Santana

You may not have ever heard any of these songs on the radio but this is Carlos Santana at his absolute best. Disc one is with vocals, disc two is all instrumental. Disc two has some of the most beautiful guitar work I have EVER heard. The songs span Santanas entire career and have all been released previously but the songs play like they were made to go together. If you like Santana at all, just buy this.

"Multi-Dimensional Warrior" is Carlos Santana's picks of his greatest hits encompassing his years at Columbia Records, Arista, and Legacy. It's a fascinating compilation, with styles ranging from blues rock to psychedelic to easy listening. Santana had the enviable task of exploring the archives, and this collection is perfect for the beginner. It's double the pleasure with the first CD having vocals,and the second CD having instrumentals.

Carlos Santana's family emigrated from Jalisco, Mexico, to the San Francisco Bay Area. It was there that Santana listened to Jerry Garcia play the guitar, and that inspired him. With hits like "Oye como va" and "Black Magic Woman", Santana made his mark on pop music and Latin rock.

"Multi-Dimensional Warrior" has well-known songs like "Samba pa ti" and "Europa",but most of the songs haven't hit the airwaves. They are lesser known gems. The opening song, "Let there be light",blends Eastern sounds with gospel. "Spirit" ends with an African chant honoring Nelson Mandela. "Saja/Right On" is pure psychedelic rock. "Right Now","Life is for Living","Somewhere in Heaven" and "Praise" are inspirational,uplifting songs.

On the second CD,the opening song "Curacion (Sunlight on the Water)" sounds like smooth jazz. There's the lilting "Bella" and "Full Moon." There are Mexican flavors,like a spicy mole,in "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor","El Farol" and "Luz, Amor Y Vida."

"Multi-Dimensional Warrior" is an essential for any world music collection. Carlos Santana rocks!

Carlos Santana is proving on this album that how diverse he can be on this two disc set. The first disc is full of new material and standards, while the second disc are instrumental tracks. Carlos Santana proves he is that talented on "The Multi-Dimensional Warrior."

I have to agree with the first writer.This is a bland collection of songs that you'll forget.I bring out the older albums to forget this dismal effort.I am a huge Santana fan but this album was putting me to sleep.Two discs Two times the torture.Better things are coming folks but not here.

This is not Carlos with Michelle Branch and Lord help me Bo Bice,this is Carlos crying from the depths of his soul.This is Carlos the Spiritual Guide who has taken us on many twists and turns throughout his career.I know a lot of people call this too mellow and laid back, but the quality of these hand picked tracks and the order they are placed puts a lot of the lesser known tracks in a new light.I would suggest listening from beginning to end without skipping any of the tracks and taking in the ride,both musical and spiritual.This compilation shows us again why Carlos Santana is a musical genius and when he's not shooting for the charts, shows he can not only move the ears, but also the heart and soul. God Bless You Carlos,and I hope you release more original music in this vein in the near future.

Been a fan since the late 60's. I find his solos hypnotic. This CD is very diverse with many artists complimenting the one original. Very nice.

I am somewhat new to Carlos Santana, introduced to him years ago with Smooth and promptly forgotten. I find this CD to be a wonderful compilation of his work. I know little about Carlos Santana's previous albums or his personal life but I still am amazed by his guitar solos, featured guest singers, and the general feelings of his songs.

This is a wonderful of Santana's best songs. They are all different and fun to listen to. Great for playing at parties or just jamming in your car on the way to work or on a trip.

I couldn't live without the Shamanic Energy of the Beloved Carlos! It's Great to have old and new favorites on one CD. If Into the Night doesn't make every Firey Goddess get up and dance nothing will. Hearing the Game of Love with the mature throatyness of Tina is a nice change.

YUK! I just recently started downloading mp3s and really screwed up when I bought this thinking it would be the Carlos Santana music I knew in the 60s. What else would "Ulitmate Santana" mean? Instead most of the album is just Santana accompanying some bozo singing stupid disco type songs. My bad. Remember, when it says "featuring so-and-so" it usually means you better like so-and-so and not care too much about who the titled performer is.

First off, Supernatural is not *just* a Santana record. It's more of a mix between Santana, his band, his collaborators and sometimes the producers. It's really a great sounding record all around, and despite it's mainstream trappings, I found pretty much all the songs good (not awesome or great, mind you). I'll tackle the album in it's two different faces: The more traditional (though this one is far from the traditional Latin music it seems) songs (give or take), or the less traditional, latin-pop songs.

Santana and his band of percussion instruments, horns, keyboards, the works are probably the best, and Carlos Santana makes his guitar sing and never wastes a note. The very first note on (Da Le) Yaleo hits you like a refreshing drink of water, enough to make you say ahhhhh. The band is tight and well arranged, and Santana and his band swing effortlesly between moods and styles. The grooves are greatly dominant here, with all of them percussion creating an infectious grooves. The sound samples aren't lying. Listening to this will take you to the shores, sunsets, wherever the music is from =). Good stuff, and stay tuned for the The Calling, with Eric Clapton!

