Boi, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, and the ubiquitous will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas -- and the production is clean and safe, while the songs are professional but predictable. Since none of the songs are bad and since the guest spots are neither embarrassing nor flashy, All That I Am never offends, and Santana has some nice playing scattered throughout the album -- his signature, rich, super-saturated tone is certainly the most commanding, memorable thing here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The third time around is not a charm for Carlos Santana, who delivers his third straight star-studded, middle-of-the-road pop album in a row with 2005's All That I Am. Like 2002's Shaman, this follows the blueprint that producer/record mogul Clive Davis laid down on 1999's Supernatural, which means that apart from a cut or two, Santana functions as a supporting musician to a parade of guest stars singing pop songs on his own album. On Supernatural this worked not just because it was a relatively fresh concept that revitalized Santana, but because the guest stars were well chosen and the material was sharp, commercial, and memorable. Shaman was more uneven but it did have one great single in "The Game of Love," a song penned by professional songwriters and sung by Michelle Branch -- it didn't sound much like Santana, but it did make for excellent listening on adult contemporary radio. Here, Santana and Davis try to make lightning strike again, having Branch sing the "Game of Love" sound-alike "I'm Feeling You," which she also had a hand in writing. It's not bad, but it sounds like a third-generation photocopy, which is the problem with All That I Am in general: all the ideas and sounds are familiar, but not executed nearly as well as they were the first two times around. The stars don't shine as bright -- the biggest names here are Mary J. Blige, Big Boi, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, and the ubiquitous and obsequious will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas, all artists who never seem to turn down a chance to provide a cameo -- and the production is clean and safe, while the songs are professional, predictable, and pedestrian. Since none of the songs are bad and since the guest spots are neither embarrassing nor flashy, All That I Am never offends, but it never entertains, either: it simply exists. Sure, Santana has some nice playing scattered throughout the album -- his signature, rich, super-saturated tone is certainly the most commanding, memorable thing here -- but he never sounds engaged with t