Santana (1st LP) CD

Also available in a 3-pack with ABRAXAS and SANTANA (3rd LP).
Santana: Carlos Santana (vocals, guitar); Greg Rolie (vocals, piano, organ); Dave Brown (bass); Mike Shrieve (drums); Jose Chepito Areas (timbales, congas, percussion); Mike Carabello (congas, percussion).
Reissue producer: Bob Irwin.
Recorded at Pacific Recording, San Mateo, California in May 1969 and live at The Woodstock Festival, Bethel, New York on August 16, 1969.
Includes liner notes by Ben Fong-Torres.
Santana: Carlos Santana (guitar, vocals); Greg Rolie (piano, organ, vocals); Dave Brown (bass); Michael Shrieve (drums); Jose Chepito Areas (timbales, congas, percussion); Mike Carabello (congas, percussion).
Additional personnel: Tower Of Power (horns); Coke Escovedo.
This is part of Columbia/Legacy's Master Sound series.
Personnel: Carlos Santana (vocals, guitar); Gregg Rolie (vocals, organ); Michael Shrieve (drums); José Chepitó Areas (congas, timbales, percussion); Mike Carabello (congas, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Vic Anesini.
Recording information: Pacific Recording, San Mateo, CA (05/??/1969-08/16/1969); Woodstock Festival (05/??/1969-08/16/1969).
Photographer: Jim Marshall .
Carlos Santana was originally in his own wing of the Latin Rock Hall of Fame, neither playing Afro-Cuban with rock guitar, as did Malo, nor flavoring mainstream rock with percussion, as did Chicago. His first record, as with the best fusion, created something a little different than just a mixture -- a new style that, surprisingly, remains all his own. Granted that Latin music has seeped into the mainstream since, but why aren't Van Halen and Metallica listening to this? Where they simmer, Santana boils over. ~ Carl Hoyt
Before the arrival of Carlos Santana's eponymous band, the San Francisco rock scene drew the inspiration for its jam-oriented music mainly from blues, rock, and Eastern modalities. Santana added Latin music to the mix, forever changing the course of rock & roll history. On Santana's groundbreaking debut album, the group mixes Latin percussion with driving rock grooves. Santana's unique guitar style, alternately biting and liquid, vies with the multiple percussionists for the sonic focus.
Unlike later efforts, Santana's first album features an abundance of loose collective compositions based on a couple of simple riffs ("Jingo," "Soul Sacrifice"). This approach allows for Santana and his bandmates to flex their improvisational muscles to fine effect. The high energy level on SANTANA is infectious--the laid-back feel of other '60s S.F. groups was clearly not for Carlos and company.
Released in 1969, Santana's first album shot the group from local San Francisco band status to a worldwide forum. Included are the group's first hits ("Evil Ways" and "Soul Sacrifice") and others that combine Latin grooves with a rock sensibility. [The remastered CD also adds three bonus tracks recorded live at Woodstock in 1969, "Savor," "Soul Sacrifice," and "Fried Neckbones."] ~ Cub KodaRolling Stone (12/11/03, p.131) - Ranked #150 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "[The album] combined Latin rhythms with jazz-inspired improvisation, hard-rock guitar and lyrical, B.B. King-style blues..."
Rolling Stone (3/2/00, p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...thrilling....This is music with ambition, soul and absolute conviction - every moment played straight from the heart."
Rolling Stone (No. 966, p.65) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A] nonstop thirty-seven-minute rhythmic onslaught..."
Q (5/00, p.131) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Genuinely fresh, fierce stuff even the dead-legged Woodstock generation couldn't ignore..."
Uncut (p.135) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[S]omething vital and fresh that's still enthralling today."
Musician (7/98, pp.86-88) - "...Sony Legacy's sonic wizards have made...[Santana's] first three albums reappear, each appended with additional live recordings....epochal works...an explosive fusion of Hispanic-edged rock, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and interstellar improvisation..."