The more poppy songs are, weaker obviously, but still, actually pretty _______ good. The two really bad ones are Put Your Lights On (everlast sucks), and Do you Like The Way (Lauryn Hill can't rap, or compose worth a ______). Unlike other crappy pop music with a fake Latin shtick of the time (ricky martin), there is actual Latin in it and actually pretty much is Latin, only with poppy vocals and rhythms, and a slightly poppier tone (but still has the unmistakenable latin roots, and sounds very latin).

Each of the guest vocalists do great, and often write their own material. The two most infamous tracks I actually dig, being Smooth and Love of My Life (and I really, on a whole, despise Matchbox 20 and that yuppie poon rob thomas). Maria Maria is the weakest on here, but it's pleasant and doesn't bug the crap out of me. Plus, the instrumentation is rather beautiful. Corazon Espinado is just as dancable as Smooth. Wishing It Was has good music, good enough to ignore the absolutely banal lyrics. Supernatural has a great collection of pop songs, while not excellent, really are darn good.

If you like this, you might also want to listen to Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos. I think they go together quite well and both sound great, though this one is more lush, while the other is just plain better. If not, well, this album is still worth a purchase if you haven't. Well, don't be scared because of Rob Thomas or Dave Matthews. There's plenty to be had without them.

8/10

This work is Santana at his best. His collaboration with other artists adds to both making an explosion of talent. An audio treat best listened to at night when the imagination can fire up and see his work.

Brilliant.

Susan

I was really looking forward to receiving this disc. Although I think he wails for a little too long in some of his solos, I have to admit Santana is one talented musician.

I won't go into each song individually as some reviewers have done here. I personally believe you already know the songs you're getting when you're buying in this format... perhaps you own the CD / have heard the songs before, and you want to hear it in a new light.

Well, overall the songs are great. They really are. Santana brought in great talent to accompany him, and I do NOT see it as a sell-out album, like some people have said here. True, this makes this album more "poppish" than previous works, but there are still many tracks that are true to his old style.

That said, I was expecting a little more from this DVD surround mix. The sound quality itself is great - something we demand from these type of discs. And you DO get the sense that you're being enveloped by sound better than the CD. But it's the mixing itself seems like it was lazily done. The rear channels weren't utilized for much more than accentuating the occasional piano track or reverb.

Would I still recommend this disc? Yes, I would. Would I recommend this format? I would, solely based on the fact that it sounds cleaner and crisper than the audio CD version. Just know that the "surround" that's being advertised is more from reverb than anything else.

Carlos Santana is a legend in the truest sense of the word . I am someone who listened to him in the sixties & am so pleased to see he is still going strong & appealing to a newer audience. More power to him !!!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3EOWQS8YXPR2C I've been a Santana fan since Woodstock but not through thick and thin, so I wasn't current when this album came out, but it really caught my ear and I like almost everything on it. It's one of my favorite albums overall. Santana from several eras is great for jumping rope to.

I bought the compilation for"No One to Depend On" snd found every cut worth while. The drumming is awesome and Greg Rolle(later of Journey) is great on the early tracks keyboards. This is the best of an iconic classic rock artist.

Great collection of Santana classics. My one quibble is that I would have preferred the live version of "Soul Sacrifice" from Woodstock. That was an absolutely electric performance!

carlos santana is the king of latin rock and has been for 40 years now and this is his best,leaning heavely on his early years (as it should) you get all his best tracks from black magic woman to the searing souls sacrifice. this is great rock from start to finish,it does have a few great tracks missing like Toussaint L'Overture and Guajira but these can be found on vol 2. so if your looking for some santana this is what your looking for.highly reccomended

Santana my favorite guitar man, with his especial and unique style of sound, he is the only one exists.

This is a great album to get yourself started on Santana, its also a great way to listen to his stuff if you aren't that familiar with any of his older songs or just wanna listen to some great classic rock. I knew about the bigger hits like Oye como va and Black magic women but didn't know his other songs except for the new stuff which I'm not particularly a big fan of, his music is great latin flavored rock music with excellent beats and rhythms. This album has great songs like Black magic woman, Oye como va, Jin go la ba (best song ever!), Souls sacrifice and Samba pa ti. The only problem is that its missing a few more great songs like Guajira, Para los rumbereros and Love devotion and surrender I thought why did they do this since it is a best of album. My friend actually has a better compilation cd called Santana:- The ultimate collection which comes in two cds but this album is still good and cheap and the only one I could find at the cd store at the time. You can also get the best of vol.2 along with this album which is available on Amazon which I highly recommend cause Santana had some more great songs that seem to be missing from this cd.

