Marathon
	Produced by Keith Olsen in association with Santana and Dave De Vore
	Released on September 1979
	US CHART POSITION #25 . . . GOLD RECORD . . . UK CHART POSITION #28
	Find it at GEMM
PC 36154 cover [high resolution scan]

T his is Santana running in all directions: hard rock, soft fusion, pop, disco and funk. Produced by Keith Olsen (Foreigner’s Double Vision, Grateful Dead’s Terrapin Station), Marathon is an identity crisis meltdown that, despite some small victories (“Aqua Marine,” “Summer Lady”), is more notable for its monumentally bad judgment (“You Know That I Love You,” “Stay”) and reliance on recycled rock guitar riffs (“All I Ever Wanted,” “Love”). The addition of Alex Ligertwood and Alan Pasqua, coupled with the emergence of Chris Solberg as a songwriter, transformed Santana into the same horrific hydra as Jefferson Starship. No surprise then that this and Zebop! are my least favorite Santana albums. Isolated tracks are interesting, but I like Santana best when they’re reading from the black bible, not populist pamphlets. In a world that already had plenty of Bad Company, we needed Santana to keep the Latin fusion flame alive, not simply become another Foreigner in our midst. Beginning with Inner Secrets, Santana crossed over into open commercial waters, dousing the hope for a revival with every half-baked record that followed. The experimental side of Santana was now relegated to Carlos’ solo music (The Swing of Delight, etc.). As a circa 79 artifact, Marathon isn’t a bad record. There are people who like Toto records, for example, and I think Marathon can run in the same crowd. However, the revolving band/producer thing was starting to take its toll on their artistic vision, and I tend to see everything after Moonflower as the zombified Santana being kept alive by artificial means (more because I like zombies than a nod to “She’s Not There”). I guess, in lieu of Supernatural, “mummified” would also work.

PC 36154 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. MARATHON    (Devadip Carlos Santana)    1:27
2. LIGHTNING IN THE SKY    (Devadip Carlos Santana/Chris Solberg)    3:51
3. AQUA MARINE    (Devadip Carlos Santana/Alan Pasqua)    5:36
4. YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU    (Chris Solberg/Devadip Carlos Santana/Alex Ligertwood)    4:26
5. ALL I EVER WANTED    (Devadip Carlos Santana/Chris Solberg/Alex Ligertwood)    4:01
6. STAND UP    (Devadip Carlos Santana/Chris Solberg)    4:03
7. RUNNIN    (David Margen)    1:40
8. SUMMER LADY    (Alan Pasqua/Alex Ligertwood/Chris Solberg)    4:24
9. LOVE    (Devadip Carlos Santana/Chris Solberg)    3:23
10. STAY (BESIDE ME)    (Devadip Carlos Santana)    3:50
11. HARD TIMES    (Devadip Carlos Santana/Chris Solberg/Alex Ligertwood/Alan Pasqua/David Margen)    3:58

CREDITS

GRAHAM LEAR -- drums
ALEX LIGERTWOOD -- vocals
DAVID MARGEN -- bass
ALAN PASQUA -- keyboards, backing vocals
ARMANDO PERAZA -- percussion, backing vocals
RAUL REKOW -- percussion, backing vocals
CARLOS SANTANA -- guitar, vocals
CHRIS SOLBERG -- guitar, keyboards, vocals

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