Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Audiobook19 hours
The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light
Written by Ashley Kahn and Carlos Santana
Narrated by Jonathan Davis
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
The intimate and long-awaited autobiography of a legend
In 1967 in San Francisco, just a few weeks after the Summer of Love, a young Mexican guitarist took the stage at the Fillmore Auditorium and played a blistering solo that announced the arrival of a prodigious musical talent. Two years later -- after he played a historic set at Woodstock -- the world came to know the name Carlos Santana, his sensual and instantly recognizable guitar sound, and the legendary band that blended electric blues, psychedelic rock, Latin rhythms, and modern jazz, and that still bears his name.
Carlos Santana's unforgettable memoir offers a page-turning tale of musical self-determination and inner self-discovery, with personal stories filled with colorful detail and life-affirming lessons. The Universal Tone traces his journey from his earliest days playing the strip bars in Tijuana while barely in his teens and brings to light the establishment of his signature guitar sound; his roles as husband, father, recording legend, and rock guitar star; his indebtedness to musical and spiritual influences -- from John Coltrane and John Lee Hooker to Miles Davis and Harry Belafonte; and his deep, lifelong dedication to a spiritual path that he developed from his Catholic upbringing, Eastern philosophies, and other mystical sources. It includes his recording some of the most popular and influential rock albums of all time, up to and beyond the 1999 sensation Supernatural, which garnered nine Grammy Awards and stands as arguably the most amazing career comeback in popular music history.
It's a profoundly inspiring tale of divine inspiration and musical fearlessness that does not balk at finding the humor in the world of high-flying fame, or at speaking plainly of Santana's personal revelations and the infinite possibility he sees in each person he meets. "Love is the light that is inside of all of us, everyone," he writes. "I salute the light that you are and that is inside your heart."
In 1967 in San Francisco, just a few weeks after the Summer of Love, a young Mexican guitarist took the stage at the Fillmore Auditorium and played a blistering solo that announced the arrival of a prodigious musical talent. Two years later -- after he played a historic set at Woodstock -- the world came to know the name Carlos Santana, his sensual and instantly recognizable guitar sound, and the legendary band that blended electric blues, psychedelic rock, Latin rhythms, and modern jazz, and that still bears his name.
Carlos Santana's unforgettable memoir offers a page-turning tale of musical self-determination and inner self-discovery, with personal stories filled with colorful detail and life-affirming lessons. The Universal Tone traces his journey from his earliest days playing the strip bars in Tijuana while barely in his teens and brings to light the establishment of his signature guitar sound; his roles as husband, father, recording legend, and rock guitar star; his indebtedness to musical and spiritual influences -- from John Coltrane and John Lee Hooker to Miles Davis and Harry Belafonte; and his deep, lifelong dedication to a spiritual path that he developed from his Catholic upbringing, Eastern philosophies, and other mystical sources. It includes his recording some of the most popular and influential rock albums of all time, up to and beyond the 1999 sensation Supernatural, which garnered nine Grammy Awards and stands as arguably the most amazing career comeback in popular music history.
It's a profoundly inspiring tale of divine inspiration and musical fearlessness that does not balk at finding the humor in the world of high-flying fame, or at speaking plainly of Santana's personal revelations and the infinite possibility he sees in each person he meets. "Love is the light that is inside of all of us, everyone," he writes. "I salute the light that you are and that is inside your heart."
Unavailable
Related to The Universal Tone
Related audiobooks
Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rock & Roll in Kennedy's America: A Cultural History of the Early 1960s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rockin' in the Ivory Tower: Rock Music on Campus in the Sixties Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRags and Bones: An Exploration of The Band Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRocking in the Free World: Popular Music and the Politics of Freedom in Postwar America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCSNY: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Most Influential Rock Stars of the 1960s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTurn Your Radio On: The Stories Behind Gospel Music's All-Time Greatest Songs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Janis: Her Life and Music Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Shoulders of Giants, Vol 4: Jazz Lights Up Harlem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Inner Light: How India Influenced the Beatles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5America, the Band: An Authorized Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSo Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Held My Hand: how the Beatles saved my life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRock 'N Roll and American Society Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA New Day Yesterday: UK Progressive Rock & The 1970s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Live at Jackson Station: Music, Community, and Tragedy in a Southern Blues Bar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMysteries in the Music: Case Closed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shout It Out Loud: The Story of Kiss's Destroyer and the Making of an American Icon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?: Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lennon, Dylan, Alice and Jesus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Help!: The Beatles, Duke Ellington, and the Magic of Collaboration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Icons of Rock: In Their Own Words Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Artists and Musicians For You
Dolly Parton: The Life of a Legendary American Singer, Actor, and Businesswoman Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Woman in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Effin' Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Me: Elton John Official Autobiography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Love Story: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rememberings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scar Tissue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Would Leave Me If I Could.: A Collection of Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5More Myself: A Journey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Storyteller: Expanded: ...Because There's More to the Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith and Redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leonardo da Vinci Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chita: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops 1951 - 2014 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mercury and Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Greenlights: by Matthew McConaughey: Key Takeaways, Summary & Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marathon Don't Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Born to Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Legends: The Lethal Danger of Celebrity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Autobiography of Gucci Mane Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Universal Tone
Rating: 3.9166666083333332 out of 5 stars
4/5
12 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great listen, loved hearing about Santana’s musical journey and what inspires him. A little long at times but a good book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Probably 4.5/5.0 stars
Very interesting insights into what made him such the great Artist and band leader that he is. Has definitely now got me wanting to seek out and listen to a lot more of his catalogue, many of which I've not heard or missed! But am also inspired to expand my horizons a lot more and to reach back into listening to many of the early great Blues and Jazz artists that influenced the Santana sounds and of which I am mostly ignorant about (other than well knowing their names) all easily accessible now on likes of Spotify - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is, obviously, the autobiography of rock guitarist Carlos Santana. The book could have used a little editing, as it comes in at 520 pages and has more than a little repetition, especially about Santana's world view and cosmic philosophy. He goes on at length about his childhood, generally a stumbling block for me, especially in autobiographies, but he does manage to make it mostly interesting, so I mostly give him a pass on that. He tells about the real meat of his career, the 60s and into the early 70s, in fine fashion. His relationships with figures like Bill Graham, Miles Davis and the other musicians he crosses paths with are told about quite well. He also talks at length, and quite interestingly (at least for me) about his musical influences, and how he goes about incorporating their styles into his own. It took hours and hours and hours of listening to records, trying to replicate solos and styles on his own guitar, and then doing it again. It's a real insight into the kind of discipline and dedication it takes to attain artistic excellence at his level. For example, I was surprised to learn that he considers his most important influences to be the blues greats as well as John Coltrane. As a jazz fan, I did find the descriptions of the later parts of his career, as he became more immersed in that music and began performing with greats like Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. And since Santana (and/or his co-writers) maintain a friendly, engaging, almost intimate tone throughout, I was willing to hang with the long explanations of Santana's long discipleship with Sri Chimnoy and his ideas about Cosmic Oneness and spiritual discipline, etc., although there was more of that than I would have cared for. Santana talks about his family lovingly: his parents, siblings, children and two wives. Certainly, if I want to know about the person, not just the musician (and, really, if I want to know what fuels the musician) than that's a very important part of the story, as well.So overall, I give this autobiography pretty high marks. Four stars, I guess. I enjoyed learning about Carlos Santana the person as well as the musician. It could have been 50 or so pages shorter, at least, but so be it.
1 person found this helpful