Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab continues their brilliant restoration of Santana's catalog of albums with a new reissue of the band's 1977's classic, Moonflower. Sprawling across a pair of LPs, Moonflower unconventionally combined new studio tracks with Santana's first official domestic release of the band's live recordings. The album provided a thrilling showcase of Santana's distillation of Latin-inspired blues rock, while also furthering their embrace of soulful jazz and fusion influences. The record was a huge hit, achieving double platinum sales in the US while reaching the number ten spot on the Billboard album charts. Moonflower's lead single, a cover of the Zombies' classic "She's Not There," cracked the top forty and landed at number 27 on the Billboard charts. Marking the first time in five years the band achieved that level of chart success, since reaching the number 36 spot with "No One To Depend On."
Moonflower was sourced from the original analog master tapes, and was remastered using MoFi's proprietary GAIN 2 system by Krieg Wunderlich¹ at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in Sebastopol, California. Moonflower's master tapes were transferred to DSD 256, with lacquers cut for LP production at Fidelity Record Pressing in Oxnard, California. The pair of 180 gram, 33 rpm LPs were pressed on audiophile vinyl at FRP, where Rick and Edward Hashimoto oversaw all aspects of their production. The heavy, tip-on gatefold outer jacket was created by Stoughton Printing in California, with the pair of LPs encased in premium rice paper inner sleeves. Moonflower is strictly limited to 3000 numbered copies worldwide; you can order one from MoFi's webstore HERE, although at the time of this review, the album is on backorder following the initial pressing run.
Santana, Moonflower. (2) 33 rpm Mobile Fidelity LPs, $59.99 MSRP
Moonflower arrived on record shelves in October 1977, and fans quickly embraced its mix of new studio tracks that flowed seamlessly into stellar live recordings of band classics. Santana's lineup had gone through significant changes, with only Carlos Santana and percussionist Jose "Chepito" Areas remaining from the original band that played Woodstock eight years earlier. Additional changes occurred during the space between Moonflower's live recordings (from concerts in 1976) and those from the studio (1977), notably the departure of Chepito Areas and bassist Pablo Tellez. Moonflower's studio recordings took place at CBS Recording Studios in San Francisco; the current incarnation of the band featured (of course!) Carlos Santana on guitars, Greg Walker's superb vocals, and Tom Coster on keyboards and synths. The rhythm section consisted of David Margen on bass, Graham Lear on drums, and percussionists Paul Rekow and Pete Escovedo. Tommy Coster Jr. also played keyboards on a single track, his own composition "Zulu."
Moonflower was produced by Carlos Santana and Tom Coster—this would be Coster's last album with Santana following a string of five studio recordings. His contributions to Santana can't be overstated, and he was one of the principal songwriters in the band throughout a five-year period. Moonflower would remain Carlos Santana's critical and commercial peak for over twenty years; only with 1999's star-studded Supernatural would he exceed that level of success. Moonflower really resonated with fans; Santana was a hot concert ticket in the late Seventies, and many of the album's studio tracks integrated effortlessly into the band's live sets. I regularly saw them play festivals around this period, and Santana's set was frequently the highlight of any given show.
Listening to Mobile Fidelity's Moonflower
By clicking on my name in the header above, you can see the full complement of components in my dual audio setups. My all-analog system features a pair of LS3/5A British monitor clones, the XSA Labs Vanguards, which are standmount monitors that run in tandem with a pair of Caldera 10 subs. My ProJect Classic EVO turntable is fitted with an Ortofon Quintet Bronze moving coil cartridge, and my PS Audio Stellar phono preamp plays into my PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amp, which was recently upgraded with RAY Reserve KT88 tubes. Mobile Fidelity's reissue benefited greatly from FRP's superb LP pressings, which allowed Santana's often propulsive music to play with the kind of clarity and dynamics that took me back to first hearing Moonflower many years ago.
Fidelity Record Pressings' 180 gram LPs were beautifully glossy, providing playback that was glitch-free with deathly silent backgrounds. Moonflower has been in constant rotation in my systems over the years, and MoFi's excellent LP reissue has displaced my original in the last few weeks. The recordings capture the band at the peak of their creativity, with Carlos Santana's superb playing at an almost otherworldly level. Almost unrestrained outbursts from appreciative crowds precede each live performance, adding immensely to Moonflower's excitement. Side one opens with the studio track "Dawn/Go Within"; it flows into an energetic live recording of "Carnival," which segues into "Let The Children Play," then immediately transitions into the propulsive "Jugando." Barely a second passes before a swirl of Tom Coster synthesizers and Carlos' guitar heralds the arrival of the studio track "I'll Be Waiting," with a superbly soulful vocal from Greg Walker and more sublime fretwork from Carlos Santana. Tommy Coster Jr's funky keyboard fusion "Zulu" closes side one, which is as perfect an album side as exists on any rock album.
The rest of Moonflower flows similarly, with live performances of band classics like "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," "Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)," and "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile" playing like a greatest hits collection. And regarding perfect album sides, I always gravitate towards side three, which opens with Santana's evocative remake of "She's Not There." It's followed by one of the band's most classic and enjoyable instrumentals, the title track "Moonflower," which segues into a thrilling live performance of "Soul Sacrifice/Head, Hands, and Feet." I've heard this track in concert and on a number of different live recordings, but the version on this album is absolutely my favorite, and Graham Lear's drum solo here approaches the fire of Michael Shrieve's original. I definitely have a thing for drum solos, and this one, far and away, is my go-to choice for demoing my system to appreciative visitors. Through MoFi's new reissue, it projects a scale of sound that simply gobsmacks me with its sheer power and unbridled dynamics. My Columbia original still sounds pretty good, but it can't begin to touch the clarity and musicality of Mobile Fidelity's Moonflower, which improves upon it in every possible way.
Moonflower is easily my favorite album from Santana's diverse catalog
I heard Moonflower's first single "She's Not There" constantly over the airwaves in late 1977; around that time, a new stereo shop opened nearby, and I popped in to have a look and listen. As I approached the door, I was almost overwhelmed by the massive transients of a drum solo emanating from inside; upon entering, the effect was almost as if I were in the crowd at a live concert! I was immediately drawn to a massive pair of Cerwin-Vega loudspeakers with 18-inch woofers that cranked out Moonflower's "Soul Sacrifice" at maximum SPLs. While I was never sufficiently moved by Cerwin-Vega's house sound to buy their speakers, I was damn impressed with the level of realism I was hearing as drummer Graham Lear pounded the skins on this amazing recording! I immediately acquired an LP copy of Moonflower, and it's remained one of my references for live rock sound—and especially the sound of drums—since that day almost five decades ago. My original has now been relegated to the racks by Mobile Fidelity's new LP reissue.
Moonflower offers a thrilling taste of peak-period Santana, and based on the demand for MoFi's new release, fan interest in this version of the band hasn't changed. Moonflower—other than a limited release reissue from Friday Music in 2011—has been out of print domestically on LP for nearly fifty years! Thanks to Bridget Citro Davis of Mobile Fidelity and Music Direct for making this review possible; MoFi's new LP set presents Moonflower in its finest incarnation ever, and comes very highly recommended!
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
All images courtesy of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
¹ No detailed tech specs were provided with Mobile Fidelity's Moonflower, and none were available online, but you can clearly see Krieg Wundelich's initials and Fidelity Record Pressing's info scribed in the deadwax of the vinyl.
