(Pre Order) Santana - Lotus - MFSL LP *

1/2" / 15 IPS / Four-Track Analog Master to Two-Track DSD 256 to Analog Console to Lathe

The bizarre legacy of Lotus transcends its status as both the definitive onstage document of Santana's career and one of the most spectacular live albums ever released. Originally issued in 1974, the triple LP contains exhilarating performances recorded at two shows in early July 1973 at the 2,400-seat Osaka Kosei Nenkin Kaikan concert hall. It bears witness to the eight-piece collective playing with a chemistry, inventiveness, cohesiveness, and soulfulness no other Santana lineup would ever surpass. Lotus also remained the only completely live Santana album for almost two decades — and took nearly as long to see domestic release.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, strictly limited to 5,000 numbered copies, and housed in deluxe trifold packaging faithful to that of the original pressing, Lotus benefits from reference audiophile treatment on Mobile Fidelity's 180g 3LP set. Featuring rich tones, smooth dynamics, excellent separation, deep soundstages, and involving presence, this reissue pays tribute to both the virtuosic lineup and the indispensable fusion of Latin- and Afro-Cuban-influenced jazz, rock, psychedelia, R&B, and blues. The complexity of the spiritual passages, demands of the crescendos, delicacy of the calm transitions, electricity of the solos: everything is rendered with superb balance free of harshness, compression, and fatiguing peaks that would otherwise distract from the presentations at hand.

You also get a generous taste of the ambience of the venue, and a definite sense of the interplay and improvisation that transpired as much by feel as by architectural necessity. The weight of the bass, extension of the highs, punch of the mids, texture and reverberation of the percussion: Mobile Fidelity's organic version of Lotus stakes an immediate claim to demonstration-disc status of how a live recording should sound. And look. Paying homage to the original, this reissue includes four double-sided flat photo inserts and two 24 x 36-inch double-sided fold-out posters. (Note: It does not have an obi strip or red Japanese insert.)

Exclusively released in Japan before it slowly made it across the seas to the United States as a pricey import, Lotus became a hot topic among in-the-know connoisseurs. Hip record stores struggled to keep the record in the bins. Italy, New Zealand, and Europe got their own versions of the in-demand set before the end of 1975. American listeners weren't so lucky. To satisfy their fix, they had to turn to the imports.

The same year Stateside fans began paying a premium to hear the two hours of magic on Lotus, CBS released Santana's Greatest Hits — an introductory compilation that went on to sell more than seven million copies. Another 17 years passed before Lotus hit American shelves as a domestic set in the form of two-CD and two-cassette editions. It didn't become available on domestic vinyl until 2013 on a version that has long been out of print.

In addition to the magnificent instrumental prowess and daring of the arrangements, the historical importance of Lotus has only grown as time — and Santana — evolved. Five members of the Caravanserai Tour octet — percussionists/drummers Michael Shrieve and Jose "Chepito" Areas, vocalist Leon Thomas, keyboardist Richard Kermode, bassist Doug Rauch — departed by the end of 1974. As such, along with the late 1973 studio effort Welcome, Lotus stands as the high-water mark of Santana's early and mid-70s fusion period before the lineup changed and the group transitioned into more experimental territory.

Featuring seven previously unreleased tracks as well as remarkable renditions of material from Santana's first four albums and the Carlos Santana-John McLaughlin collaboration Love Devotion Surrender, Lotus simultaneously suggests and inspires, dreams and delivers. Though the extended drum solo ("Kyoto") may not conform to everyone's idea of essential listening, every moment here sees Carlos Santana and company finding new gears — and playing as if their lives depend on it.

You can feel the passion it on takes of "Every Step of the Way," "Mantra," Se a Cabo," "Toussaint L'Overture," and the scorching "Incident at Neshabur." Renditions of Santna's more "mainstream" fare — "Black Magic Woman," "Oyo Como Va," "Gypsy Queen" — touch on similarly elevated planes. Taking the meaning of title of the ambitious album to heart, Santana revolves around themes of rebirth and launches into a mystical universe in which peacefulness, sensitivity, beauty, and boundless creativity orbit a fiery sun. Black magic, indeed.