Carlos Santana was in peak form at his Las Vegas concert. (Jack Boland, QMI Agency file photo)

LAS VEGAS - It might not have been Supernatural. But it was definitely surreal.

To bang the drum for the new classic-rock covers CD Guitar Heaven (in stores and online Sept. 21), platinum-selling Woodstock icon Carlos Santana and golden-eared music mogul Clive Davis pulled out all the stops on Wednesday. They flew a few dozen reporters from around the globe into Sin City's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to listen to some of Guitar Heaven, meet and greet the musicians and makers, enjoy a little wining and dining, catch Santana and some of his Guitar Heaven contributors in concert -- and generally savour the sort of old-school PR razzle-dazzle that used to be the norm when show biz still put on a show.

"I'm here to reaffirm what a label can provide," boldly asserted the 78-year-old Davis, currently chief creative officer with Sony Music. "This talk you hear about how things are going to change -- that musicians are going to release albums online -- it just ain't so."

Not as long as he's running the show, anyway. And this one was quite a show. QMI was the only Canadian media chain with access to the whole red-carpeted, open-barred, celebrity-peppered affair. Here's the play-by-play:

THE RED CARPET (3 p.m.)

I have stood on some red carpets in my day. But few of them a) Took place in a casino; b) Were held for a CD listening party; c) Began before 3 p.m. But what the hey. After less than 24 hours in Vegas, I'm already tired of gambling. So here I wait, plastic Santana laminate around my neck, dutifully standing shoulder to shoulder with a guy from Rolling Stone, awaiting the arrival of some celebs. It is, to be diplomatic, an odd turnout. One of the first to arrive is Terry Fator, a ventriloquist who won Season 2 of America's Got Talent and now headlines at a local casino. Because after all, nothing says rock 'n' roll like puppets. Also in the starting lineup: Basketball hall of famer Bill Walton. Again, not quite sure why. Thankfully, it gets better. George Harrison's widow Olivia stops to talk about how Santana's revamp of How My Guitar Gently Weeps made her "jump for joy and cry at the same time." Mary Wilson of The Supremes pops by to say she's here because Carlos is an old friend. Guest vocalists India.Arie and Gavin Rossdale make the walk, the latter swooping past print and radio reporters while ignoring requests for a chat. (I resist the meanspirited urge to ask him where wife Gwen Stefani is -- and if she gave him enough bus fare home.) Thankfully, affable AmIdol alum Chris Daughtry is more than happy to spill a few beans about his collaboration. Asked whether he felt pressure to work with Santana, he says no -- because he "never met him until yesterday." Turns out he and the guitarist cut their parts of Def Leppard's '80s hit Photograph completely separately. They plan to remedy that situation later when they play the song live. "Hopefully I'll remember the words," he quips. "I certainly don't have Joe Elliott's range, but I'll do what I can." Finally, the men of the hour arrive. Davis, dapperly dressed as always, explains that Guitar Heaven is his attempt to "celebrate the original rock 'n' roll instrument ... and who better to do it than Carlos Santana?" For the 63-year-old guitarist, it was more a matter of trust -- in the form of his faith in Davis. "Trust leads to thrust," Santana explains in his typically trippy way. But I take his point: After all, their teamwork on Supernatural ending up moving 28 million CDs, making the 1999 release one of the top-selling albums in history and helping it win a shelf of Grammy Awards. Can't argue with that.

THE LISTENING PARTY (4 p.m.)

