Audio CD review:
Santana - Essential Santana

Santana - Essential Santana

Band: Santana Title: Essential Santana Rating: Release Date: 22 October, 2002 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Jingo 2: Evil Ways 3: Soul Sacrifice 4: Medley: Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen 5: Oye Como Va 6: Samba Pa Ti 7: Everybody's Everything 8: No One To Depend On 9: Toussaint L'Overture 10: Guajira 11: La Fuente Del Ritmo 12: In A Silent Way (Live) 13: Love, Devotion and Surrender 14: Mirage 15: Carnaval 16: Let The Children Play 17: Jugando 18: She's Not There 19: Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana) (Live) 20: Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile) 21: Stormy 22: Well All Right 23: Open Invitation 24: Aquamarine 25: You Know That I Love You 26: All I Ever Wanted 27: Winning 28: Hold On 29: Nowhere To Run 30: Say It Again 31: Veracruz 32: Blues For Salvador 33: The Healer (Featuring John Lee Hooker)

Editoral Review Yet none of those labels seem to capture the true musical essence of the mercurial, Mexican-born icon. Guitar hero, world-music pioneer, and Latin-rock superstar--Carlos Santana embodies them all on this 33-track double-disc anthology of the legend's first 20 years in music. Literally from the very beginning here (the furiously rhythmic 1969 reworking of Nigerian star Babatunde's Olatunji's "Jingo"), Santana cuts his own rewarding and peculiar swath across rock history, whether giving similar "Jingo" treatment to Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" or infusing the meat-and-potatoes R&B of "Everybody's Everything" with his emotional soloing. While that familiar, warm guitar tone adds compelling new dimensions to covers of staples like the Zombies' "She's Not There" and the Classics IV's "Stormy," as well as to the string of '80s hits also included here, it's the sense of spiritual freedom he gives tracks like Joe Zawinul's "In a Silent Way" and the gorgeous, understated "Europa" that seem his greatest legacy. And lest anyone thought the pop affectations of the Grammy-winning Supernatural a fluke, there are plenty of reminders in the set's second half (the joyous funk of "Vera Cruz," his bluesy duet with John Lee Hooker, "The Healer") to remind us that Santana's commercial timing has oft been as masterful as his fleet-fingered soloing. --Jerry McCulley .. You can see a complete list of all Santana discography, or go back to the Santana tabs