Customer Reviews

Santana's Greatest Hits

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The reason I give this album 1 star is not the compilation of music, which clearly deserves an easy 5 stars. But did anyone care to mention that almost every song is cut off or shortened? This album is 33 minutes long! Black Magic Woman ends at the beginning of the solo, Evil Ways is drastically shortened, as well as everything else. I wish I had known this before I wasted 18 dollars on this album. If this album had been complete, I would have praised it for everything it's worth, but in this case, it's worth absolutely nothing. Go buy the albums instead. Buying this album is like downloading 3/4 of every song and burning it onto an album. So if soundclips are what you're looking for, you might as well check out the clips here -trust me- the album is not much better.

Don't buy this album. Sure, it does contain some of Santana's greatest hits-- and I do love Santana's music-- but it's not the group's best collection album. I urge you to buy "The Best of Santana" (1998) instead. It has all the classics this disc contains, plus additional great hits from the later 70s and early 80s, plus much better sound quality on all tracks.

This release has been garnering five star ratings, but let's take a closer look at this package...

It only covers the period of prime Santana (3 albums). On that basis it should be an easy task to select the very best of that period. While it does have many terrific Santana classics (Evil Ways, Jingo, Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va, Se A Cabo, Persuasion) it manages to overlook Soul Sacrifice, and No One To Depend On. Meaning you're still going to end up buying two more albums to get the missing tracks.

So you now own three CDs to cover the prime period of Santana.

Wait a minute...why not buy the three albums, get remastered sound quality, full-length versions of all of the songs (Black Magic Woman with Gypsy Queen), and have bonus tracks to boot. You then can also own such tracks as Incident at Neshabur and Toussaint L'Overture (also missing). These three remastered CDs come in a slipcase box for a very reasonable price.

The single edits (Jingo, Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman), the mid-80's sound quality, and omitted tracks, make this an item that you should pass on.

Here's one of the reasons to avoid greatest hits/best of collections. These are some truly great tracks which have been savaged by some label-hired editor, who cuts large chunks off songs for no particular reason.

Everbody should own a copy of "Samba Pa Ti," by the way, one of the truly great guitar tracks, overflowing with delicacy and intensity. A truly erotic instrumental track.

One of the best guitar solos in rock, on "Black Magic Woman," can't be heard here though, because the studio hack whacked it off the version on this CD.

Buy the original albums and hear the real deal. Columbia blew it on this one.

If there's one thing I hate, it's when songs are cut short to be able to get played on the radio. Usually, the best part of the song gets cut. This album is no exception. An instrumental part of Black Magic Woman has been cut, and Gypsy Queen has been taken out completely. Jingo is about half as long, Evil Ways is cut short, and No One To Depend On isn't even here! Radio versions of songs suck, and should not be allowed on albums.
It is highly recommended that you get The Best of Santana vol. 1 and 2 instead of this. You'll get the real songs, not some shortened radio edit versions. And you'll also get the actuall best of Santana, not just the commercial successes.

One must realize before buying this CD, that the original music was released on LP in 1974 and it WAS his Greatest Hits for that time. But as you know, Santana has since propelled to the top of the charts again and again and again. These are studio versions of his early hits. And while they do sound great, nothing and I mean NOTHING compares to Santana live. Might I also suggest Santana Live in South America? Amazon.com sells it, and I think it gives his best performance of Black Magic Woman. As for this CD, the two biggest hits are Black Magic Woman and Evil Way's. But the rest of the CD is cool also. You are going to get that Latin sound. This is a combination of Head Music with Good Rock, great vocals and great rhythm mixed in. This is a CD to share with on a date, or just relax too.

To echo the sentiments of some of the other reviewers, this CD is a gyp. Many of the most important songs have been shortened. This might as well be a demo CD. I want my $8.97 back.

Santana Greatest Hits is an album that covers the basics of Santana's early career. Personally, shortened versions can be good if you get bored of guitar solos, but sometimes people want the original songs. "Jingo" "Evil Ways" and "Black Magic Woman" are all radio/shortened versions. If you are looking for the originals, you probably don't want this CD, if you are not looking for originals, you probably would like this one.

This album was realesed in 1974 and contains all the top hits like Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways etc. Yet the versions of some songs on here like Black Magic Woman are edited and have parts taken out to make the song, "radio freindly", not exactly my cup of tea. The album only lasts for 30 so minutes and is cheap little hits complimation thats not worth the 7.97. Go out and buy there first three albums instead of this stuff.

The original Columbia LP came out in 1974 and, with the advent of the CD age, the suits at Colombia naturally thought that the buying public, in order to satisfy their curiosity about the new format, would rush out to purchase equally-skimpy CDs. And they were right. At least until faced with competition from the likes of Rhino, Ace of London, Bear Family, Eric Records, Collectables, Collector's Choice, Jasmine, Disky, etc.

Within a few short years, these and other outlets, were giving us 20- to 30-track CDs AND with substantial liner notes to provide background information on the artist or artists concerned, as well as contents discographies, something entirely lacking in releases such as this one.

Such wimpy offerings should have been retired years ago, or expanded and re-released, and to expect anyone to pay the amount being asked when, for about $3.00 more you can get a multi-track compilation of most, if not all, of Santana's hits - well, maybe they should be trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.

Having said that, since it originally came out in 1974, it more or less fills the bill insofar as their greatest hits were TO THAT POINT. And it provides some of the B-sides as well. beginning with their first, late in 1969, when Jingo reached # 56 Billboard Pop Hot 100 b/w Persuasion. Next up was Evil Ways, a # 9 Hot 100 and # 19 Adult Contemporary (AC) early in 1970, but the album omitted its flipside, Waiting.

Their best hit until Smooth in 1999 [which was their only # 1] came next when the cover of the Fleetwood Mac album cut, Black Magic Woman, topped out at # 4 Hot 100 and # 29 AC in December 1970 b/w Hope You're Feeling Better, followed by Oye Como Va early in 1971 which reached # 11 AC/# 13 Hot 100 b/w Samba Pa Ti. That fall, Everbody's Everything hit the # 12 Hot 100 slot b/w Guajira.

So far so good. But whoever put this album together originally under the title "greatest hits" decided to throw in tracks 8 and 9, which were NOT among their greatest hits [they weren't even hits in that sense of the word for Santana or anyone else], instead of including either the missing B-sides mentioned or, perhaps, No One To Depend On, which made it to # 36 Hot 100 in April 1972. Of course, from that point on they would add another 14 hit singles up to, and including, the afore-mentioned Smooth which, incidentally, spent 12 weeks at # 1 Hot 100.

As other reviewers point out, avoid this - force them to either give it away at rock bottom prices or simply withdraw it from circulation. No R&R Hall of Fame inductee [1998] should have this kind of skimpy offering still circulating.