Santana is an American Latin rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967 by Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana.
All That I Am is the nineteenth studio album by Santana and follow-up to the band's 2002 Shaman.
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 the songs, he sounds simply like he's running wild over bright, sunny changes. Even with these nice moments,
All That I Am, like Supernatural and Shaman before it, is a deliberate pop album, which means Santana is in the background on his own record -- but the crucial difference with this album is that, unlike its two predecessors, it's not a good pop album, it's a bland, friendly affair that disappears into the ether the moment it's finishing playing.
Tracklist
1. "Hermes" – 4:08
Written by Carlos Santana and S. Jurad
Produced by Carlos Santana
2. "El Fuego" – 4:17
Written by Carlos Santana, Jean Shepherd and Richard Shepherd
Produced by Carlos Santana
3 ."I'm Feeling You" – 4:13
Featuring Michelle Branch and The Wreckers
Written by Kara DioGuardi, John Shanks and Michelle Branch
Produced by John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi
4. "My Man" – 4:37
Featuring Big Boi and Mary J. Blige
Written by Antwan Patton, Nsilo Reddick, Nicholas Sherwood and Rob Thomas
Produced by Big Boi and The Beat Bullies
5. "Just Feel Better" – 4:12
Featuring Steven Tyler
Written by Jamie Houston, Buck Johnson and Damon Johnson
Produced by John Shanks
6 ."I Am Somebody" – 4:02
Featuring will.i.am
Written by will.i.am and George Pajon, Jr.
Produced by will.i.am
Additional Production Lester Mendez
This song is considered by most as a tribute to "I Am - Somebody", a poem by Reverend Jesse Jackson.
7 ."Con Santana" – 3:18
Featuring Ismaïla and Sixu Toure, also known as Touré Kunda
Written by Carlos Santana, Ismaïla Toure and Tidane "Sixu" Toure
Produced by Carlos Santana
8 ."Twisted" – 5:11
Featuring Anthony Hamilton
Written by Dante Ross and Nandi Willis
Produced by Dante Ross
9 ."Trinity" – 3:33
Featuring Kirk Hammett and Robert Randolph
Written by Carlos Santana and Michael Brook
Produced by Carlos Santana
This song is a tribute to the Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and is a cover of his song Tere Bina
10 ."Cry Baby Cry" – 3:53
Featuring Sean Paul and Joss Stone
Written by Lester Mendez, Sean Paul, Kara DioGuardi and Jimmy Harry
Produced and Arranged by Lester Mendez
11. "Brown Skin Girl" – 4:44
Featuring Bo Bice
Written by Jamie Houston
Produced by Lester Mendez and Jamie Houston
Vocal Arrangement by Jamie Houston
12 ."I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love" – 4:00
Featuring Los Lonely Boys
Written by Henry Garza, Ringo Garza and Joey Garza
Produced by Carlos Santana
Additional Production by John Proter and Los Lonely Boys
13 ."Da Tu Amor" – 4:03
Written by Carlos Santana, Andy Vargas, and Gary Glenn
Produced by Carlos Santana
Personnel
Notes
Released: November 1, 2005 (U.S.)
Recorded:2004 - 2005
Genre: Latin rock
Length: 53:10
Label - Arista Records
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 the songs, he sounds simply like he's running wild over bright, sunny changes. Even with these nice moments,
All That I Am, like Supernatural and Shaman before it, is a deliberate pop album, which means Santana is in the background on his own record -- but the crucial difference with this album is that, unlike its two predecessors, it's not a good pop album, it's a bland, friendly affair that disappears into the ether the moment it's finishing playing.
Tracklist
1. "Hermes" – 4:08
Written by Carlos Santana and S. Jurad
Produced by Carlos Santana
2. "El Fuego" – 4:17
Written by Carlos Santana, Jean Shepherd and Richard Shepherd
Produced by Carlos Santana
3 ."I'm Feeling You" – 4:13
Featuring Michelle Branch and The Wreckers
Written by Kara DioGuardi, John Shanks and Michelle Branch
Produced by John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi
4. "My Man" – 4:37
Featuring Big Boi and Mary J. Blige
Written by Antwan Patton, Nsilo Reddick, Nicholas Sherwood and Rob Thomas
Produced by Big Boi and The Beat Bullies
5. "Just Feel Better" – 4:12
Featuring Steven Tyler
Written by Jamie Houston, Buck Johnson and Damon Johnson
Produced by John Shanks
6 ."I Am Somebody" – 4:02
Featuring will.i.am
Written by will.i.am and George Pajon, Jr.
Produced by will.i.am
Additional Production Lester Mendez
This song is considered by most as a tribute to "I Am - Somebody", a poem by Reverend Jesse Jackson.
7 ."Con Santana" – 3:18
Featuring Ismaïla and Sixu Toure, also known as Touré Kunda
Written by Carlos Santana, Ismaïla Toure and Tidane "Sixu" Toure
Produced by Carlos Santana
8 ."Twisted" – 5:11
Featuring Anthony Hamilton
Written by Dante Ross and Nandi Willis
Produced by Dante Ross
9 ."Trinity" – 3:33
Featuring Kirk Hammett and Robert Randolph
Written by Carlos Santana and Michael Brook
Produced by Carlos Santana
This song is a tribute to the Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and is a cover of his song Tere Bina
10 ."Cry Baby Cry" – 3:53
Featuring Sean Paul and Joss Stone
Written by Lester Mendez, Sean Paul, Kara DioGuardi and Jimmy Harry
Produced and Arranged by Lester Mendez
11. "Brown Skin Girl" – 4:44
Featuring Bo Bice
Written by Jamie Houston
Produced by Lester Mendez and Jamie Houston
Vocal Arrangement by Jamie Houston
12 ."I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love" – 4:00
Featuring Los Lonely Boys
Written by Henry Garza, Ringo Garza and Joey Garza
Produced by Carlos Santana
Additional Production by John Proter and Los Lonely Boys
13 ."Da Tu Amor" – 4:03
Written by Carlos Santana, Andy Vargas, and Gary Glenn
Produced by Carlos Santana
Personnel
- Carlos Santana – guitar, background vocals
- Chester Thompson – organ
- Benny Rietveld – bass guitar
- Dennis Chambers – drums
- Karl Perazzo – congas, timbales, percussion, background vocals
- Raul Rekow – congas, background vocals
- Jeff Cressman – trombone
- Bill Ortiz – trumpet
Credits
- A&R – Pete Ganbarg
- A&R [Administration] – Rani Hancock
- Art Direction, Design – Gravillis, Inc.
- Artwork [Mural Assistant] – Miranda Bergman
- Artwork [Mural: "when Doves Cry"] – Susan Greene
- Engineer – Jim Gaines
- Engineer [Additional Pro Tools Engineering By] – John Hanes
- Engineer [Assistant Mix Engineers] – Kevin Mahoney, Tim Roberts
- Engineer [Assisted By] – Ben Conrad, Dave Luke
- Engineer [Pro Tools Engineer] – Tone
- Mastered By – Ted Jensen
- Mixed By – Boris Milan, Jim Gaines, Serban Ghenea
- Mixed By [Assisted By] – Tim Roberts
- Photography By [All Other] – Kwaku Alston
- Photography By [Cover] – Jay Blakesberg
- Producer [Album Producers] – Carlos Santana, Clive Davis
Released: November 1, 2005 (U.S.)
Recorded:2004 - 2005
Genre: Latin rock
Length: 53:10
Label - Arista Records
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