CARLOS SANTANA & JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: LOVE DEVOTION SURRENDER

The combination of Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, together with members of both men's respective bands, producing an album revisiting the music of John Coltrane proves to be less than the sum of its parts. The fusion treatment of Coltrane's works is interesting, but can hardly stand up to Coltrane's original performances - I personally find that, perhaps because they were composed long before the fusion revolution, the songs fit much better in an older tradition of experimental jazz and don't translate well to a fusion treatment. As for the original pieces, you're left with the impression that both men were keeping the best material back for their day jobs. An interesting collaboration, but not an essential one.