I borrowed this disc from my sister to see if it was worth laying out a premium for it in the aftermarket. Buyer beware...this is a poor production. The bass is almost non-existent. The highs are overblown and the mix unto itself is bizarre. If you want to pay a premium for an audiophile version of Abraxas then treat yourself to the stereo SACD. It's really ashame as this would have been great album in 5.1 if done properly.

Santana-Abraxas ****1/2

When some people think of the Gibson SG guitar they think of Angus Young of AC/DC or Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath or sometimes even Pete Townsend of The Who, and while all of those are great guitarists, None of them was able to make that baby cry like Carlos Santana was on the groups first two albums. Weaving his guitar lines through hit singles like their reading of the (original) Fleetwood Macs 'Black Magic Women' and 'Oye Como Va' for the mainstream to hear that the guitar could be played more than just one way....with passion.

Passion is what fueled Abraxas, the passion to make a better album than their first. This certainly did become a bigger album, and even to this day is the bands signature release, and while I myself am partial to the debut, I must give this the recognition it deserves.

Songs like the Aretha Franklin meets Miles Davis 'Incident At Nesbar' and the rocking 'Hope Your Feeling Better' are straight up rockers. The former contains a fantastic organ solo from Rolie, and the latter has amazing production and a catchy chorus, not to mention some amazing wha-wha pedal work from Carlos. The Carlos original 'Samba Pa Ti' transcends beauty with power to create one of the most sublime recordings in all of rock, rivaled only by his own 'Europa' which would come a few albums later. 'Se A Cabo' 'Mothers Daughter' and 'El Nicoya' show the percussion of the band as heard on the debut, and that is my only complaint with Abraxas is that the Latin and African rhythm has almost all but disappeared.

Santana set out to make a great rock n' roll record with Abraxas and ultimately that is what they did. I loved the debut because of it's variety and instrumental prowess into multiple genres and worldly music, some of that was lost here, but this still remains a great rock album, and one of the all time best in fact.

Now some releases of Abraxas come with three bonus tracks. 'Se A Cabo' and 'Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen' are both here live recorded at The Royal Albert Hall in 1970, but 'Toussaint L'Overture' is also included live from that same show, and it is one hell of a performance. So if you have the choice of either the original version or with the bonus tracks go for the extra as it costs the same and is way worth it.

This is a review of the sound quality of the latest MoFi remastering of this album, NOT a review of the merit or stature of Abraxas (we already know it is classic).

Having had several iterations of this album over the years, most recently the last Sony remaster, this MoFi blows everything else away. Incredible clarity, great 3-dimensional imaging... it's hard to believe that after all these years, Sony hasn't been able to get so much musical information out of the mastertape for their previous releases of Abraxas and that MoFi just did. I should note that the earlier MoFi release of this paled in comparison. It was surpassed by the last remastering of Abraxas that Sony did, BUT it was state of the art at time of release, and that's been many, many years ago... FIVE STARS!!!

If you think to spent your money on this DTS, save it.
If you already have it and think that it sounds good, please send me your recommendations in order that I can hear it to.
It's the worst mix of the century.

I have always loved Santana's earlier work. I'm purchasing this in CD because I want to have it forever. Those who rate this album negatively probably weren't even alive when Santana recorded it. Ignore the negatives. This is one that shouldn't be missed!

This was another favorite of mine from my childhood, my older brother had it, and I used to listen to it over and over, as he tried to teach me how to play Black Magic Woman on the six string acoustic.

The thing about this album is it is so different from anything else, not only in the fusion of Latin-jazz-funk into the rock, but mostly for the introduction to the "voice" of Santana's guitar. There are a few vocalist, who you can easily identify within a bar of any song, but there are also a few musicians, and most notably, Carlos Santana, whom you can easily identify with a bar of instrumental. Amazing collection of artist, with an amazing collection of songs and Carlos Santana makes this one of the very best albums of the late '60s.

So here's the deal, for those of you that remember, if you don't currently have a copy of this great album, well, you know you should! And.. for those of you too young to have heard this entire album, you really owe it to yourself to see what it is all about. You won't regret it.

Santana *****

Fresh off the success of their stint at the historic Woodstock, Santana, the last of the San Francisco bands to emerge at the end of the 1960's recorded this, their fantastic self-titled debut album. Over the years Santana would have brilliance in his albums, much like Blues For Salvador which would be amazing had it not been for the production, or Supernatural which jump started his career again but was a lack luster album. Well this was not the case with the first four Santana albums, especially this one, as it is truly the groups best.

