Is Carlos Santana really all that?

[estranged4life]

"I just get the feeling Macca thinks he's so big that he can do what he wants. He pushes this "I'm a down to earth" guy yet he never seems to conform to this view. It annoyed me that he decided not to tour Europe but instead added extra gigs to his U.S. tour because of the huge profit in the States he was making compared to a small profit from European shows. The man allegedly has over a £1,000,000,000 so he would rather play for money than for his fans? Looks like it. You would have to ask his accountants."

I have to agree that what you said is true. Even though I went to his show I didnt spend any money except for the tickets ($67.50), And I sure wasnt even considering paying $150-$250 for the floor seats (The Rolling Stones tickets are even higher $90-$300) or buying merchandise (T-Shirts $35-$100, Some items were $700!!!)...People who have been fans for years have noticed that he has changed in a neagtive way since Linda passed away...A good example of that is the songwriting credits on the new "Back In The U.S." set; Gone are the classic "Lennon/McCartney" listings replaced with the "Composed by Paul McCartney & John Lennon". He seemed miffed about having to share credit for all these years...Could "greed" be a part of this also?

And I didnt understand why he didnt add any Europe dates to the "supposed" tour, But from what I have read that will be "supposedly" changing very soon (A tentative Europe tour is being rumoured...One show in Benidorm, Spain is soon to be officially announced along with gigs in small settings in/around the UK & Europe)

"I do feel McCartney's voice has not been very good this last year or two. Just my opinion on the great songwriting ex-Beatle."

His voice indeed doesnt have what it had when he toured & recorded the great "Tripping The Live Fantastic" 2 cd set...Also, I honestly think his touring band from '89 & '93 were a more solid musical unit than the current lineup (Robbie McIntosh & Hamish Stuart were a better combo than the current guitar team of Rusty Anderson & Brian Ray.). The new live album is missing something that his previous live efforts have...It's almost like "Painting By Numbers"...

I'm still waiting to see the video to see the video of the tribute show to see why everyone was upset at E.C., I didnt see what he did as wrong at all...George even said in an ol' GFPM November '92 (Great article/interview worth finding and reading-He said the last band album he enjoyed was Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms...To me that's music; good music played well without all the b.s." & he liked the Black Crowes & he also thought Gary Moore "Is brilliant, Just incredible"...) issue that E.C. was his "sort of" musical rehearsor/director for his Japan tour in 1991, So he would know the material more than anyone else and he probably wanted the show to sound great as in tribute of George...Brian J.