Classic Rock

Carlos Santana has a strong affinity for spiritualism, culture, and (of course) music. Santana's new album, Shape Shifter represents a convergence of the three.

Santana has been writing songs for this album for years, waiting for the right place and the right time to use them. For him, the time is now, and it's the right place "to acknowledge the first people" of the land, in this case, Native American Indians.

The 36th album in the catalog of Santana, the band, is a very personal one for Santana, the man. And that's what makes it so good.

• Read my review of Santana's Shape Shifter

If it sometimes seems that Carlos Santana has been around since the beginning of the classic rock era, it's because, well ... he has! To be precise, the Santana Blues Band first started playing the San Francisco club circuit in 1966. The band, re-christened Santana, signed their first record deal shortly after their breakthrough performance at Woodstock in 1969.

With the release of Shape Shifter next week (5/15) Santana adds one more release to a catalog that already contains 38 studio and live albums (not to mention scores more compilations, videos and appearances on other artists' albums.) And all of that in the space of only 43 years!

• Read the Carlos Santana story

Good news from Gregg Allman's doctors this week. He has their blessing to begin the book tour for his new autobiography, My Cross To Bear. He was tested after experiencing an irregular heartbeat, and proclaimed fit to resume normal duties.

That news means Allman will also be able to go on the road with his Allman Brothers Band, who will be co-headlining a half dozen shows with Santana in July. "This is something," Carlos Santana said in the announcement, "that we've hoped to make happen for many years."

Olivia Harrison has some significant additions to the recent documentary about her late husband, George Harrison: Living in the Material World. Her new book of the same name contains personal photos, letters and other previously unpublished material. A digital version will be released on Tuesday (5/8,) the same day the DVD version of the documentary is released.

A previously unreleased song by Levon Helm, "Toast To Freedom" was released this week, with the proceeds to benefit Amnesty International. In an interview with Associated Press, Helm's longtime friend and producer, Larry Campbell said the song, recorded last summer, was close to the artist's heart. "One of the great things about working with Levon was he always made playing music a joyful event. And I know he wanted to see this thing through as far as he could."

During the time that Donovan was making a name for himself musically, he got tagged with various labels: folk, psychedelic, progressive. Probably the reason for that is that his catalog doesn't fit neatly into any single genre, or into a genre at all.

A few days after his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, Epic / Legacy released a two-CD retrospective pulled from 15 of Donovan's albums released from the mid '60s to mid '70s.

Listening to The Essential Donovan got me thinking about why he was inducted into the Rock Hall, and why he's being reviewed on a classic rock website.

• Review: The Essential Donovan
• Donovan bio
• Donovan interview - Sunshine Superman 40th anniversary
• Donovan and The Beatles
• Donovan photo gallery

Gregg Allman can't seem to catch a break with his health. After recovering from a kidney transplant in 2010 and getting back on the road a few months later, Allman has now been forced to postpone a book tour because of problems with an irregular heartbeat. He was able to join his Allman Brothers Band mates for at the band's Wanee Festival in Florida in Florida a couple of weeks ago, but for only part of the set. If all goes well, his book tour for My Cross to Bear will begin next week (5/8.)

And the there were three. Surviving original Black Sabbath band members (except Bill Ward) have announced a third show, at O2 Academy in Birmingham, England on May 19. Add this one to previously announced bookings at the Download Festival in June and Lollapalooza in August on your list of dates that most of the surviving original Sabbath members have confirmed.

Could Deep Purple's next album and tour possibly be their last? As DP work on a new studio album (their 19th) guitarist Steve Morse tells the magazine, Glide, "Everybody realizes we're not going to do this forever, so to me it feels like this is a really important album to do well." Go out on top, in other words? In a January news release, vocalist Ian Gillan said, "We look forward very much to our Autumn / Winter Tour and continuing our worldwide tour with our new album in 2013." It remains to be seen whether Morse's "not going to do this forever" comment was anything more than just a general observation.

Gregg Allman photo by Rick Diamond / Getty Images

On the new release calendar for May: lots of live action (vintage and recent concert performances,) a decent number of new studio releases and a heavier than usual dose of vinyl releases and reissues.

• Top picks: May classic rock new releases

Just wondering. If Genesis and Yes were to collaborate on an album, would they call themselves Yesisis?

Steve Hackett -- Genesis guitarist/vocalist in the '70s -- and Chris Squire -- bassist/vocalist with Yes since 1969 -- have joined forces, forming the progressive rock super duo they call Squackett. (I guess that's a little easier to manage than Hackquire?)

The result, an album called A Life Within A Day will be released May 29.

• Steve Hackett tells the Squackett story

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We knew it was coming, but that didn't soften the blow of the news that Levon Helm has died, ending what his family referred to earlier this week as "the final stages of his battle with cancer." He was 71.

It was in the late 1990s that Levon Helm (ex-The Band) underwent treatment for throat cancer. Afterward, his distinctive tenor voice became just a raspy whisper. By 2004 he was able to sing again and in 2007 he said he had 80% of his voice back.

For several years, Helm has hosted and performed a popular weekly concert at his home/studio in Woodstock, New York called Midnight Ramble. He has also toured. In the past several weeks, he has cancelled several scheduled performances.

"Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon," says the announcement on Helm's website. "He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul."

• Levon Helm bio
• Levon Helm discography
• The Band profile
• Levon Helm and the Midnight Ramble
• Review: This Wheel's On Fire (Helm's autobiography)

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• Make that two dates that a partially reunited Black Sabbath will play this summer, with the announcement that surviving original members (except Bill Ward) will perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August. Currently, their only other confirmed date is the UK's Download festival in June.

• It'll be summer on the road for Meat Loaf with his Mad, Mad World tour of North America running June through August. Video: Meat talks about his newest album, Hell in a Handbasket.

• Journey will have some company for their summer tour of fresh air venues in the US. Pat Benatar and Canadian rockers Loverboy will be along for the July - November ride. Video: Arnel Pineda's rise from Phillipines to Journey front man.

• Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel have been added as headliners at the UK's Hop Farm festival in June. Patti Smith is among those announced earlier.

• You'd have seen it if you read between the lines of the announcement of Ronnie Montrose's death last month. After mentioning that the artist had beaten cancer, the statement on his website said, "he chose his own exit the way he chose his own life." The coroner in San Mateo, CA has now ruled that the cause of Montrose's March 3 death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A new statement from the family says, "We can only hope that you will choose to celebrate Ronnie's life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing."

I've often said that it's a real stretch to consider reviewing an album as work. Listening to good music, then sharing my thoughts about it is one of the more enjoyable aspects of doing this (so-called) job.

This happy contradiction was in evidence once again as I listened to Bonnie Raitt's new album, Slipstream. In some respects, it's hard to believe that she's been making albums for more than 40 years. But, as her new (4/10) release proves, she's used the time and experience well, and has become so good at what she does, she almost makes it seem easy (even though we know better.)

• Review: Bonnie Raitt's Slipstream

• Bonnie Raitt bio

• Bonnie Raitt discography

Album cover image courtesy Redwing Records

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