Santana plays the ‘hits,’ just not always his

The logo for Santana’s Las Vegas shows promises “Greatest Hits Live” and doesn’t include an asterisk with fine print to say “Not necessarily his own.”

But offbeat covers seem to be the free-spirited guitarist’s latest means of tweaking his Las Vegas years. We’re talking about a cover of a cover — or is it a cover of a remake? — when the band surprises us with “A Place with No Name,” the Michael Jackson version of America’s “A Horse with No Name,” sifted from the Gloved One’s unreleased recordings.

And while we don’t hear dusty Santana hits such as “Winning,” we sure get “Tequila,” a certified No. 1 for The Champs in 1958. That party fave rings in the homestretch of an almost two-hour set — compact by Carlos Santana’s sprawling standards, but bumping up to the timbales and conga saturation point for the group-sales portion of the crowd.

(One of many great “This is Spinal Tap” quotes has the band manager denying his group’s popularity is waning: “I just think that their appeal is becoming more selective.” I would argue this is true of Santana, except when the Kitchen &Bath Industry Show is in town.)

Beyond the full-length covers, quotes spill from his magic guitar. Hard to miss that little riff of “My Favorite Things,” perhaps a nod to frequently cited Santana hero John Coltrane. But was that a little burst of “I’m A Man”? Out of “Tequila” burst the Temptations’ “Get Ready.” And I could swear that somewhere amid the congas emerged a lick of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner.”

And someone’s been watching the “Get On Up” movie. A funk strain runs through a few of the usual Latin jams and the two horn players step to the foreground to declare James Brown’s “Give It Up or Turnit A Loose.”

Santana is coming up on five years as a Las Vegas regular. He and his promoters have reached a compromise between endless jams and a rote, locked-down set of hits more akin to Elton John at Caesars Palace.

You know you’re going to get “Smooth” and “Maria Maria” from the milestone “Supernatural” album. And the 67-year-old guitarist is sure to serve up “Black Magic Woman” and at least one other classic from the original Santana band (this time it was “Oye Como Va”).

Lots of folks on this opening night at the “House of the Blues” (as he always calls it) were old enough to remember FM rock stations making their own hits of album cuts such as “Waiting” and “Soul Sacrifice.” Beyond that, what else are they going to put in an ad? “More timbales than any other Vegas show!”?

The blessing and the curse of a Santana set is that it all basically blends into one song anyway. Three drummer-percussionists guarantee the GA floor will stay in motion at the risk of sloshing expensive drinks.

Still, it all comes at you with few variations in the dynamics, and you realize singers Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay aren’t going to steal the thunder from the instrumentalists with their serviceable but routine vocals.

The real singer is Santana’s guitar. We are reminded throughout, but particularly on the rare time the rhythm slows down, such as the beginning of the emotive “Europa.” It’s like he is singing words to a song only he knows, but one we still like to hear.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.