Featuring the talented Gregg Rolie on the keys/organ and on most of the vocals. Many can take or leave his vocals and lyrics while I love them. 'Shades Of Time' can be pretentious at times, especially the title, but overall it is a good instrumental track with some good vocals. 'Persuasion' and 'You Just Don't Care' can be summed the same. 'Evil Ways' while it was the big hit on the album, really has never been heard until you've heard it in album form. And while it is a cover, the group makes it their own.

But for me what makes Santana the groups best effort is the instrumental factor. The over all instrumentation on the album is more or less breathtaking. 'Treat' is melt in your mouth good, and 'Waiting' sets the pace for what the band would do in the next decade. 'Savor' is almost haunting the way Carlos' guitar and Rolies organ intertwined. 'Jingo' reminds me why I play the guitar every time I hear it, and 'Soul Sacrifice' could speak for itself but I must say that it is with out competition the very best thing the group ever recorded. It is a testament to what made early Santana records so great, the fact that they could cram an amazing jam into a short few minutes.

Santana brought something new to the table with their blending of jazz, rock, African, Spanish, and blues to make one of the most original sounds in all of rock. Mike Shrieve would go down as one of rocks most underrated drummers as would the percussion section of Jose Areas and Mike Carabello.

Santana is one of those rare rock albums that is not just a mere rock album, but more of a solid piece of music playing out as one long, never boring piece of music with many parts, much like Miles Davis' Porgy And Bess.

With some versions of Santana three bonus tracks are included from their set at Woodstock. A fiery run at 'Savor,' and maybe the most breathtaking version of 'Soul Sacrifice' you'll ever hear, as well as a semi-rare 'Fried Neckbones' which is always a good listen. With or without the bonus tracks, Santana's debut album is a must have for an musical collection.

I was in High School when this album came out and remember hearing it for the first time at a friend's party. I had never heard anything like it before. The 3 song sequence of 'Shades of Time-Savor-Jingo' just blew me away especially when 'Savor' faded out as 'Jingo' faded in with the dark and brooding drum sequence first and then Santana's piercing guitar. I only got the remastered CD of this recently and forgot how many really good songs are on here - some that you can't get on the greatest hits CD's. Notable are 'Waiting' and 'Treat' and the already mentioned 3 song set. So, added with the classics of 'Evil Ways' and 'Soul Sacrifice' there are at least 7 great songs out of the original 9-song set. And the other 2 are very good.

Unlike most of the other reviewers, I'm not a huge fan of 'Soul Sacrifice' - don't get me wrong I like it, but it's just not a song I'd listen to over and over.

Highly recommended. I think ABRAXAS is a little better but this first LP was so raw, so amazingly dark for 1969, that it should be in any Santana fan's collection (just for 'Treat' alone). The remastering is excellent and the bonus tracks are a good addition. I'm glad to have the nearly 12 minute Woodstock version of 'Soul Sacrifice' for history's sake but the 7 minute studio version is long enough for me!

Hard to believe this LP came out the same year as Led Zep I & II, The Who's TOMMY,Crosby, Stills and Nash's first, the Beatles ABBEY ROAD, CCR's BAYOU COUNTRY, WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS and GREEN RIVER, Dylan's NASHVILLE SKYLINE and the Stones LET IT BLEED. Wow, what a year.

With this album, Santana ignited the stages materializing a dreamy project that previously had nestled in the minds of Tito Puente and Carl Tjader, which was to blend with supreme perfection an old desire, the best of the Latin music, the seductive African rhythm and enrooting with basic principles of the jazz; the result was an album whose resonance has widely overcome the test of time to become since the days of its immediate classic. Since the first time I listened it, I perceived it by intuition, so after thirty seven years elapsed, this recording has wrought its own landmark and enviable place among the famous status of cult recordings.

Wow! I remember hearing Santana when I was in high school. A fellow freshman played Treat on the piano for me one day and I was blown away. Then later I saw the band play in the movie Woodstock and I was mesmerized by the fantastic latin grooves and Carlos Santanta's blistering guitar, not to mention the teenage drum prodigy of Michael Shrieve. This is Carlos Santana at his very best without stooping to enlisting the latest brand name pop stars of the period. Viva La Santana - Ciao

First bought this album early 70's when first release on cassette, then had my car stolen and lost forever....now why I decide to buy again..maybe living in Spain and chillin I dont know but WHAT A CLASS ALBUM..its over 30 years old but absolutely magnificent...we've all heard the usual quality songs from Carlos but all these tracks aren't on his "best of" which makes it even better for me.....jazz blues awesome licks...truly memorable.....

Jazz ideas had already been creeping into Santana's music on tracks like "Incident at Neshabur" and "Toussaint L'Overture", but Caravanserai boldly moved deep into jazz-rock territory. The upbeat and catchy Latin rock of the band's first 3 albums was replaced by a more meditative, abstract and instrumentally-focused style influenced by Miles Davis's early electric bands and Chick Corea's Return to Forever.

