Sorry about the thread title if you feel that it belittles all the great tributes to Prince's music after his passing. There were so many good ones.

I was just personally very taken by Carlos Santana and his band doing "Last December" so soon after Prince died. It's not the easiest song of Prince's to perform, with the "prog" influences and all. That he would choose to perform "Last December" just proved that Santana knew what Prince was about as a person.

Let's hear it for Carlos. Thank you.

Good point! while others were doing Purple Rain.. Carlos Santana did a song which reflected where Prince's heart and mind was at in his life before he passed.. it was a beautiful cover for the time they had to learn it.. Also "Last December" was actually the first song I played when I heard of Prince's passing..

[Edited 6/15/16 17:40pm]

I will never forget the ONA tour one night in Washington D.C. after attending a soundcheck and concert when, after the show ended, people started leaving since the lights came on. A few minutes passed and the lights came back off and Carlos walked out and jammed with Prince for another 15 minutes or so. Half the audience had left.

I was so grateful that he put some thought into his tribute and didn't play the obvious songs. Shows that he cared enough about Prince's work to pay attention.

I liked Santana's approach. First, yes, it wasn't a typical song or an overly familiar one (my guess is that most people in the audience didn't know it)--had a spiritual vibe that worked for both artists but was spiritual in a vague enough way that it would work for both artists--and it was open enough formally (and non-iconic, though good) that Santana could be Santana without it sounding weird, which is what sinks so many of these tributes artistically (well, Prince was probably being a bit Santana on the original, to be honest). I understand people picking the familiar tunes, even though I know many of them know deep cuts--they want theaudience to share in the tribute moment, to feel the emotional pull, and a familiar song encourages that. But for me, as a Prince fan who has heard quite enough Purple Rain covers for awhile (and I never really cared for Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, so... generally I'm not wild about most takes on that one either, which is what most other people seem to pick), this one stood out. It felt far more like a natural part of a Santana show, as something that happened for musical reasons rather than a sense of obligation or a staged moment.

Dolphinking23 said:

Good point! while others were doing Purple Rain.. Carlos Santana did a song which reflected where Prince's heart and mind was at in his life before he passed.. it was a beautiful cover for the time they had to learn it.. Also "Last December" was actually the first song I played when I heard of Prince's passing..

[Edited 6/15/16 17:40pm]

You have made me dig the song out too, amazing - I have neglected that album and its about time I showed it some love

Carlos is an amazing soul, not to mention a great guitartist too.

Carlos really embodies spiritual transformation - I found the tribute to be doubly heartbreaking because Prince never found the anchor Carlos found in Cindy.... and I so wished he would have. Carlos definitely showed his deep respect and love for Prince with this tribute - its been the best so far imo.

terrig said:

Carlos really embodies spiritual transformation - I found the tribute to be doubly heartbreaking because Prince never found the anchor Carlos found in Cindy.... and I so wished he would have. Carlos definitely showed his deep respect and love for Prince with this tribute - its been the best so far imo.

same for me

terrig said:

Carlos really embodies spiritual transformation - I found the tribute to be doubly heartbreaking because Prince never found the anchor Carlos found in Cindy.... and I so wished he would have. Carlos definitely showed his deep respect and love for Prince with this tribute - its been the best so far imo.

I did love it...and the choice of Last December was so nice. What an emotional song. The singers did a fantastic job. It was funny, he called it the "last september' However, I heard somewhere that Carlos and Cindy both loved that song.

Imagine...imagine if they ever did it together...

Definitely one of the more thoughtful tributes.