In Santana we trust

There is a lot of Santana music over the years on my list of things to revisit again when time permits.

Latin musical influences in popular US music seems to be on the rise in recent years and have heard a lot of fantastic related stuff. Santana is the classic rock pioneer of that form in particular over the years.

Great interview with him in the latest Rolling Stone...

i'm with raytheprinter--the spacier, more exploratory stuff like caravanserai and borboleta holds up a lot better than the poppier stuff that came before it or the increasingly forgettable stuff that came after. "welcome" is antoher goddun.

I agree that Caravanserai, Lotus and Abraxas are the Santana bands best recordings. Although not as musically intense several Santana recordings are severely overlooked...Marathon, Freedom, Spirits Dancing in the Flesh and Milagro. If your unfamiliar with these recordings don't let the critics determine there worth.

For me, the first record was great; a startling and original fusion of latin and rock music. Abraxas was half a step back, but still an interesting record. After that, other than Caravanserai - little of their music was of much interest to me. His playing often recalls Clapton to my ear, not always a bad thing, but probably a little too much for my taste in CS's case. When the music wanders toward straight pop, as so much of it has recently, there's just not enough in his playing to make me pay attention. As always, YMMV.