Guitar Heaven
| Santana
Guitar Heaven
Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, referred to as simply Guitar Heaven, is the twenty-first studio album by Santana, released on September 21, 2010. It is a classic rock covers album and features guest performances by several popular vocalists, including India.Arie, Joe Cocker, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden & Audioslave, Scott Stapp of Creed and Art of Anarchy, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver and Art of Anarchy, Chris Daughtry of Daughtry, Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Dead By Sunrise and Stone Temple Pilots, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Pat Monahan of Train and rapper Nas.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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BBC
September 27, 2010. Carlos’ celebrated talent is bound somewhat by the pieces he’s covering here.
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American Songwriter
September 29, 2010. But the latest Santana/Davis project, Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, may well be the final nail in the coffin of AOR.
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Rolling Stone
September 21, 2010. The best turn is from a smaller name: India.Arie, who finds the soul in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” As for Santana? Smooth, as usual.
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PopMatters
February 15, 2011. Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time comes off as a celebrity version of American Idol.
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musicOMH
September 20, 2010. Sadly, expert guitar playing cannot carry an album. Moreover, it is too sterile and obsessively arranged, and the majority of the vocals lack that rock fierceness. Everyone is playing it too safe, with the production geared towards something mainstream and pop-oriented rather than experimentation and reinterpretation.
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AllMusic
There are no reinterpretations -- not even the Nas-fronted “Back in Black” changes the song much -- just restatements of riffs and replicated effects, each familiar element offering a reminder that Santana, Davis, and company chose to take the easy road by settling for gauche pop instead of guitar rock, winding up with a truly terrible album.
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The New York Times
September 19, 2010. Despite the bloated title and stale concept, it’s easy to imagine Santana completely revamping some guitar-centered hits. But for most of the album, that was apparently too daring for Mr. Santana and his pop mentor and co-producer, Clive Davis.
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Independent
September 17, 2010. Subtitled "The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time", Guitar Heaven is like being stuck in a guitar shop while a customer runs through standard riff-rock favourites . . . . It's enervatingly uninspired for the most part, . . . .
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Icon Fetch
October 8, 2010. Truth is, the tried and true formula that got Santana his most recent popularity just doesn’t work in a classic rock setting — he’s just going to make the faithful mad. Here’s hoping Santana’s next record doesn’t follow the familiar blueprint and forges something new and different.
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Relix
December 22, 2010. Though the Clive Davis produced album is a valiant attempt to help a guitar legend age gracefully, this particular collection doesn’t quite succeed.
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vintagerock.com
. . . Carlos Santana is at the top of his game, even if he is not truly pushing himself all that much around the board these days. As long as he sticks to guitars and avoids reality shows, all is right with the world.
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Seattlepi
April 26, 2011. Particularly in terms of popularity and commercial success, Santana seems to have cycles of 10-12 years. The band's latest release, Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, may be marking the end of one of those cycles, one it appears he may have used up as the latest vehicle to success.
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NY Daily News
September 21, 2010. Album doesn't quite master rejigging masterpieces.
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Emmanuel Fonte
March 8, 2015. On Guitar Heaven, Santana’s talent is restrained by the compulsion to play these tracks too authentically to the originals. Sure, there is flair where space permits, and everything is performed meticulously, but sadly very little becomes Santana’s own.
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San Antonio Express-News
September 29, 2010. Thank or curse record executive Clive Davis for granting Carlos Santana guilt-free permission to simply rock out on his latest star-studded effort. Purists may wonder why. But younger guests such as India.Arie, rapper Nas and old friend Rob Thomas breathe fresh life into this classic-rock songbook, . . . .
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GuitarPlayer
August 26, 2010. GUITAR HEAVEN: THE GREATEST GUITAR CLASSICS OF ALL TIME carries the continuum to the next generation.
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John Emms Music Reviews
September 21, 2010. On his new cd Guitar Heaven (The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time) Carlos Santana proves once again organic muscianship will always win out. Santana’s guitar chops are intense and at almost every turn his willingness to not only share the spotlight but to really get down and real with his players is what makes this album special.
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Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
The title may make you think of a Ronco compilation, but really it's another album of Santana playing behind pop stars . . . . Carlos spins out a solo, and they're on to the next track before you've had a chance to say, "Wait, that sounds just like the original... Why did they bother?" (DBW)
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Express
September 17, 2010. NOT so much a covers album as an album of interpretations of classic tracks, albeit with the guitar angle cranked way up.
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San Diego Reader
November 14, 2010. The remainder of the album, however, is disappointing. Music marketing wiz Clive Davis couples Santana with brand-name guests . . . but they can't save the listener from the poor song choices and often muddy sound.
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The Daily Record
October 13, 2010. . . . a dozen pedestrian, uninspiring performances. None of the musicians associated with this project even pretend to muster the effort to add something new to these well-worn staples of classic rock radio stations.
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Progressive Values
September 30, 2010. Overall, this is a great Santana album, although it has met with some recent mixed reviews from other music critics.
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Brave Words
July 15, 2010. Working from their collective encyclopedic knowledge of rock, Carlos Santana and Clive Davis devised a list of guitar-centric titles – and then invited a Who’s Who of guest vocalists to perform on every track. Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time carries the continuum to the next generation.
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Rock Meeting
November 29, 2010. Mr. Carlos Santana is back with an album of covers qualified as being the greatest guitar classics of all time . . . . . . . here is a record made for the good cause, safeguarding our heritage by a legendary guitarist who, for 40 years, delights us with his style and talent. So what more can you ask for?
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The Great Albums
If you’ve ever wondered what classic-rock radio might sound like with all the guitar solos played by Carlos Santana, you might conceivably find this disc interesting. For anyone else, this record will sound exactly like ten bucks being sucked directly out of your wallet. Avoid.
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