An incredible guitar hero who has been a source of inspiration for hordes of other incredible guitar heroes, Carlos Santana’s musical range is as wide as it gets. Starting out in Latin rock and funk bands that could almost be described as psychedelic, the Mexican musician has now masterfully fused psychedelic rock and hot funk together and released music under his own name. Accompanied by his brilliant band, he unexpectedly achieved enormous success at Woodstock festival. On this second album, released in September 1970 on CBS records, his sound is multifaceted, contributing to the jazz-rock/jazz-fusion movement that was starting to take hold at the time. His lyrical guitar playing combined with the warm musical tones of his fellow musicians results in incredible tracks such as Black Magic Woman (which is actually a cover of a song Peter Green wrote for Fleetwood Mac), Oye Como Va (a sensual take on a Tito Puente song) as well as Incident At Neshabur (an incredible electronic Latin jazz instrumental that really gets you going before fading into a hushed groove). Somewhere between psychedelic rock, funk fusion, popular blues, contemporary salsa and high-voltage jazz, Abraxas is a pioneering record, an album ahead of its time... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Drawing on rock, salsa, and jazz, Santana recorded one imaginative, unpredictable gem after another during the 1970s. But Caravanserai is daring even by Santana's high standards. Carlos Santana was obviously very hip to jazz fusion -- something the innovative guitarist provides a generous dose of on the largely instrumental Caravanserai. Whether its approach is jazz-rock or simply rock, this album is consistently inspired and quite adventurous. Full of heartfelt, introspective guitar solos, it lacks the immediacy of Santana or Abraxas. Like the type of jazz that influenced it, this pearl (which marked the beginning of keyboardist/composer Tom Coster's highly beneficial membership in the band) requires a number of listenings in order to be absorbed and fully appreciated. But make no mistake: this is one of Santana's finest accomplishments.© Alex Henderson /TiVo

This ten-song sampler presents the best of Santana, 1969-71, the period of its greatest popularity. The hits include "Black Magic Woman," "Evil Ways," "Everybody's Everything," and "Oye Como Va." But note that this is a bare minimum of prime Santana. Not only does the sampler choose from only Santana's first three albums, but it leaves out such seminal numbers as "Nobody to Depend On" and "Soul Sacrifice." Those looking for a more extensive overview should consider Viva Santana!© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Fusion, transcendence: it's what he's always done. At 74, Carlos Santana is still as curious as ever, and his 26th studio album brings together all his current interests, with an unabashedly popularising aim. With this record, the Mexican-born guitarist wanted to "return to radio". And this album has all the ingredients to make its mark on the airwaves in the coming months. First of all, he relaunched his duet with Rob Thomas, which had won a Grammy for Smooth at the time of Supernatural, Santana's 1999 comeback album. And the very groovy track Move looks set to do it again. The cover of Manu Dibango's Soul Fiesta (taken from 1972’s Africadelic), here becomes Santana Celebration, an intro in the form of a percussion and wah-wah jam, is also a noteworthy track.Santana then wanders between Latin music (Rumbalero with Asdru Sierra from the Californian band Ozomatli), pop passages (Break, Breathing Underwater, She's Fire) and high-quality guest appearances, starting with Joy, with country singer Chris Stapleton coming in for a well-oiled reggae/blues double-act, and a cover of Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale featuring Steve Winwood. But the highlight of the album is the encounter with Kirk Hammett, the guitarist of Metallica (+ Mark Osegueda, the singer in Death Angels) on America for Sale, six minutes of rage with a totally unbridled finale featuring these two guitar heroes. Note also that Blessings & Miracles contains Chick Corea's very final recording, on Angel Choir / All Together. The legendary American pianist, who died in February 2021, had sent over a keyboard part, which Santana embellished with his guitar, creating an excellent jazz-rock track, rounded out by the musician’s widow, Gayle Moran Corea, who provided the opening chorus. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

