Soul Sacrifice

In class we learned that you don’t need words to create a popular song. However, I felt that this topic didn’t get enough attention, especially with so many talented artists such as Carlos Santana.

I must say I’m a little biased, since Santana was born in Mexico, same as me. I grew up to his music and I was born in 1995, almost 30 years after Soul Sacrifice played in Woodstock.

Not only he was named by many as one of the best guitarists of all time, his music reached all around the globe (maybe not as much in Israel?).

During his long career, Santana has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. In 1998 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Santana is one of the best-selling groups of all time with over 47 million certified albums sold the US, and an estimated 100 million sold worldwide.

In 2011, he still performs at over age 65!

“Soul Sacrifice” makes it’s debut in 1969 during Woodstock festival, and has been said to be one if its highlights. The song is over 6 minutes long, but the non-conventional percussion gets you hooked from the very beginning. Then progressively the guitar, drums and organ join. The way I see it, the song does not need a singer, its “voice” comes from the electric guitar.

One thing is for sure, it has rhythm and feeling. I also think one of the things that make this song so good are the solos, every instrument gets one through the song. So it doesn’t matter what instrument you like, you won’t be disappointed.

The speed does not change much, but there are parts where music fades, keeping it interesting.

Here’s the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaaT_HRb4GU

The song is fast-paced, happy and energetic. It’s roots are in the Cuban “guaguanco” rhythms, they can be easily noticed in the percussions.

Santana and his band were unknown before Woodstock, they had no records. With the help of Soul Sacrifice’s live performance, his debut album Santana reached number four in the billboard, and Woodstock soundtrack album reached number one.

I feel the need to remark this song has no vocals, but it has rhythm, feeling and plenty of talent. This authentic song was remastered and re-released in Santana’s 35th anniversary album in 2004. 35 years later, you can find his live performance in YouTube, with around 20 million views!

In conclusion, “Soul Sacrifice” is an instrumental, popular song that will bring you up and make you feel, no matter what music genre you enjoy, nor your age!