BMW Comparison

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by michelej1

This is a review of Abraxas which talks about FM's BMW and Santana's

http://www.kinston.com/entertainment...gentleman.html

The big radio hit from the album was "Black Magic Woman", a song originally done by Peter Green's version of Fleetwood Mac. While Santana's reading does not eclipse the original, it does match it. Mick Fleetwood's barrelhouse drums are replaced with a simmering stew of percussion that eventually boils over when the song kicks into high gear. Santana pays homage to the original guitar parts, but the sheer originality of his playing oozes in every second of this recording.

I love both versions and was long familiar with Santana's before the Mac's. However, I do prefer Green's 1968 version more. It's starker, eerier, and more primal. The Santana version boasts a top-notch production and smooth sophistication: one can almost see the steam rising from the instruments as they work through the tropical arrangement. But Mac's version is authoritative in the way Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" is--despite impressive cover versions.