Festival (Santana album)

Festivál is the eighth studio album by Santana, released in January 1977. It peaked number twenty seven in the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and number twenty nine in the Soul LPs chart.^[1]

Festivál
Studio album by Santana
Released	January 1977
Recorded	1976
Genre	Jazz fusion chicano rock latin rock
Length	45:32
Label	Columbia
Producer	David Rubinson & Friends, Inc.
Santana chronology
Amigos (1976) Festivál (1977) Moonflower (1977)
Singles from Festivál
"Let the Children Play" Released: 1977 "Jugando" Released: 1977 "Verão Vermelho" Released: 1977

This was the band's second and last album with Leon Patillo on vocals, and the last full-studio album with longtime keyboardist Tom Coster. It also was the first one with percussionist Raul Rekow, who would remain with the band until 2013 (save for 1987–1990).

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Rolling Stone wrote: "Though this record is far stronger on the whole than Amigos, it lacks that album’s memorable chordal quirks and peaks of intensity, sometimes sounding like a prisoner of its own commercial aspirations."^[5]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Carnaval" (Tom Coster, Carlos Santana) – 2:15
2. "Let the Children Play" (Leon Patillo, Santana) – 3:28
3. "Jugando" (José Areas, Santana) – 2:12
4. "Give Me Love" (Pablo Téllez) – 4:29
5. "Verão Vermelho" (Nonato Buzar) – 5:00
6. "Let the Music Set You Free" (Coster, Patillo, David Rubinson, Santana) – 3:39

Side two

1. "Revelations" (Coster, Santana) – 4:37
2. "Reach Up" (Coster, Paul Jackson, Patillo, Santana) – 5:23
3. "The River" (Patillo, Santana) – 4:53
4. "Try a Little Harder" (Patillo) – 5:04
5. "María Caracóles" (Pello el Afrokán - credited "P. African") – 4:32

Personnel

• Oren Waters – vocals, background vocals
• Maxine Willard Waters – vocals, background vocals
• Francisco Zavala – vocals, background vocals
• Carlos Santana – guitar, bass, percussion, vocals, background vocals
• Leon Patillo – keyboards, percussion, piano, vocals, background vocals
• Tom Coster – keyboards, percussion, synthesizer, vocals
• Pablo Téllez – bass, percussion, vocals, background vocals
• Paul Jackson – bass
• Gaylord Birch – drums, percussion, tympani
• José "Chepitó" Areas – conga, percussion, timbales
• Raul Rekow – conga, percussion, background vocals
• Joel Badie – percussion, vocals, background vocals
• Julia Waters – background vocals

Production:

• Fred Catero – engineer
• David Rubinson – engineer, producer

Charts

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6]	25
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	9
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[8]	11
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9]	11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10]	15
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[11]	3
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12]	8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13]	37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	37
UK Albums (OCC)[15]	27
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[16]	27
US Soul LPs (Billboard)[16]	29

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[17]	Gold	100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[18]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)[19]	Gold	500,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.