Most of the band's original members are still here (Gregg Rolie, Mike Shrieve, Chepito Areas) but their roles have changed dramatically. Mike Shrieve suddenly steps up in the compositional department and his drumming really improves. Check out his Elvin Jones-isms on "Waves Within". Gregg Rolie sticks to keyboards (lots of electric piano) and the remaining vocals are pleasantly inconsequential. Guests make a big difference -- Tom Rutley's acoustic bass is a nice touch on many of the tunes, and future keyboardist Tom Coster makes his first appearance on a Santana album. Carlos and Neil Schon play off each other really well. The tunes range all over the map, from the epic "Every Step of the Way" (the guitar riff that ends the intro is awesome) to serious funk ("Look Up") to percussion duets ("Future Primitive").

The influence of Latin music is still here in a big way with the gentle Jobim cover "Stone Flower" and the grooving instrumental "La Fuente del Ritmo", but people expecting the Classic Santana will be disappointed. Nevertheless this is one of Santana's best albums, right up there with Abraxas; whereas their later jazz-rock efforts were often mixed bags, it works here in a big way.

[This review is based on the original CD version, which has an identical tracklist; I would assume the 2003 reissue has better sound.]

I can understand why some people thought this was where Santana fell apart as a group; I mean after all they were looking for the next "Evil Ways", or "Black Magic Woman". However, this was the answer Santana wanted to give to the changing world around them. It did cause Gregg Rolie, and Neal Schon to depart, and form Journey, but in a way it caused Carlos to mature as a musician. Side 1 of this is a perfect album side right from "Eternal Caravans of Recreation" To "All The Love In The Universe". "Eternal" is a thing of beauty right from the get go of the crickets chirping to the music that would bring it out to the end. I grew up listening to my grandparents record collection in which there was alot of precussion music, and hearing "Eternal" reminded me of this, "Waves Within" is a underwater dream, "Look Up" is a remainder of the early incarnation of Santana, "Just In Time" is another remainder, "Song Of The Wind" is peace like a river, "All The Love" is a fusion classic, as well as the song that ends the album on side 2 which is "Every Step Of The Way". It does fall apart a bit on "Future Primative", and "La Fuente Del Ritmo", but they're both o.k., the weakest song on here is "Stone Flower". Santana would break the mold, and in the same stroke reinvent Latin Rock with this. Unfortunately, the critics weren't open minded enough to catch on. Like I said I can understand why some say this is where Santana fell apart as a group, but then again those who left the group had another path to follow, and weren't open to what Carlos was wanting to say.

It's not given much credit, but In a Silent Way was a downright revolutionary album, in a way more influential than Bitches Brew. So what does that have to do with Santana? I am convinced it was Carlos' chief influence when he went in the studio to record this one. Sure, the Davis influence was always clear in Santana's music, but it always took a back chair to that of Jimi Hendrix and Tito Puente. But here, it dominates: this is a jazz record through and through, and one that obviously wasn't too successful, seeing that it contained no obvious singles. But I don't mind that. I mean, "Open Invitation" was an obvious single, wasn't it? This is one of Santana's finest achievements, partially because it's just him exploring whatever territory he wants to, rather than just giving the people what they want. And partially because the arrangements are varied enough to keep you interested ("Look Up" is funky; "Just in Time to See the Sun" is a pretty good fusion track), the two lengthy suites are ambitious and worthwhile, filled with enough changes, riffs, and paradigm shifts to keep your attention (the Hendrixian funk meets progressive Latin-jazz fused with Yes-like harmonies "All the Love of the Universe", with some sweet organ playing; "Every Step of the Way", which especially recalls Miles in its lengthy, shimmering intro), Santana's playing is often beautiful ("Song of the Wind"), and if you get bored with all that, the percussive, propulsive "La Fuente Del Ritmo" should wake you up.. Some of it does step into Drabtopia, like the Bitches Brew-esque "Future Primitive" and the Latin folk "Stone Flower". But those form a small minority, making this a Santana essential.

Man has always used music to help him journey to places outside of himself.

Using techniques as varied as shamanic drumming to Tibetan throat singing, realms of reality beyond the confines of our material reality have been accessible for tens of thousands of years.

Save for a few exceptional people, Western man lost his ability to see behind the shadows of reality around the time René Descartes said "I think, therefore I am" when materialistic dualism and scientific rationalism were born.

Yet, while music in Western culture has seldom sought to re-capture the transcendental vibrational essence of more primitive times, I've been fortunate to discover a few moments of recorded music over the years that truly touched my soul.

So it is with "Caravanserai". The first track, "Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation", and the last track, "Every Step of the Way", come about as close as I've ever experienced to a sense of true ecstacy.