Inside the black, studded confines of the HRH's Vanity Nightclub -- black and studded is the theme for much of the hotel -- scores of media and invited guests belly up to the buffet and the open bar. Full disclosure: I have a beer but pass on the miniburgers and canapes. Then we sit down in front of a stage equipped with a podium and video screens. It looks like some sort of sales presentation -- and it is. With Santana's name spelled out in lights above, Davis hosts an hour-long Guitar Hero pitch. He spends a few minutes recalling his early days with Santana ("He was the third or fourth artist I signed"). He recalls how they reunited for Supernatural ("He told me it was time to reconnect the molecules"). And he admits that initially, the guitarist wasn't crazy about recording an album of classic-rock hits ("He didn't jump up and down. He said, 'I'll think about it' ... I called him three months later. 'I'm still thinking,' he said). Guess that whole trust thing tipped the scales. Davis plays eight cuts from Guitar Heaven -- including covers of Zep's Whole Lotta Love (sung by Chris Cornell), AC/DC's Back in Black (featuring rapper Nas), and Van Halen's Dance the Night Away (co-starring Train's Pat Monahan). While the tracks are generally faithful to the originals, most are revamped with Santana's usual Latin grooves and heavy percussion -- plus his distinctive solos, of course. While the recordings play, Santana -- seated three rows in front of me -- bobs his head, his fingers occasionally moving to his licks. Yep, even Santana air-guitars to Santana songs! Davis, despite his age, is on stage for the duration, telling stories to introduce each cut, rocking out the podium and even busting a few moves to the Van Halen tune. After thanking the assorted participants and rallying the Sony troops, he brings Santana to the mic. The guitarist makes a few rambling comments -- he starts with the trust line again, then reminisces about missing The Beatles' last show at Candlestick Park because he was a poor dishwasher, which leads into an explanation of how seeing B.B. King and The Grateful Dead inspired him to give up dishes for music, which prompts him to thank God, and then weigh in on the difference between God and Godzilla (told you he was trippy). After a while, he finally works his way around to Guitar Heaven: "It was created and conceived by love and with love," he says, adding he imagined Michael Jackson dancing to the songs. Then there's more stuff about how music reminds us of the forgotten song inside all of us, and how the greatest miracle you can create is your own happiness, but first you have to get out of your own way. Sheesh. On the plus side, we know that if the whole music thing doesn't work out for Santana, he's all set for a career as a self-help guru.

THE CONCERT (8 p.m.)

A Santana show at HRH's concert venue The Joint isn't normally that special: The guitarist and his 10-piece band have played the 4,000-capacity room several dozen times since kicking off an intermittent residency there in the spring of 2009. But this gig does have its benefits -- plenty of Guitar Heaven material and guests. After the band opens the show -- officially titled Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits -- with a quick trip through Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va, Maria Maria and a couple of others, India.Arie comes out to sing While My Guitar Gently Weeps (and throw in some graceful dance moves). Even better, she sticks around to deliver a soulful version of Billie Holiday's God Bless the Child. A bit later, Daughtry emerges for Photograph -- and manages to remember the words. But it's pretty-boy Rossdale who brings down the house (and lights up every woman in the crowd) with a full-throttle delivery of T. Rex's Bang a Gong (Get it On). He also hangs around for another number: A groovy version of The Zombie's She's Not There that isn't on Guitar Heaven but should be. Maybe it's a B-side. Or perhaps Carlos is already planning Vol. 2. (Either way, apologies for that bus fare crack before, Gavin.) The hits don't stop there: Santana's vocalists sub for Scott Weiland on The Stones' Can't You Hear Me Knockin', stand in for Chester Bennington on The Doors' Riders on the Storm, and take over for Rob Thomas on Cream's Sunshine of Your Love. The rest of the two-hour show is a return trip to Santana's catalog, with high-energy versions of everything from Soul Sacrifice and Evil Ways to Smooth and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. Speaking of supreme, Santana himself is in peak form. Comfortably dressed in gray T-shirt, snapbrim hat, aviator shades and loose jeans, he strolls around the stage as casually as Miles Davis in the '70s -- but smiling a whole lot more. And no wonder: He unleashes one incredible solo after another, filling the room with screaming high notes, volcanic licks and supple runs that make it clear even though he's covering other players' tunes tonight, he's not playing second fiddle to anyone. Bottom line: Dude rocks way harder live than on record -- and way harder than some players half his age. And while his slick, slightly generic band does seem perfectly suited for a Vegas stage, Santana is hardly dumbing it down for the hicks from the sticks. After two songs, he makes a joke about joints that leads to a little pro-pot speech; later he comes out against the Iraq War; then he launches into one of his typical freewheeling monologues about how "fear is on all the channels" but we're all made of "love and light" and how ironic it is that he's bringing something real to the land of illusion and ... oh, I don't know. After a few of those speeches, they all start to sound the same. No matter how heavenly the rest of the gig might be.

darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca