Black Magic Woman (The Best of Santana) - Santana

Sorry if this is meant to be an album opinion section, but I thought I would use it for my opinion on the song "Black Magic Woman", as there are no opinions left here at all yet.

§~§~§~§~§~§~§~§

A Little Background
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original version "Black Magic Woman", wasn't written by Carlos Santana. It was written by Peter Green, the founder of the original Fleetwood Mac, way back in the late sixties. Not the Fleetwood Mac that most people will know from more recent times.

But Fleetwood Mac are another story, not completely for inclusion here. So I will give my opinion on this one track, comparing at times with Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac version.

The Santana Band or simply "Santana" as they have been known for most of their career, adopted this song as their "trademark" All of their fans enjoying it wherever it was played live.

§~§~§~§~§~§~§~§

The Song
~~~~~~
For anyone that has never heard this song by either group, I'll try to give the Santana version it's own flavour, followed in the comparison by a little of Fleetwood Macs..

It begins with a keyboard sequence with a jingling, bongo drumming, tambourine / high hat percussion that gradually draws in the distinctive guitar of Carlos Santana. His fingers nimbly bending the strings on the fret board of his electric guitar.
The music soon turns the atmosphere to a slightly dark Latin American beat. The percussion beating away in the background with intense bongo drum sounds. Leading guitar is foremost throughout the song, broken away only whilst the lyrics are simply let loose. The interwoven guitar work with the whole Latin American beat, gives a warm magical feeling inside my stomach, sending a chill down my spine. Ending on a tensioned increase in the build up of mixed guitar strumming, bongo drumming percussion work, leaving me to want to taste it again.

§~§~§~§~§~§~§~§

The Comparison With Fleetwood Macs Version
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The most noticeable difference to the song is the Latin American beat, which you will immediately recognize as The Santana Band if you already know Santana that is!
Carlos Santanas guitar work makes this as bewitching as Fleetwood Macs version. Whereas Peter Green having written the song, sings it with so much more feeling. The singer (I think it is Gregg Rolie) in Santanas version is somewhat dull in comparison. Peter Green sings his own version with a natural feeling of deep meaningful emotion, perfect for his blues driven music.
Fleetwood Macs version also has the blues sound, for which it was originally written. It begins with a guitar chord which immediately pulls you into a mystical dream Also the deeper mood given by heavier drumming, huskier vocals take you to a different level of imagination.

The lyrics are the same in both versions, both give the impression that the song is being performed for their own separate "Black Magic Woman".

§~§~§~§~§~§~§~§

My Visual Impression Given By Santanas Version
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here I sit holding my next glass of mind numbing tequila. My eyes are glazed but transfixed on the beautiful dark haired Mexican dancer. Her beauty causing my trance like state. She appears to be my woman, though she isn't mine. Her presence has me under her spell, the drink has me in it's illusions. She turns to dance for the others in the smoke filled bar. I don't really see them, they aren't here, she is dancing for me alone. My intoxication tells me she is looking at me directly after every twist or turn, teasing me by her actions, telling me how much I need her. The music playing in the background consists of my heartbeat, pounding to the every movement she sensually makes. The painful emotions usually resting inside my head, have momentarily gone, as my mind races with the thoughts of being alone with her. Again she turns to the others in the bar, this time I see her, she doesn't see me. Suddenly she bows her head, the music has stopped, the dancing has stopped, she walks away. Almost sobered by this, I raise my drink to my lips, pausing for a second or two, looking at the movement in the glistening alcohol. I open my mouth, swallowing the remaining tequila in one go. My spirit is gone, my heart is broken, but the spell is always there.

§~§~§~§~§~§~§~§

Finally.
~~~~~
Although the same song, both versions in their own right, equally deserve to be held in high esteem for their respective performers differing renditions.
Therefore, I give this the same five star rating as I would Fleetwood Macs original.

If you would like information on Santana, please try the link below:

http://uk.music.yahoo.com/biographies/46​003411.html

§~§~§~§~§~§~§~§

I have some other versions of this song. One of which is an excellent tribute version by Larry McCray. Well worth a listen.

I hope you have found this useful, any comments are welcome :-) Thanks.