Customer Reviews

Santana - Sacred Fire: Live in Mexico

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Apparently Mr. "A Customer", who wouldn't use his real name, didn't like the artistic touches on this DVD. Although they were primarily used on one song, "Europa", my favorite, and I would have preferred they be used elsewhere, it didn't diminish my experience in the least. In fact, I bought a second copy to give to a friend. This is classic Carlos Santana, the video footage is excellent, and the sweet guitar lines are the best I ever heard. The percussion ROCKS! I saw Santana in 1969, at the first outdoor festival after Woodstock, and his music is still among my favorite today.

The Good:
The selection of songs is excellent, going back to Santana's first 3 albums plus Europa from their "comeback" album Amigos. Since this concert was played before Supernatural was released, we are spared its cheesier tracks (that tend to get over-played nowadays). As usual for Santana, all of the musicians are top-notch, and Carlos demonstrates that his ego isn't threatened by letting them display their individual talent via solos.
The Bad:
Sometimes, Chester Thompson's keyboards make you feel like you're watching a sporting event and you're being "entertained" by the organist during a break in the action. Also, brother Jorge seems to be there because Carlos was throwing him a bone. While the cut-away shots of urban Mexico and Carlos were okay (and not too much of a disruption), they seemed to be there as filler.
The Ugly:
Hard-core fans that have worn out their LPs (that's right kids, not CDs) listening to the early material, will cringe during the anticipated juicy parts of the classic hits, because they're not there! Just when you know that Carlos is going to unleash a beautiful riff, he either changes it to something unrecognizable or seems to flub it. Samba Pa Ti was more Lotus than Abraxas (which is okay), but Europa was disappointing and Guajira was completely butchered. The beauty of the original version of Guajira was the back-and-forth guitar work of Carlos and Neal Schon; Jorge wasn't up to it and I'm not sure what he was playing. It makes you wish that Carlos would go back and listen to his own albums, and remember how to play the songs properly. (And while he's at it, call up Neal and see if he's available.) I kept getting the feeling that he didn't really care how the song should be played and just winged it, figuring that nobody really cares anyway. I'd hate to think that he'd lost his technical skills.

If you like Santana because the latin rhythms make you want to dance, you'll love this movie. If you're like me, that wants to experience his trademark technical guitar playing brilliance mixed with emotional artistry, then you'll be disappointed.

Who care's if this dvd is not in surround mode as long as it contains the essential work of carlos that's fine being a santana fan in the 70's where there is only stereo mode on lp you can't ask for more.

The music performed on this DVD is top notch. The band is great and are clearly having fun playing together. There's some really nice conga-playing here. However, this DVD is not in 5.1 surround sound. There are two options under audio setup, PCM Stereo and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. I originally bought this DVD because I thought it had 5.1 Dolby and/or DTS. But the 2-channel audio is excellent. I prefer the Dolby Digital 2.0 to the PCM stereo, but then that's just me.
If you like Santana or then Sacred Fire is a must-have. Even if you just like good percussion-playing, then this DVD is worth a look. I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

Until Santana's older performances are released on DVD, this one-and-a-half-hour concert production easily rates as the best that is available on the market today.

No one that has ever enjoyed Santana's music can fail to relish this DVD. And that probably includes you, since that is likely why you are reading this review.

The song selection represents an even mix of nine vintage and nine modern Santana tunes offering an excellent retrospective of Santana's long and illustrious career.

The DVD offers amazingly authentic renditions of the following nine classics: "Jingo" and "Soul Sacrifice" from the self-titled debut album, "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," "Oye Como Va," and "Samba Pa Ti" from the second album "Abraxas," and "Batuka," "No One To Depend On," "Toussaint L'Overture," and "Guajira" from the third album "Santana III."

This superbly produced DVD of Santana's 1993 live performance, on home turf in Mexico City, features old hands such as Carlos Santana (lead guitar), Chester Thompson (keyboards), Alex Ligertwood (lead vocals), Raul Rekow (bongos and congas), Karl Perazzo (timbales & cow bell), and a flawless cast of newer Santana members on drums and bass. The performance also features Jorge Santana, the youngest of the three Santana brothers, on guitar.

The filming is competent and includes superb footage of each musician as well as the audience, which clearly appears to be having a wonderful time.

SANTANA SACRED FIRE, IS ONE OF THE BEST DVDS I HAVE SEEN.ITS FAST PACE, AND THE AUDIENCE EVEN MAKES IT FASTER.CONSIDERING IT WAS MADE IN 1993,THE SOUND MIX WAS SUPERB ESPECIALLY IN DTS,WHERE THE SEPARATION OF THE FRONT AND SURROUND CHANNELS WAS OUTSTANDING,BASS TO WAS CLEAN AND VERY CONTROLLED.SUPERNATURALWAS VERY GOOD BUT THIS WAS EVEN BETTER.YOU COULD SEE THE YOUNGER SANTANA HERE AT HIS VERY BEST WITH FINGER TIP PRECISSION WHILE PLAYING THE GUITAR.ALL IN ALL A GREAT DVD,IF YOU SEE THIS ONE BUY IT NOW AND DONT LET IT SLIP OUT OF YOUR HANDS ONE OF THE VERY BEST.

Maybe my rewiew is biased as I am a Santana fan for many many years. But as a music collector, I have a good judgment about what is quality musicianship, music, sound, and interpretation. From that point of view, the Sacred Fire dvd is all about that.
If you like Santana's music, you will enjoy that prestation which will energize your life each time you will play the dvd. I totally agree with a precedent review : Peoples in there, both the crowd and musicians, are making a celebration of music and life. I already had the music cd for many years, but I can't resist to buy that great concert. Enjoy, smile, trip, boogie, as long as you wish...

Carlos Santana has never been better than on this DVD, in my opinion. The selection of songs are top-notch and obviously cut out for a Latin audience. His guitar-playing is electrifying and presise, and the band seem to have great fun. - The photography is great and you almost feel as you are present in the Mexico City arena. - I've seen Santana live once, in 1976, in Oslo, Norway. This concert demonstrates that the band has improved through the years, although I personally do not care for the latest commercial development. - Get this DVD as fast as you can!

Great live video footage, BUT interupted every 30 secs with random movies of Santana and Mexicans roaming the streets of Mexico city. Very irritating to watch as he launches into some of his greatest solos to be suddenly confronted with a movie of people walking past a fountain.....duh? Frontal Lobotomy needed for the whiz kids who came up with this one.

For all Santana fans, This DVD is a must buy one. Here you can hear and see Carlos and his band at their best. The concert is performed at Mexico, the native country of Santana.The audience was extremely great. They love him and enjoy his music, and they deserve a star to their own, for making the DVD incredibly alive. Santana is the best for all those long years, and it's strange how he's atracting all those different generations with different tastes. Also his GREAT keyboardist Chester Thompson is unbelievable.
The only drawback of this DVD is the audio, which is set at the Dolby 2.0 format(only 2 channels).