When I first heard this seminal album in its pristine vinyl state way back in the early 70's, I was just at the beginning of a adult life; a life that held a sense of adventure and happiness promised to the Baby Boom generation by parents whose own lives were colored by Depression and War.

Now, some thirty-five years later, I've reached late middle age and many of those youthful promises have faded or disappeared altogether for my fellow "Boomers" and myself.

Then I heard a brief excerpt from this album and immediately ordered the CD. When I first listened to it, I was disappointed that the musical fluidity that had marked the album had been chopped up into individual tracks for the CD.

Still, the joy I felt listening to the two tracks above was what I wanted to rediscover, and the sense of creative joy that bubbled up and was expressed through the artists on those tracks once again delightfully sent me on those caravan dreams; just as they did so very long ago.

This is an excellent DVD audio - the surround sound is just fantastic and the music is just great - a real pleasure to listen to. I have played this DVD audio over and over again since the moment I got it almost a month ago. Recommended! PS - everyone compares it to Supernatural. I have that too on DVD audio but find it a bit more boring than Shaman! Shaman has a wide variety styles that I find very attractive. I am an old Santana fan too - have been listening to his albums for about 25 years now - and I can tell you older albums can be less interesting than Shaman, which, by comparison, I find very fresh and innovative.

I've always loved the sound of Santana's guitar. Moonflower is always on my ready-to-play stack. But this CD and Supernatural, while enjoyable confections, are not really inspiring. The most annoying aspect is the insertion of Santana's name in the lyrics of both albums. There's something sadly narcissistic about that, and annoyingly self-aggrandizing. There are nice hooks on this CD, and it's a convenient way to be introduced to artists with whom one is unfamiliar. It's not unpleasant to listen to in the background. That being said, there's little here that will outlast the playlists of corporate radio stations with ADHD.

I've only been a Santana fan since 2001, and my introduction started with Supernatural, which really set the bar high for my expectations of him. From what I've been able to see so far, Santana took a different direction with his music by incorporating more commercial American artists into his collaborations, which wasn't a bad idea in my opinion, as long as its done moderately. With Shaman, it seems that he takes the colabos to the extreme, with a guest on damn near every song on the CD. Now, some of the tracks were done very well and the chemistry between Santana and the gust produced a great product, but some of them weren't all that.

Good songs:
You Are My Kind - Seal made a great choice for vocals on this, and as usual Santana ripped up the guitar.

Nothing At All - Another good vocal choice, but Musiq tends to do good work period. The song is actually quite bangin, and coincidentally, my favorite on the CD.

Why Dont You & I - Don't know much about Chad Kroeger, but this ballad-esque is quite catchy. This is a good example of that chemistry i mentioned before.

Bad Songs:

Amore (Sexo) - Macy Gray has never really impressed me, and she continues to disappoint on this track. Sad thing is that the instrumental is hot and could have done well by itself, or at least with a more capable singer.

The Game Of Love - This is probably THE most pop-ish song I've ever heard Santana do, much to do with the fact that Michelle Branch is probably one of the most pop-ish singers in the genre. This song might work for some people, just not me personally. I actually tried to like it cuz it has potential, but really it all comes down to your tastes, and its just too sappy for me.

America - P.O.D. and Santana.. interesting colabo, but not enough to get me liking it. It was an OK, but its another song you gotta have the right taste for. This is more for a fan of P.O.D. then for a Santana lover.

The rest of the songs on here fall somewhere in between good and bad, but I say make your own distinctions. Overall, good album, worth the price you'd probably find it for in the used CD store.

This cd has a lot of good songs with the proffesional touch that santana knows perfectly. One review says that the latin song Foo Foo is too long. I can tell this person does not know anything about latin music because salsa's songs used to be really long in '70. Therefore, Foo Foo is an excellent production.

I have been a Santana fan for many years going back to the 60's and Carlos has never failed to come through on every album he has made, and Shaman is no exception. His Latin rhythms are evident in just about every song, no matter who the featured artist is. This is recommended for anybody who appreciates the greatest guitarist of all time.

I think that small amount of reviewers who gave this one star were on drugs........BAD drugs!!! I'm a drummer and while Buddy Miles may have not been Buddy Rich he certainly didn't deserve to be called a "bad drummer." And I'm a real sucker for a Hammond B-3 organ.....the very first note I heard of it and I was hooked. And the jams? INCREDIBLE!!! I was in high school when this album was recorded and wish I had been as fortunate as several of the reviewers were to see in person. Bad reviewers get the wax out of your ears.......you're not hearing properly!

