The third time around is not a charm for Carlos Santana, who delivers his third straight star-studded, middle-of-the-road pop album in a row with 2005's All That I Am. Like 2002's Shaman, this follows the blueprint that producer/record mogul Clive Davis laid down on 1999's Supernatural, which means that apart from a cut or two, Santana functions as a supporting musician to a parade of guest stars singing pop songs on his own album. On Supernatural this worked not just because it was a relatively fresh concept that revitalized Santana, but because the guest stars were well chosen and the material was sharp, commercial, and memorable. Shaman was more uneven but it did have one great single in "The Game of Love," a song penned by professional songwriters and sung by Michelle Branch - it didn't sound much like Santana, but it did make for excellent listening on adult contemporary radio…
Am I Right? [EP] (1991) [Limited Edition]. Separate from the actual Am I Right? EP itself, this pleasant release collects new mixes and alternate versions of tracks from Chorus, often with great results. Noted techno act the Grid gets its hands into "Am I Right?" itself for the leadoff track, adding some extra atmospheric synth lines and harder-edged electronic crunch; it's not a notable revision from the original otherwise, but still has a certain something. Mark Saunders, a regular studio compatriot of the band's, handles the LFO Modulated Filter mix of "Love to Hate You." The name's a touch misleading in that neither of the LFO duo actually appear on the track, but as a further pumping up of the arena-synth atmosphere of the original, it's a winner…
Another digital feature from the Warner Classics live series of Celibidache & The Münich Philharmonie of Bruckner's 7th & 9th Symphony.