Ultimate Santana [Import]

Santana | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 22, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Arista Europe
• ASIN: B000V7B90M
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,495 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Ori Release '07. The first-ever career-spanning celebration of the artist and his music from the groundbreaking early years through the continually explosive Arista recordings. Includes the massive hits 'Smooth' 'Black Magic Woman' 'Evil Ways' 'Oye Como V

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Primarily for Latter-Day Fans, October 21, 2007

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Santana (Audio CD)

Imagine if Capitol Records put out an ULTIMATE BEATLES collection, but didn't include anything from A HARD DAY'S NIGHT through SGT PEPPER. That's what ULTIMATE SANTANA feels like. There are six tracks from their classic first three albums: SANTANA (1969), ABRAXAS (1970) and SANTANA III (1971). Then (except for "Europa" from 1976's AMIGOS), none of the remaining tracks date back any further than 1999's SUPERNATURAL. In fact, more than half of the tracks on this collection come from Santana's "comeback" period when the band released three star-studded albums including SUPERNATURAL, SHAMAN (2002) and ALL THAT I AM (2005).

Longtime fans will be better served by 1998's single-disc THE BEST OF SANTANA or 2002's double-disc THE ESSENTIAL SANTANA. This latest collection is principally targeted for Santana's latter-day fans. There are flashes of brilliance with the big name cameos ("Smooth," for example, was a huge hit for a reason--it's a damn good song), but overall they pale in comparison to the band's seminal Seventies' work. If you're interested in Santana's work over the past decade (but don't want to purchase their last three albums), this does a nice job of catching you up.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good--But Heavy on Recent Stuff, October 19, 2007

By 

R. Morris "Rob & Matt Morris" (Idaho Falls, ID USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Santana (Audio CD)

The new 'greatest' by Santana sounds outstanding--crystal-clear and pulsing with energy and sound. The standards are on here, and they sound great. However, I do not think this collection represents the best of Santana. There is too much of his newer (collaborative) material, and while I enjoy the new songs, they are not as strong as his early music. While this is ultimately a satisfying album, I would not consider it the definitive collection of the Great Carlos Santana's works.

Four stars. Good, not great.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For his recent fans - Very heavy on the later (i.e. - the "Featuring...") years, October 19, 2007

By 

B. Dobie "Who fan" (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Santana (Audio CD)

It is true that this Best Of... disc covers Santana's entire career, and it DOES cover Santana's music on Columbia and Arista, but don't be fooled by those ideas. It is VERY loaded with more recent Santana hits, with a few of his more classic songs thrown in for good measure.

Most of the songs are from the Supernatural era and beyond (1999-), so you are missing a great, great chunk of Santana's 60's - 80's music. For most of Santana's relatively new fans, this is a fine compliation of pop hits. More serious/long-term fans are probably better suited to hold onto their previously bought (one of many) compilation CDs.

The ULTIMATE collection? This is not. Santana needs a substantial double-CD covering everything: the 60's and 70's latin soul jams, the 80's pop stuff (yes, including "Winning"), while still including the Arista years. Wait for it.

All things considered, this is a fine compilation. The mastering is very clean and dynamic--it does sound great. Unfortunately, the track selection just misses the mark...