Festival (Santana album) explained

Festivál is the eighth studio album by Santana, released in January 1977. It peaked number twenty seven in the Billboard 200 chart and number twenty nine in the R&B Albums chart.^[1]

This was the band's second and last album with Leon Patillo on vocals, and the last full-studio album with longtime keyboardist Tom Coster. It also was the first one with percussionist Raul Rekow, who would remain with the band until 2013 (save for 1987–1990).

Critical reception

Rolling Stone wrote: "Though this record is far stronger on the whole than Amigos, it lacks that album’s memorable chordal quirks and peaks of intensity, sometimes sounding like a prisoner of its own commercial aspirations."^[2]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Carnaval" (Tom Coster, Carlos Santana) – 2:15
2. "Let the Children Play" (Leon Patillo, Santana) – 3:28
3. "Jugando" (José Areas, Santana) – 2:12
4. "Give Me Love" (Pablo Téllez) – 4:29
5. "Verão Vermelho" (Nonato Buzar) – 5:00
6. "Let the Music Set You Free" (Coster, Patillo, David Rubinson, Santana) – 3:39

Side two

1. "Revelations" (Coster, Santana) – 4:37
2. "Reach Up" (Coster, Paul Jackson, Patillo, Santana) – 5:23
3. "The River" (Patillo, Santana) – 4:53
4. "Try a Little Harder" (Patillo) – 5:04
5. "María Caracóles" (Pello el Afrokán - credited "P. African") – 4:32

Personnel

• Oren Waters – vocals, background vocals
• Maxine Willard Waters – vocals, background vocals
• Francisco Zavala – vocals, background vocals
• Carlos Santana – guitar, bass, percussion, vocals, background vocals
• Leon Patillo – keyboards, percussion, piano, vocals, background vocals
• Tom Coster – keyboards, percussion, synthesizer, vocals
• Pablo Téllez – bass, percussion, vocals, background vocals
• Paul Jackson – bass
• Gaylord Birch – drums, percussion, tympani
• José "Chepitó" Areas – conga, percussion, timbales
• Raul Rekow – conga, percussion, background vocals
• Joel Badie – percussion, vocals, background vocals
• Julia Waters – background vocals

Production:

• Fred Catero – engineer
• David Rubinson – engineer, producer

Charts

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[3]	25
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[4]	3
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[5]	8

Notes and References

1. Web site: Festival - Santana | Awards | AllMusic . allmusic.com . November 19, 2013.
2. Santana: Festival : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone . Michael . Rozek . . March 11, 1981 . April 14, 2012.
3. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6.
4. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. June 6, 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Santana".
5. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9. ja.