New Santana Album "Africa Speaks"

I can’t speak for the compression-phobes, but the reason some don’t like the record has nothing to do with audiophile ignorance or any other audiophile concern.  

Agreed.  I will too.  Good attitude.

Come now, the OP did ask “What do you think?”. What do I think?

I like Santana. Soulful guitar player with a distinctive sound even if, as a soloist, he strikes me as a bit of a one trick pony. I like some of his “citizen of the world” musical conceptualizations, but some of these don’t quite work for me and they strike me as both a little forced and a little “lite”. I agree with Chazro, and his Buika clip is a good example of something that pushes a lot of the same buttons conceptually; but, for me, is more successful.

Thanks for posting, OP; always good to keep up with certain artists whose latest efforts I would not have heard otherwise.

Especially when they attempt musical analysis and philosophize about musical matters in incoherent ways; then, go on to focus on the after-the-fact “compression” of the music which is a production value and ultimately has little to do with the artistic merit of the artist’s message.  Don’t think I would enjoy this recording the same way, but I enjoyed “Abraxas” on my Ford Capri’s crappy radio more times than I can remember.

OK.

Incoherent because, FOR ME, the problems with that Santana recording are not the compression. That is not what makes the music, FOR ME, much less successful than recordings such as “Abraxas”. Sure, it would sound better if it had not been compressed so much....a little. But, it would still lack memorable melodies and the excitement of “Abraxas” which was the result of its place in time. And, it would still have Santana guitar solos which, TO ME, have sounded too similar for quite some time....been there, done that, kind of vibe. I like some of his “musician of the universe” vibe infused music, but I just don’t think that this music works all that well.

The net level of dynamic compression that is the result of listening to an uncompressed recording in most car radio environments and the resulting negative impact on the music are, in my experience, no less than that experienced when listening to a more compressed recording on a high end system. That is not the make or break aspect of the total listening experience for me.

To answer your second question, sorry to answer it with another question: So, are you suggesting that you don’t get the “artist’s message” listening to a great tune while listening on your car radio where the net level of dynamic compression is also high?