eMusic Review
While their debut album, quickly recorded and released in the wake of their exhilarating performance at 1969's Woodstock festival, made San Francisco's Santana immediately stars, it was their fall 1970 follow-up Abraxas that truly showcased the group's impressive talents and expansive range. As evidenced by their searing hit version of Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green's "Black Magic Woman," Santana were highly adept at the kind of explosive psychedelic blues-rock associated with most of their colleagues from San Francisco's acid-dipped music scene of the late '60s. But under the guidance of their intense lead guitarist Carlos Santana, and with an eclectic lineup that included vocalist/keyboardist Gregg Rolie, bassist David Brown, and the powerhouse rhythm section of drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionists Mike Carabello and Chepito Areas, the band played with a global rather than just a NoCal musical perspective. Found here are such wide-angled tracks as the hit "Oye Como Va" (originally composed and recorded by East Coast salsa pioneer Tito Puente), the jazz-rock fusion instrumentals "Smaba Pa Ti" and "Incident At Neshabur" and the Rolie-written soul-rocker "Hope You're Feeling Better." It all adds up to a kaleidoscopic mix which, looking back, helped pave the way… read more »