Santana, which was renowned for its concert work dating back to Woodstock, did not release a live album in the U.S. until this one, and it's only partially live, with studio tracks added, notably a cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There" (number 27) that became Santana's first Top 40 hit in five years. The usual comings and goings in band membership had taken place since last time; the track listing was a good mixture of the old -- "Black Magic Woman," "Soul Sacrifice" -- and the recent, and with the added radio play of a hit single, Moonflower went Top Ten and sold a million copies, the first new Santana album to do that since 1972 and the last until Supernatural in 1999.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Borboletta was the first new Santana band studio album in 11 months and the group's sixth overall. Once again, individual credits were listed for each song. The main problem was that the band seemed to be coasting; Carlos turned in the usual complement of high-pitched lead guitar work, and the percussionists pounded away, but the Santana sound had long since taken over from any individual composition, and the records were starting to sound alike. That, in turn, started to make them inessential; Borboletta spent less time on the charts than any previous Santana album.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Few musicians generated as much hate and love as Miles Davis. Every time this serial re-inventor changed musical directions, fans howled or grudgingly followed. If you loved his cool jazz, you hated his bop. Fans of his bop period despised his turn to fusion. And even the fusion lovers were baffled by his leap into funk. This set explores Davis' final studio recordings for Columbia Records—the label he signed with in the 1950s—when he was still searching for new sounds and unwilling to be anything less than a moving target despite his powers on the trumpet being much reduced.  It also provides clues to several still-controversial Miles mysteries: Did he have anything important left to say after 1975? Are the albums Davis made after his return to music in 1980 just a noodley, disappointing anti-climactic finale to a brilliant career?  And when in 1985, he covered a Michael Jackson hit on the You're Under Arrest album was it a travesty or a bold artistic risk? In 1975 after a run of increasingly raw and aggressive live albums, Davis dropped out of music altogether and holed up in his apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side, going on something of a five-year binge. After several tentative steps that included The Man with the Horn (1981), the live Grammy-winning set We Want Miles (1982), Davis (now married to model-turned-actress Cicely Tyson, who helped pull him out of his half-decade bender) recorded Star People (1983) and Decoy (1984). On those records, Davis was again changing his music, this time leaning not only into Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and other pop music of the time but also the emerging electronics and software revolution that continues to this day. According to an interview from that era quoted in the liner notes Davis said, "I like strong melodies, broken rhythm, and colors from the synthesizers." That sums up much of the content on these unreleased outtakes from his 1980s recording sessions. Captured during the Star People sessions, the mix of the previously unreleased tune "Santana" is the template for much later Miles: muscular funk rhythms over which he, saxophonist Bill Evans, and guitarist Mike Stern solo. The two-part "Minor Ninths" from the same sessions is an interesting duo combination of trombonist J.J. Johnson and Miles on keyboards. Another unreleased Star People track, "Remake of OBX Ballad," heard in two versions here, also features Davis playing only the Oberheim synthesizer. In the much-derided pop tunes from You're Under Arrest ("Time After Time" and "Human Nature"), which undoubtedly brought Davis to an entirely new audience, he mirrors the song's well-known vocal parts on trumpet. Taken at a leisurely tempo, the unreleased version of Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It" from those sessions with Bob Berg on soprano sax is a minor revelation. A particularly wonderful touch sprinkled in among the studio material are the snatches of Davis' inimitable whispery voice left in at the end of tracks. Also included is a 1983 performance recorded live in Montreal at the Théâtre St. Denis by Guy Charbonneau/Le Studio Mobile Montreal, much of which confirms Davis was still committed to his discovery of the late '70s, namely darting his trumpet in and out over rumbling funk grooves. Besides Evans, guitarist John Scofield, who first made a name for himself as a Davis' sideman, is featured on tracks like the upbeat, "What It Is." Davis' rendition of  "Star People" belies the oft-heard complaint that by the 1980s he no longer had the desire nor the chops to dig in and play. Equally adored and misunderstood, Davis' restless creativity always provoked questions. Asked in the 1980s why he changed his music so many times, he replied "You don't change music, music changes you.''  © Robert Baird/Qobuz

While most of the discussions of Frank Zappa have to do with his satirical and off-color lyrics, the fact remains that he was one of the finest and most underappreciated guitarists around. This collection places the spotlight squarely on Zappa's mastery of the guitar. Recorded for the most part in 1979 and 1980 (with a few tracks dating as far back as 1977), Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is simply a collection of guitar solos. Even though most of the tracks were just edited out of their original song context, they fare well as stand-alone pieces, as Zappa was an ever-inventive player. Take, for example, the three versions of "Shut Up." These tracks were simply the guitar solos from "Inca Roads," but thanks to Zappa's ability for "instant composition," each version has its own complete story to tell, without ever being redundant. Other highlights are the reggae-tinged "Treacherous Cretins" and the beautiful "Pink Napkins." In addition to the electric guitar mangling contained on Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, there are a couple of rare tracks that feature Zappa on acoustic guitar in a trio with Warren Cuccurullo on acoustic rhythm guitar and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. In fact, special mention goes to Colaiuta for his polyrhythmic daring all over this album. All bandmembers play great throughout, but Colaiuta's playing is mind blowing. The album closes with another oddity: a gorgeous duet between Zappa on electric bouzouki and Jean-Luc Ponty on baritone violin. This is an album that should be heard by anyone who's into guitar playing. Highly recommended. © Sean Westergaard /TiVo

45. This is the number of years that passed between Santana III and Santana IV. No joke. The struggle has been very real for fans of the guitar-wielding Santana. It’s another guitarist, Neal Schon, who is behind the project. He tested the water with the idea of ​​a potential collaboration with Santana back in 2013, and finally the two musicians decided to recall the entire band from 1971: Greg Rollie (piano/vocals), Michael Carabello (percussion), Michael Shrieve (drums), all were present. The artists got to work in 2013 and recorded more or less 50 tracks. The 16 ‘most successful’ were retained and becomeSantana IV. The spicy recipe is wonderfully cooked and includes everything that perfectly identities the Group – from Latin music to jazz, Caribbean rhythms to blues, psychedelic to sunny afro... The whole thing is undeniably groovy and Santana perpetuates a dance that takes into account rhythm and melody simultaneously. The musicians have no difficulty in finding picture-perfect complicity after so many years apart, and have helped to save a portion of Shake It as a wonderful jam track. Special guest Roman Isley (singer from the famous Isley Brothers), is also part of the group and adds his voice on two tracks. You might think you’ve heard it all, but Santana has nothing but proof here that this isn’t the case. © AR/Qobuz

