The series ‘Live by Request’ brings together a whole series of concerts for an American television channel. At the initiative of Tony Bennett, many artists have been on the stage of A&E Network, so you have artists like David Bowie, the Bee Gees, Elton John, B.B. King, Michael Bolton, James Taylor and now adding to the list is Carlos Santana. Carlos Santana and his musicians come together for this concert recorded on 18^th October 2002 at Sony Music Studios, NYC. No matter what, Carlos has energy to sell and this video has it all.

On stage, no less than 10 musicians accompany him, so you have a bassist, a 2nd guitarists, 2 singers, 2 brass players, 2 percussionists and a drummer. This concert is obviously truncated, since it lasts only 1h 08 minutes, and on the repertoire side, we are entitled to only 11 tracks, but that is enough to bowl you over as you watch this legend strum his guitar strings and gear up for the ultimate experience.

How could Santana still be making good music and sound so smooth after all these years...I do not know, but when I hear it, his music engulfs me and takes me back in time. We have the classics like Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman or the dispensable Europa, and finally 2 old pieces that the master rarely plays on stage Evil Ways and Soul Sacrifice, both from Carlos's debut album.

If you've followed his career, you see a definite evolution in his playing style. It is "not the same old stuff". He has amazing feel for the music, he knows when to turn up on his solos and when to temper it down. Listen closely, his solos are all different. He'll incorporate his unique styling licks, but it's not like the same solos played over and over again that you hear from so many other guitarists. So you move on to toppers with collaborators like Smooth featuring Rob Thomas as he slides into Dame Tu Amor, The Game of Love  with Michelle Branch, to the repetitive Maria, Maria with The Prodct G * B. There’s an incredible harmony between him and his highly talented keyboardist Chester Thompson. This Thompson guy is absolutely genius, and the two together consists the heart and soul of the band. Just listen to the organ improvising theme of Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman and Soul Sacrifice and you'll understand what I mean. No underestimation of other band members though, they are equally talented and prove their mettle.

This is just a small sample of his talents, the incredible guitarist that he is. This DVD gives you a very true look at what most Santana concerts are like (with the exception of the various guest performers). Concert videos are great in that, they show how well performers perform in real-time settings. Any garage band can make a video, but when you're in front of a live audience, that's a different story.

Good camera work, nice angles, good sound mixing and a very professional overall production makes this DVD a good pick. You wished there were more songs, maybe an additional half hour, but it was put together by A&E for TV, so there's time limits.

Guitarist would definitely know that Santana has crafted "his sound". No one else sounds like Carlos Santana, hearing just one sustained note, you can tell right away it's him.

This DVD is really an accurate look at what his concerts are like, smaller, more intimate, theatre venues as in "Santana, Live Request".

Run time: ‎ 1 hour and 13 minutes

Release date: ‎ 15^TH November, 2005

Studio: ‎ Sony Legacy

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira