Customer Reviews

Santana (1st Album)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first of three albums by the classic Santana lineup: Carlos Santana on guitar, Gregg Rolie on keyboards and vocals, Dave Brown on bass, Mike Shrieve on drums, and Jose Areas and Mike Carabello on percussion. The band shows a great improvement over the 1968 recordings at the Fillmore -- Carlos's playing is much more confident and inventive, the addition of Mike Shrieve loosens up the drumming, and Areas and Carabello bring out the Afro-Latin aspects of the music. At the same time, the band's sound is still strongly rooted in the blues (especially on "You Just Don't Care") and wouldn't fully achieve its potential until 1970's Abraxas. Nevertheless, many of the performances are absolute classics -- especially the fiery organ-guitar duel on "Waiting" and the explosive "Soul Sacrifice". Those familiar with Santana's radio hits will of course recognize "Evil Ways" and their chugging version of Olatunji's "Jingo", while the laid-back Latin groove of "Treat" provides a nice respite. And the bonus tracks, from the band's Woodstock performance, make this album even more essential: you get to hear exactly why the live performance of "Soul Sacrifice" blew away so many acid-drenched listeners at the festival. It's still speaker-frying 32 years later. If you like the stinging guitar and swirling organ of early Santana, their debut is a must-buy.

The Santana Debut.
A brilliant combination of Rock, Latin and African influence.
I have owned this album first on vinyl and later on CD. Over 35 years now and songs like Evil way and Soul Sacrifice sound as fresh as new.
3 Santana albums are a necessity for any collector
Santana
Abraxas
Santana III

These are the basic and best of many other great titles Carlos Santana released in all these years.
Well recommended.

Before SUPERNATURAL and SHAMEN, SANTANA released their debut album back in 1969. Even back then, this band was mixing rock, blues, and Afro-Latin music together into something magical. This album starts off with the instrumental WAITING which is a kicking tune and then jumps into the classic EVIL WAYS. SHADES OF TIME is another good song that you need to listen to. SAVOR and JINGO are two great jam tunes that show off how much talent this band has. The songs just wail with emotion and feeling. I also highly recommend that you listen to PERSUASION, TREAT and dont forget to listen to SOUL SACRIFICE. This album also has 3 live bonus tracks that were recorded at Woodstock. Listen to the songs and see why SANTANA is a band that deserves all that it can get

More than 35 years after its initial release, Santana's first album still remains fresh and relevant.
Latin rhythms, rock and blues all merge together to form Santana's unique sound.
This "30th Anniversary Edition" has been digitally remastered and sounds great.
The icing on the cake is the three bonus tracks from Santana's electrifying Woodstock performance, a performance that shot the band into national prominence and deservedly so.
The original Santana band lineup was to go on to make 2 more excellent albums (Abraxas and III) before parting ways but neither of them, nor the albums that followed with other musicians, capture the raw energy of the group the way this first album did.

Check through the Amazon.com reviews and see how the "classic" 60's rock & jazz albums fare - dozens, occasionally hundreds of reviews. So, here we are faced with Santana's first, quite brilliant album with, as I write, a total of 7 reviews... 7 !... why ?...

With tracks from Santana's recent "Supernatural" album receiving blanket international radio coverage, this record - which provides the template for "Smooth" and virtually all other "latin rock" dance music over the past 30 years - is in desperate need of some more serious interest. Okay, it's less sophisticated but it's infused throughout with marvellous songs and highly enthusiastic playing, and... it contains two of the most infectious dance tracks ever made: I defy anyone to put "Jin-go-la-ba" or "Soul Sacrifice" on their CD player and not get an immediate, positive reaction regardless of age or musical preference.

Good enough credentials on their own to justify its inclusion on any list of essential 60's albums. But there's more... because this is also an important record! Not only did it catapult one of the world's most distinctive guitarists onto the international stage but it re-asserted the value of "good-time" dance music - the essence of rock & roll - at a time when folk based introspection and heavy rock bombast were threatening to take over. Playing tracks from this album, Santana's massive success at Woodstock proved that generating simple "let your hair down" enjoyment was still an essential ingredient in "progressive" rock.

As such, this album fully justifies "classic" status and a great deal more recognition - it'll also give you many hours/years of fun!

In the musical candy store that was 1969 America, this Album stood apart. Th mature style and tight-knit fabric of the band was and is pleasingly apparent! Carlos, young, energetic and still a few years before he became so spiritual (and boring) was in his prime . Santana rips through the listener on "soul sacrafice", becoming a true "guitar hero" to the fans of that day. Todays rockers should take heed and perhaps try to inject their own music with such brilliant, uncluttered, straight-from-the-guts riffs of CARLOS,CARLOS!

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.

I grew up listening to this album and it has quite honesly had a major influence on my musical tastes since.
The cuban beats and raw guitar sound is simply un-matchable, totaly unique to Santana, but for me, its the beautiful and free form Hammond Organ sound of Gregg Rollie. He is the reason that I learnt to play the Hammond. Although he is not as "classically trained" as some and not quite a "virtuoso" he is, to me the best.
My personal favorite track is Soul Sacrafice. This is the one made famous by their mad performance at Woodstock. On the album it is just as raw and has just the same feel as that Woodstock performance.
And the track Savor is superb, the congas and timbales are so fast and precise.
If you are into Latino Rock or any rock come to that, then you must own a copy of this album.
Also get Abraxas and Santana 3. They are also to the same high standard and just as raw. Santana at their best.

This is one of those albums where every song is great. When this group burst on the scene Latin influences had not yet made an impact on rock music, but this recording changed all that. From the searing riffs on "Soul Sacrifice" "Evil Ways" to the pounding rymthms of "Jingo" ( borrowed from African purcussionist Olatunji) this album is nothing short of spectacular. This band loved performing and pleasing their audiences. I saw them in the fall of 69 and they're still the only band I've ever seen who performed a song twice (Jingo)because the crowd asked them to. That energy and love of their audience comes through loud and clear on this record. Buy it now!

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.