Customer Reviews

Santana 3

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Based upon the liner notes from the Best of Santana, Carlos was dissappointed with the recording of this record. Totally mind-boggling. This CD is just loaded with memorable moments. Even the song-writing was improving. Both Everything Is Comming Our Way and Taboo feature some subtle hooks and soulful vocals from Greg Rollie. Not too mention some smokin' guitar solos from Carlos and Neal Schon. And what about the wah wah infected solo on Everybody's Everything? Definitely one of my all time favorite guitar solos. Tower of Power contributes nicely here as well. Guajrina offers a nice divergence from the usual heavy handed stylings. Gotta love the trumpet solo. Heck almost everything on here is spectacular. Some may get a little tired of the excessive percussion beats. Those who don't care for excessive isntrumentals may pass as well. However, this is Santana at its best and I would certainly rate this at least on the level of Abraxas if not slightly better.

For those of you who listened to "Shaman" and threw it away either have this album or have heard all the songs on it. This is the Santana that we all know and love. The best of all of Santana's releases (there are some good ones too)and probably the most energetic. I could listen to this album a thousand times and not tire of it. It is Santana in top form.
DIG IT!!!

If you really want to hear a master guitar player who defined a style in top form this is the album to buy. His gripping and powerful ("weepingly melodic") style is both exciting and beautiful at the same time. Neal Schon is not half bad either. Taboo is positively thrilling as is the incredible interplay between the two guitar players on Toussaint L'Overture. The band are superb too and the wonderful latin rhythyms are a joy to listen too. This is my favorite Santana album (beating out Abraxus). Any fan of great guitar needs this album. For those who yearn a quieter more middle of the road Santana, then this may be all too much.

I'm a huge Santana fan, and this one is perhaps my favourite. It has all the rythm and magic guitar-playing that early Santana is all about, but has catchy tunes as well. In my opinion, this is better than the debut and Ibraxas. THIS is the real Santana, not the overly commercial Supernatural.

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.

I bought this in 1970, the day I turned 13. I'd heard some Santana because my Spanish teacher would play some earlier (and slightly mellower) Santana in class (in a small town in Indiana). Having never heard anything like it, it took time to grow into, but man, it is a wicked piece of work and one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. Just listen to the rhythm guitar bits and other rhythm section work as you also take in the extraordinary guitar solos ("Taboo," for example). Not to mention the polyrhythms (as in the hand-clapping juxtaposed with the call-and-response guitars in "No One to Depend On"). I consider much of the album a masterpiece -- especially the first three cuts! You HAVE TO listen to this!

Originally, I first heard this on a vinyl album, back in the 70's. I was blown away immediately. This is by far not only the finest Santana album ever released, it is also a listening experience that makes you want to hear it again and again. I just got the disc, after not hearing this album for about 30 years. What can I say? It is the ultimate musical experience with a unique combination of Latino, African, rock and jazz sounds, percussion played with amazing energy, combined with Carlos's wailing guitar...My daughter and I chose this album for our number one album for driving music, and believe me, that means it rates way up there on our list! We listen to it almost everyday, the disc will probably wear thin soon!
This album should be a must-buy in any serious rock-jazz-world music lover's collection.

Santana III is the followup to their best selling Abraxas and like that album would go to #1 on the Billboard album charts. While this album is heavy on the percussion and Carlos Santana's guitar work remains outstanding, it's a darker album which takes numerous listens to fully appreciate. This would also be the last album recorded by their classic or "Woodstock" lineup and it hints at the jazz-fusion they'd perform on their excellent Caravanserai album.

Everything here is very good as the band continues to grow musically even if the songs aren't as immediate as those on Santana or Abraxas. The biggest hit here is the upbeat "Everybody's Everything" which features accompaniment from the Tower Of Power horn section and a sizzling guitar solo from future Journey guitarist Neal Schon. "Toussaint L' Overture" is one of their best tracks ever and is one of their finest mixes of intensity and their Latin percussion sound. The minor hit "No One To Depend On" is an excellent mid-tempo track similar to their hit "Oyo Come Va" only stronger with its jam during the solo. The instrumentals "Batuka" and "Jungle Strut" are both outstanding and clearly point to their future fusion direction. The laid back "Guajira" with its piano hook and the intense "Para Los Rumberos" are both solid Latin-tinged tracks. The moody "Taboo" is also an outstanding track which builds in power until its sudden end. "Everything's Coming Our Way" is very good and could've been a hit since it's a little more radio friendly than "No One To Depend On." The remastered version contains 3 bonus tracks from a 1971 performance at the Fillmore West. While the live versions of "Batuka" and "Jungle Strut" are solid and vary little from the studio versions, it's the previously unreleased "Gumbo" that is the best and rivals the strongest studio tracks on the album. An excellent album, newcomers may want to pick up Abraxas or Santana I first, since this is a less commercial offering. However, this is among their best work and grows on you over time.

This, the third release by Santana is different from the previous three. No less energetic, equally vibrant it features a then 19 year old Neal Schon on guitar, Luis Gasca on trumpet (on one cut) and the Tower of Power horn section. There is much to like about this recording. It contains the fire that was present in the previous recording as well as the latin and percussive elements. In this one the sound opens up and expands. What was hinted at in such cuts as "Incident at Neshabur", "Singing Winds and Crying Beasts" in Abraxas is once again reinterate and expanded on in "Batuka", "Jungle Strut" and the albums tour de force, "Toussaint L'Overture". "Toussaint L'Overture" alone is worth the price of the recording. A three movement piece which builds to an intense guitar-organ-guitar climax with Mike Shrieve propelling the band along at a blistering pace. Schon and Santana trade guitar lines. They are fiery throughout. The surprise of the recording is "Taboo" which is hauntingly captivating. Greg Rolie does a great job on this piece. It has a real midnight feel to it with equal elements of rock and fusion. Dave Brown's bass line is a key element to this piece. "Tower of Power gained a great deal of exposure at the time because of "Everybody's Everything" which is high energy piece and a departure from the known Santana sound. This one has aged well. This was one of his best recordings. It hinted at Carlos' many influences. It wasn't just a rock album.

Arguably, Santana's best overall album, this third selection from what is fondly called "the original band" covers all the bases - catchy hooks, instrumental workouts, and, of course, that trademark rhythm section pushing every selection into sonic overdrive.

For the first time, Carlos Santana gives another guitarist (Neal Schon) an important role on an album, and the results are spectacular. It's as if the competition pushes CS to achieve heights previously unreached. Just listen to the opening track - the guitars literally crackle with energy, and just when you think it's time to take a breath, the band slides directly into the second song without a break - the incendiary, "No One To Depend On", which still stops conversation in the car anytime it pops up on a classic rock station.

Surprisingly spare of vocals(count the number of selections that have little or no singing at all), it changes styles and tempo constantly. And, this is the album that made CS a guitar god. While he had certainly achieved a name for himself by 1971, the jaw-dropping style perfected by this time is still apparent today. Check out the use of wah-wah pedal on "Everybody's Everything"; is anyone besides Hendrix or Cream - era Clapton even in the ballpark with Mr. Santana on this specialized technique?

Santana (III) was the ultimate achievement of Santana's musical goals before an almost completely new direction was sought during the balance of the 70's. It still stands today as a landmark in instrumental rock.