Since he had joined Santana in 1972, keyboard player Tom Coster had been Carlos Santana's right-hand man, playing, co-writing, co-producing, and generally taking the place of founding member Gregg Rolie. But Coster left the band in the spring of 1978, to be replaced by keyboardist/guitarist Chris Solberg and keyboardist Chris Ryne. Despite the change, the band soldiered on, and with Inner Secrets they scored three chart singles: the discoish "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)" (#59), "Stormy" (#32), and a cover of Buddy Holly's "Well All Right" (#69), done in the Blind Faith arrangement. (There seems to be a Steve Winwood fixation here. The album also featured a cover of Traffic's "Dealer.") The singles kept the album on the charts longer than any Santana LP since 1971...© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Exactly half a century after his debut, and his brilliant performance at Woodstock festival where he made a name for himself, Santana has once again turned to Africa, the original source of so many music genres. Indeed, let’s not forget that blues originated from slave songs and served as a foundation for jazz, rock and soul, among others. Produced by Rick Rubin, this album was almost entirely recorded in live conditions, without retouching and without a safety net, an exercise he’s particularly fond of. Not to mention the man’s love for improvisation, and his virtuosity allows him a great deal of audacity. Along with singer Buika and his wife Cindy Blackman on the drums, Santana once again blends the jazz he loves with the Latin rhythms and rock reflexes that live in him. The first track on Africa Speaks serves as a perfect introduction to this celebration of sounds that seem straight out of the mists of time. His voice speaks more than it sings, and he promptly gets a response from his backing singers. Then the album suddenly becomes funkier, with titles like Oy Este Mi Canto or Yo Me Lo Merezco, and outright blazing on the tropical Breaking Down The Door with its blustering brass, reminding the listener that it only takes a few boat-rides to cross over from Africa to South America. If the main idea behind this project is to demonstrate that rock, soul, blues and jazz are but children of African music, the evidence is fairly conclusive. Every song and style blends together so perfectly, and invites us to let ourselves be carried away by the infectious warmth of this opus. © Christian Eudeline/Qobuz

After teaming up with Herbie Hancock for the jazz-flavored The Swing of Delight album, Carlos Santana reentered the pop/rock realm with the rest of his band for 1981's Zebop!. He still managed to include a little bit of his famed Latino sound into a few of the tracks ("E Papa Re," "American Gypsy"), albeit only slightly, but Zebop!'s overall feel is that of commercial rock, with the guitar arriving at the forefront through most of the cuts. Santana does a marvelous job at covering Russ Ballard's "Winning," taking it to number 17 on the charts, while "The Sensitive Kind" is built around the same type of radio-friendly structure yet it stalled at number 56. Zebop!'s formula is simple, and all of the songs carry an appeal that is aimed at a wider and more marketable audience base, with "Changes," "Searchin," and "I Love You Much Too Much" coming through as efficient yet not overly extravagant rock & roll efforts. The album's adjustable rhythms and accommodating structures kept the band alive as the decade rolled over, peaking at number 33 in the U.K. but cracking the Top Ten in the United States, which eventually led to Zebop! going gold. Actually, "Winning" followed in the same footsteps as Santana's last couple of Top 40 singles in "You Know That I Love You" from 1980 and "Stormy" from 1979. Shango, the album that came after Zebop!, gave them another hit with "Hold On," sung by bandmember Alex Ligertwood.© Mike DeGagne /TiVo

Billed as the first Santana compilation to span his entire career, it is true that Ultimate Santana does indeed run the gamut from 1969's "Evil Ways" to 2002's "Game of Love," but if you think that means it handles all phases of his career equally, you'd be sadly mistaken. Essentially, this 18-track set plays like a collection of highlights from his Supernatural-era comebacks, spiked with a couple of classic rock oldies -- because that's what it really is. It contains no less than ten superstar duets, including new numbers with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger (the streamlined and smoothed "Into the Night," which has little of Kroeger's trademark growly histrionics) and Jennifer Lopez and Baby Bash ("This Boy's Fire," a dance number where Santana seems incidental), plus a version of "The Game of Love" with Tina Turner (don't worry, the lighter, brighter, superior Michelle Branch version is here too) and plus "Interplanetary Party," which is a new band recording that sounds like a star duet. These are piled upon seven previously released duets -- including, of course, the hits "Smooth," "Maria Maria," and "The Game of Love," but also album tracks with Everlast, Steven Tyler, and Alex Band of the Calling -- with classic rock radio staples "Oye Como Va," "Black Magic Woman," "Evil Ways," "Europa," "Samba Pa Ti," and "No One to Depend On" for good measure. In other words, this is certainly not a hits disc for the fan of his earliest music, or his most adventurous music either; it's for the pop fans won over by his latter-day comeback, and for those listeners, it's the hits disc they'd want -- but for everybody else, it's better to seek out other compilations or original albums, because those paint a better picture of what Santana was all about than this crisp, clean collection of lifestyle pop. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo