Eagle Rock Entertainment / 2011 / 204 mins / NR

THE FILM:
For the past 45 years, Carlos Augusto Alves Santana has grown from playing in the Santana Blues Band on the San Francisco club circuit to becoming one of the most influential and revered musicians in the history of Latin music. His smooth, spiritual blend of Latin, rock, jazz and blues has never really gone out of style as his musical journey has mirrored his philosophical musings.

Santana the band has sold more than 90 million records and Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. LIVE AT MONTREUX 2011 is an over three hour career-spanning celebration of Santana’s incredible musical legacy. Just check out the set rundown for this amazing concert:

1. Spark of the Divine
2. SOCC
3. Back in Black
4. Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
5. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
6. Oye Como Va
7. Maria, Maria
8. Foo Foo
9. Corazon Espinado/Guajira
10. Benny and Cindy Solo
11. Jingo
12. Carlos Speaks/Novus
13. Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)/I Want You
14. Batuka/No One to Depend On
15. Duende/Open Invitation
16. Make Somebody Happy/Right On Be Free
17. Evil Ways/A Love Supreme
18. Sunshine of Your Love
19. Smooth/Dame tu Amor
20. Soul Sacrifice/Dennis Drum Solo
21. Samba Pa Ti
22. Into the Night
23. Love, Peace and Happiness/Freedom

Carlos’ band for this spectacle includes his wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, and Dennis Chambers on drums, Raul Rekow and Karl Perazzo on percussion and vocals, Benny Rietveld on bass, Derek Trucks on guitar, Tommy Anthony and Susan Tedeschi on guitar and vocals, Bill Ortiz on trumpet, Jeff Cressman on trombone, David K. Mathews on keyboards and Andy Vargas on vocals.

This is truly THE Santana concert. The man is delivering his best loved hits to perfection. A must have for Santana fans, LIVE AT MONTREUX will certainly go down as one of the finest concerts on Blu-ray you will see this year.

THE DISC:
The hi-def anamorphic 1.78 transfer looks as sharp as or better than watching the screens at the show itself. Colors explode off the screen and close-ups offer absolutely stunning detail and clarity. Nothing at all to complain about here.

As is to be expected, the sound mix is superb. Offered in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0 or Dolby Digital 5.1 any of these mixes will give you an amazingly spacious, sonically stunning experience. The percussion section will blast through your spine and Santana’s guitar is spectacularly clear. Put his on your demo shelf to blow you neighbors away.  

THE EXTRAS:
The trio of supplements is nice but ultimately like more than fluff.

“Carlos Santana Interview” and “Cindy Blackman Santana Interview” has the couple individually speaking about the philosophy of music all in front of the waters of Montreux.

The “Behind The Scenes” featurette is little more than a music video of the band setting and playing around. Fun but fluffy.

MY SAY:
Dare I say this is the definitive Santana concert experience? I’m going to have to say yes. This is absolute Latin music perfection. Recommended!

Reviewed by Jeff Allen