Self-indulgence and over-indulgence go hand-in-hand with this poorly recorded relic "Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!" Hearing this recording again recently, I winced at how bad it sounds. In truth, this one was never a favorite of mine, and now the meandering, pointless jamming, slipshod playing, and all-around poor quality of the recording render it a relic.

Perhaps the musicians enjoyed cranking out some tunes inside a dormant volcano while enjoying some of nature's finest highs, but the novelty does not translate to a pleasant experience for the listener in any setting. I would grant it two stars for historical value but hope I never actually have to listen to this sprawling mess again.

There seem to be all sorts of urban legends surrounding this 1972 Top Ten album from Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles. Some people claim that the concert never took place, which seems unlikely since Santana and Miles toured together extensively in late 1971 and early 1972. Others suggest that Carlos played little on the disc, and while I respect the six-string talents of Neal Schon (who legend also says turned down an invitation from Eric Clapton to flesh out Derek and the Dominos to play with Santana's band, and who built a great reputation for himself as lead guitarist for Journey), there are numerous guitar runs on 'Live!' that have S-A-N-T-A-N-A written all over them. I think many of the myth-makers are deluded by the overly-engineered master tapes. It was common practice in the early seventies to modulate the amplitude of the crowd noise, as is evident on programs such as ABC-TV's 'In Concert' late night program, and this seems to be what was done with 'Live!'. While it sounds hokey at times, that doesn't mean the performances didn't happen.

Perhaps also lending to the controversy is the liner notes listing the recording date as "January 0, 1972", a non-existant date, suggesting the concert never happened. But the concert actually took place in Hawaii, in the center of the Diamond Head volcanic crater, on January 1, 1972 during the 'Sunshine '72 Festival'. Supporting that fact is a collage of about fourteen photographs from the concert itself. I can see Carlos playing guitar in several of them, and there's a number of Hawaiian-looking people standing around as well. That's proof enough for me. I guess this one doesn't rise to the level of the McCartney death hoax!

Fortunately, the music does rise to the occasion. I first acquired a copy of this disc as one of my 12 "free" records when I joined the Columbia Record Club. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but in 1972 most people were convinced you couldn't go wrong with Carlos Santana, and I was one of them. I wasn't disappointed. While it may take a little time and a few listens for the 25 minute plus 'Free Form Funkafide Filth' to grow on you... it does. I'm not sure how 'free form' this filth is (it's credited to Miles, Santana, drummer Gregg Errico, and bassist Ron Johnson), but it manages to hit a funk groove on several occasions and passes the ample running time (especially for a vinyl disc) admirably.

The real gem, however, is side one. While the track listing lists five seperate tracks, tracks one and two ('Marbles' and 'Lava') and tracks four and five ('Faith Interlude' and Mile's best known composition, 'Them Changes') segue seamlessly into one another, creating a musical suite. Only an upbeat, horn augmented version of 'Evil Ways' stands alone, almost as a centerpiece. All of these tracks, save 'Faith Interlude', which is perfectly titled given it's bouyant strains, are funky tomes of dynamite. Robert Hogins on organ and Coke Escovedo on timbales, along with a trio of conga players, do yoeman's work keeping up with Santana, Schon, and Miles. Over the years these tracks have merged in my mind, and belong together as one piece of work every bit as much as the flip side of the original vinyl disc.

This is at least the third time this disc has been reissued, having been remastered in 1994 and reissued in 2005. The pressed copies of the 2005 release must have gone quickly, explaining the need for this 2008 reissue. Sadly, no additional tracks have ever been added to any of the reissues, suggesting that no additional quality recordings from the concert exist. That's a little hard to believe, but what else could explain it? If additional material comparable to what is being offered here is ever released, criminal negligence charges should be levied against Bob Irwin, the "Reissue Producer", for keeping it under wraps for so long. Regardless, your classic rock collection isn't complete without this one.

If you don't own this, I'll tell you now- buy it! This is perhaps the ultimate jam album (I'm not kidding) and its at single album price! Recorded in an extinct Hawaiian volcano it is as mind-blowing as the concert site. One of my best friends' brother-in-laws was stationed at Pearl Harbor in '72 and was actually at this show- he still can't quite describe it- you get the idea.
I've seen Santana near 30 times live (including once with Buddy Miles in the mid-80s) but none of it touches what he does on this recording. The accompanying brass and flutes on this record take the sound to a whole other level and Carlos plays with a fury that is unmatched on his other stuff- which I own all of. Absolutely not to be missed!
Best,
Rick D

This was the first album I traded in way back when. I just played it on a streaming service to see if I was wrong. I wasn't.

Pointless riffing, overdrawn song endings, endless repetition, meandering instrumentals, too much inter-song crap (including 3 minutes of band tuning at the start of "Free Form"). Songs don't really resolve, they just end when everyone gets tired of playing.

