SANTANA — Greatest Hits (review)

SANTANA — Greatest Hits album cover Boxset / Compilation · 1974 · Latin Rock/Soul Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
A good snapshot of the band at this time, I do have a soft spot for this compilation. Drawing the singles and the occasional album track from the band's first three releases, it's probably a nice place to start for someone new to Santana.

Songs like 'Black Magic Woman' and 'Oye Como Va' will showcase them at their most effective in the early days, while at the same time introducing the signature Santana sound, with its mix of salsa, blues and rock. "Greatest Hits" also features more 'sing along' pop moments like the pleasant 'Everybody's Everything' and 'Evil Ways.'

Some notable absences (especially 'Incident at Neshabur' or 'Toussaint L'Overture' and 'No-One to Depend On' from "III" for instance) are partially made up for by having the surprisingly effective 'Everything's Coming Our Way' and 'Se acabó' which represent two of the better album tracks present. Admittedly, it is called "Greatest Hits" and so you should expect a focus on (charting) singles from their most commercially lucrative period.

A more comprehensive collection, even something like Sony's 'Essential' might be better, or for someone who finds themselves enjoying the music but wanting to hear the band stretch out, simply collect the bulk of Santana's 1970s output, paying special attention to "Caravanserai."
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Taylor Ho Bynum, Jacqueline Kerrod : Simple Ways Such Self Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TAYLOR HO BYNUM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sanyas Hard Bop
STEVE TURRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pianohooligan : Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pts. 1 & 2 Third Stream
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Jason Stein, Marilyn Crispell, Damon Smith, Adam Shead : Spi​-​raling Horn Avant-Garde Jazz
JASON STEIN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Utopia Jazz Related Improv/Composition
OLIVER LUTZ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Stablemates
RON BLAKE
js· 20 hours ago
Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pt. 1
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
js· 1 day ago
FULL ALBUM - Oliver Lutz - Utopia w/ Leif Berger, Constantin Krahmer
OLIVER LUTZ
js· 2 days ago
Lift
DAVE WILSON (US/NZ)
js· 4 days ago
Nature is a Mother
CHARLIE PYNE
js· 4 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed