Product Description

ABRAXAS, the second album by the original (and arguably most powerful) Santana line-up, proved the band's commercial breakthrough. The album's contains two of the group's biggest hits, "Black Magic Woman", a slinky, smooth-edged interpretation of the song written by Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green, andtheir take on Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va", which injects Carlos Santana's stinging guitar leads into a surging salsa groove. The band's unique, genre-blurring approach makes thesesingles--and everything else here--unlike anything that hadbeen heard before.
The opener, "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts", showcases Carlos Santana's passionate, soulful six-string mastery over a drifting, psychedelic backdrop. The album ranges in feel, encompassing furiously propulsive jams ("Se A Cabo"), low-key Brazilian grooves ("Samba Para Ti"), andjazzy instrumentals ("Incident at Neshabur"). All the elements that made Santana's debut dazzling--roiling, polyrhythmic percussion, dense, pancultural influences, virtuoso guitarwork--are here--sharpened and painted with the rich, heady sound of late-'60s San Francisco (Santana was just as exploratory and innovative as their hometown cohorts the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane). ABRAXAS remains a seminal Latin-rock release, and one of the undisputed classics of the era.

Track Listing

1. Singing Winds
2. Crying Beasts
3. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
4. Oye Como Va
5. Incident At Neshabur
6. Se A Cabo
7. Mother's Daughter
8. Samba Pa Ti
9. Hope You're Feeling Better
10. El Nicoya
11. Se A Cabo (2)
12. Toussaint L'Overture
13. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen (2)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1824 in Music
• Released on: 1998-04-06
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Santana's 1970 follow-up to their Woodstock-propelled smash '69 debut found leader Carlos Santana further expanding his San Francisco group's already broad musical boundaries. To wit: two hit singles that emanated from opposite ends of the spectrum--"Black Magic Woman", originally written and recorded by English blues-rock guitarist Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac, and New York Latin percussionist/dance music king Tito Puente's infectious "Oye Como Va". Tying blues, rock, and salsa together in one pan-cultural package, Abraxas also featured such standout tracks as "Gypsy Queen", "Singing Winds", and "Crying Beasts". The latter two underscored the growing Eastern sensibilities of guitarist Santana. --Billy Altman

Customer Reviews

Abraxas
This is the first santana record I ever liked and bought in the 70s.The sound gets better each time you play this record and there is nobody(singer,band etc) to compare with this great santana line up which provided the world with this great gift of music.All songs are great song-wise and rock-wise and trust me when I say this is pure art!The true magic in this album and band is the unique combination of different types of music(afro music,latin american music and western rock music) all coming together as one blended in harmony under the stewardship of Carlos Santana producing an awe inspiring sound that has stood the test of time ."Mother's Daughter","Black magic Woman","samba pati" "Se Nkabo" are all timeless classics that Carlos himself has failed to beat to date.This ,without a doubt,is the greatest rock album ever.

Timeless Unsurpassable Gem
This one quite simply propelled Santana into superstardom, but also enhanced the so called Latin Rock, bringing it to the much wider audiences. I have 28 Santana albums in
my collection, and still see Abraxas as the very best Santana album to date. Get yourself a copy, it really is well worth it!

How I missed this
It's been a long time since someone stole my collection of vinyl and I have replaced most of it - now I have Santana Abraxas. The excellent Singing Winds and Crying Beasts starts off an absolute flood of joy. If you could plunge into music and live it this is it!!!! I'd forgotten how wonderful this album was. I can't get the music out of my head!!!!