There are much better versions of "Evil Ways" out there; this one is OK, but seems rushed and I'm not that fond of Miles' howling throughout.

I truly don't get the 5-star reviews of this. I've never been that stoned, including when I bought this new. If "Hey man, lets get together and jam." is your thing, then maybe you'll dig this. I don't.

Oh yeah, it's miked badly too.

I bought the first Santana and Abraxis albums back in the early 1970s and although I was aware of the third album, I never picked up on it. Here all this time later, hearing all of it in its entirety, I rank it one of the best of all his albums. This album sounds more like a jam, there's a lot of energy. It's not entirely different from the earlier albums but more loose and with wonderful guitar solos and interesting percussion. It is a classic album: a little dated-sounding but I love listening to it.

Ahem....

It was a long day.

Things seemed so hard, so solid, so impenetrable.

My center got moved.

Nothing grooved.

Everything seemed gray.

I came home to an empty dwelling.

I needed some de-spelling to break the hypnosis that fell over my christlightlike gnosis.

Santa III seems to ignite the soul from dreams of alienation/seperation/devastation
moves everything back into place...
aligns every whole atom
with holy inner space ...
helps me see clearly the spirit behind the face...
breaks off the fragile case cover of a cosmic lover...
and as I penetrate the goddess womb and free the seed
of wisdom creation from the tomb of procrastination

I remember in a infinite instant
why I go through such things...such pains...

To remember Thy Source.
To remember my Eternal Force
which this musical collaboration drives in deep
and awakens me from original sleep
so my innocence can take down defenses
that surround my flesh tree
and free the inner beginner me.

Grateful blessings to you, Santana III

Peace & Blessings, cats...
john

Santana's third album is pretty fantastic. Let me take that back- *consistently* fantastic. I really had no problem with any of the songs. I didn't think any of them were a few minutes overlong, and I certainly didn't think any of the tracks were filler-ish. After the album had ended, I felt like I had just gone through the biggest roller coaster ride of my life (and I'm afraid of roller coasters!)

Compared to Abraxas and Caravanserai, the latin percussion beats that made Santana so legendary and famous are *extremely* loud, heavy and nonstop on their third album. I wasn't expecting to hear an album with so much energy and a nonstop partying atmosphere but that's exactly what the album is. This is totally a hard rock/jam rock album with the volume turned up a few notches higher than usual. I wasn't bored at all. There's also a fairly frequent amount of vocal work, too. Always played with melody, and a feeling of total outdoor freedom. I can just picture myself dancing the night away to this wonderful music.

The guitar playing, the heavy amounts of percussion and latin rhythms, the sparkling production... this is one album all rock and roll fans must have in their collection!

Okay, this album rocks, and is my second-favorite of Santana's albums, behind the mighty Abraxas. But some of it kinda sucks, which is why I only give four stars, rather than five.
First the good news: No One to Depend On is a masterpiece. You know, take a bit of metal, a bit of blues, a bit of Latin, even a bit of the whacky psychedelia from the first album. Add the organ groove and Santana's signature guitar soloing away. What could be better, you ask? That bit in the bridge where they switch between English and Spanish. ("I ain't GOT no one - tengo anadie... that I can de-PEND on - tengo anadie..." is that not supremely cool?) This ain't a one-song album, though. I mean, how can a Santana fan NOT love the dramatic near-instrumental Touissant L'Overture? Santana's Santana on that song (it goes without saying he can outplay pretty much everyone), and there's those nonstop riffs he trades with Neil Schon and the polyrhythmic attack... yeah. Of course, Santana hasn't abandoned salsa, so if you liked Oye Como Va, you'll probably love Guajira. That sax solo's a nice touch, too. Jungle Strut is fusion mania, but in a good way. There's also Everybody's Everything, easily the funkiest thing Santana ever did, with a huge horn section - it's fun and catchy indeed, and Schon's wah-wah is killer, but the lyrics arie the usual pseudo-spiritual mumbo-jumbo that made up most of Santana's lyrics at that point. But come on, do you listen to Santana because you want to hear him babble about how the King and Queen of Soul are gonna come around or whatever the hell it is he's going on about this time? No. You listen to him because he's an unbeatable guitarist, plain and simple. Everything's Coming Our Way was a hit too, but I could've done without it - more of those dumb lyrics, and it sounds like Santana's doing The Byrds... nothing wrong with The Byrds, but it sounds out-of-place from Santana. The instrumentals Batuka, Taboo and Para Los Rumberos only confirm this one's status as #2. But the best of this is as good as (if not better than) the Abraxas classics, so you can't go wrong with this.

I never get tired of this album. The band is as tight as can be and they sound like they are loving every second of it. Santana plays from the bottom of his toes -- every note is earned. After listening to this, if you aren't grinning like an idiot, you must not like music.