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Supernatural (Santana album)

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Recorded
  
1999

Label
  
Arista

Release date
  
15 June 1999

Length
  
74:59

Artist
  
Santana

Supernatural (Santana album) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb7

Released
  
June 15, 1999 (1999-06-15)

Studio
  
Record Plant, Sausalito, California, U.S., Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California

Producer
  
Clive Davis Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis The Dust Brothers Alex González Charles Goodan Lauryn Hill Art Hodge Wyclef Jean Fher Olvera K.C. Porter Dante Ross Matt Serletic Stephen Harris

Genres
  
Latin rock, Blues rock, Pop rock, Hard rock, Alternative rock, Contemporary R&B, Chicano rock

Awards
  
Grammy Award for Album of the Year

Nominations
  
Billboard Music Award for Top Billboard 200 Album

Similar
  
Santana albums, Blues rock albums

Supernatural is the seventeenth studio album by Latin rock band Santana. It was released on June 15, 1999. It went 15 times platinum in the U.S. and won eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year as well as three Latin Grammy Awards including Record of the Year.

Contents

The album, conceived by Clive Davis and A&R'd by Pete Ganbarg, was a major global hit, eventually selling more than 30 million copies. It is the most successful album by Santana, hitting the number one spot in ten countries, including the United States. It is also the highest-selling album of original material released by any artist who had already been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame prior to its release and second highest-selling overall behind The Beatles compilation album 1.

Supernatural debuted at number nineteen on the Billboard 200 on July 3, 1999 but topped (after 18 weeks) the chart on October 30, 1999 and stayed there for 12 non-consecutive weeks. It included the hit single "Smooth", which featured Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas on vocals, and was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks. The follow-up single, "Maria Maria" (which featured The Product G&B), was number one on the same chart for 10 weeks. Santana and Rob Thomas won three Grammy Awards for their collaboration on the song "Smooth" while Santana and Everlast won another for the song "Put Your Lights On". Santana also won a Grammy for "Maria Maria". Carlos Santana became the first Hispanic to win the Record of the Year Grammy Award, while the Album of the Year Grammy Award was bestowed upon Davis.

Among the other guest artists are Eric Clapton, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Maná, KC Porter and Cee-Lo Green.

Santana da le taleo studio version


Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that "there doesn't seem to be a track that doesn't have a guest star, which brings up the primary problem with the album [...] it never develops a consistent voice that holds the album together." He added that the album is "directionless" but concluded by saying "the peak moments of Supernatural are some of Santana's best music of the '90s, which does make it a successful comeback." Rolling Stone writer David Wild also noted the amount of featured artists on the album. He goes on to say "Not everything is quite so appealing", mentioning the song, "Do You Like The Way" featuring Lauryn Hill and Cee Lo Green, saying that it "seems a bit more forced."

Commercial performance

The album is one of the best-selling albums in the world, and has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, with 11.8 million copies sold in the United States alone. It is the best-selling album by a Hispanic artist, peaking at number one in many countries.

According to the Guinness World Records in 2005, it was the band's first album to peak at number one on the Billboard 200 since Santana III in 1971, making it the longest gap between two number one albums, 28 years in total. The album debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 and eventually peaked at number one in October 1999, selling 169,000 copies that week, it would increase even more its sales the following weeks, selling 183,000 and 199,000 on its first three weeks atop. Its highest sale came in year's final week when it sold 527,000 copies. Its sales would still stay in stratosphere after the Holiday season, selling 583,000 copies after winning nine Grammy Awards in a night, it barely dropped in sales, selling again another monstrous 441,000 copies. Its last of 12 non-consecutive weeks at number one would still see huge sales, 307,000 copies that week, it later was replaced by NSYNC No Strings Attached after selling 2.4 million copies in a week. It also debuted and peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. However, it was removed from the chart the following week after Billboard determined that the album did not meet the linguistic requirement of having at least 50% of its tracks recorded in Spanish. It was ranked on Billboard's top 200 albums of the decade as the ninth best-selling album of the 2000s.

In Australia, the album debuted at number 48 and would peak at number one on March 6, 2000. In the UK, the album peaked at number one for two weeks starting on April 1, 2000.

The track "El Farol" was criticised by unauthorized use of melody. The song takes it structure of "Papel Principal", a song made by the Portuguese artist Adelaide Ferreira. Although never confirmed, the rumor of a possible judicial action by the Portuguese singer was never surpassed.

Singles

The first single released from the album was "Smooth", which featured Rob Thomas on vocals and peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks while it went to number 3 in the UK and number 4 in Australia. The next single was "Maria Maria" which featured The Product G&B as the single peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, number 6 in the UK and number 49 in Australia. The third single, "Put Your Lights On", only peaked at number 18 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, a poor number 97 in the UK, and was a minor hit in Australia at number 32. The single "Corazón Espinado", which featured Maná, was a hit in Spanish-speaking countries.

Standard edition

Mastered by Ted Jensen

Notes
  • The total length of track 13 is actually 12:47. "The Calling" ends at 7:48. Hidden track "Day of Celebration" starts at 8:00 and has a length 4:27. The track listing and timing are the same on the 2010 "Legacy Edition." However, separate musician and production credits are listed for "Day of Celebration" in the liner notes, unlike the standard edition.
  • (*) Asterisk notes co-producer.
  • Legacy Edition Disc 2

    A "Legacy Edition" of Supernatural was released on February 16, 2010, with a new Santana-supervised remastering.

    1. "Bacalao Con Pan"
    2. "Angel Love (Come for Me)"
    3. "Rain Down on Me"
    4. Featuring Dave Matthews and Carter Beauford
    5. "Corazon Espinado (Spanish Dance Remix)"
    6. Featuring Maná
    7. "One Fine Morning" (Lighthouse Cover)
    8. "Exodus/Get Up Stand Up (Bob Marley cover)"
    9. "Ya Yo Me Cure"
    10. "Maria Maria (Pumpin' Dolls Club Mix)"
    11. Featuring The Product G&B
    12. "Smooth (Instrumental)"
    13. "The Calling Jam"
    14. Featuring Eric Clapton
    15. "Olympic Festival"

    Songs

    1(Da Le) Yaleo5:52
    2Love of My Life (feat Dave Matthews & Carter Beauford)5:48
    3Put Your Lights On (feat Everlast)4:48

    References

    Supernatural (Santana album) Wikipedia