The Permanent Collection: 020 & 021

The Permanent Collection is a weekly log of my favourite tracks in the entire world. This isn’t a ranking, but a space where I can share my deepest music loves with you in a more intimate setting. Paid subscribers get access to the full archive, bonus songs and a playlist.

020 - Santana - Aqua Marine (1979)

Question for you: did Matchbox 20 and Carlos Santana’s Smooth ruin the Santana brand for a whole generation?

My answer to you: kind of? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the song! But I bet if I rounded up friends from my generation and I asked them to name a Santana song - Smooth would be the ONLY answer. I guarantee it. We all know what that Supernatural CD cover looks like. All of our dads had it. Don’t mind Santana releasing 26 studio albums, 8 live albums, 61 singles, and 23 compilation albums. SMOOTH!

Aqua Marine comes off his 1979 album Marathon, Santana’s 11th studio album. In terms of success, it peaked at number 5 on the French album charts. If that means anything?

Of the billions of Santana songs out there, this one’s my pick. It’s atmospheric. It’s almost ambient. It sounds GREAT on good speakers. It’s basically a song designed to lead you down a groovy and welcoming path, only to be thwacked in the face by a clatter of an endlessly satisfying snare drum.

I’d like to pretend I just “know things”, but I must tell you this story as I learn it: the bassline has an incredibly plucky groove to it. It pops, it talks to you. It writhes and slithers. It gets your neck moving. As I am listening to the song (I always listen to the song as I write each newsletter), I thought to myself “man…the bass player really does do a great imitation of Jaco Pastorius. It turns out…it was the real Jaco!!! Who only played on one song on the album - Aqua Marine!!!! No wonder it’s my favourite Santana song.

You see - Pastorius was one of my two bass playing idols (James Jamerson being the other) as a fledgling bass player, so to learn this was a moment of supreme chuffedness. Among bass players, Jaco is THE guy. The deftness of his playing has never and can never be replicated. Ask Thundercat, he’d agree. I am so stoked to know he played on this song. 0.3% of you will care, but it’s a mighty fun fact to me.

Jaco aside, this song is a masterclass in interplay and flow. A stellar example of virtuosity within the confines of an instrumental song (a song type that often falls into the “background music” category). There’s no gristle in this song, it’s lean. The shaker is confident. The bass harmonics are so so sweet. The guitar, mesmerising. The drums, restrained until they kick you in the butt. The whistle, ascendant.

I’ve chewed your ear off haven’t I. Ok, on your way, go listen to Smooth.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition! 021 is below for paid subscribers.