Abraxas

Released

Santana’s second album, 1970’s Abraxas, includes the group’s two classic hits, a medley of Fleetwood Mac’s “Black Magic Woman” and Gabor Szabo’s “Gypsy Queen” and a cover of Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va,” but the original compositions hint at the inclinations toward fusion and even spiritual jazz that would propel a revamped lineup’s journey to the stars a couple of years later. The opener, “Singing Winds, Crying Beasts,” with its panning cymbal washes and ominous harp and piano, promises a weirder album than we get, but tracks like “Incident at Neshabur,” the Rare Earth-ish “Hope You’re Feeling Better,” and “Se a Cabo” surge like the ocean, Gregg Rolie’s hard-driving organ and Carlos Santana’s searing guitar charging forth on a bed of complex rhythm.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Ritual de lo Habitual cover

Ritual de lo Habitual

Jane's Addiction
Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton cover

Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton, John Mayall
Non Fiction cover

Non Fiction

The Blasters
Crusade cover

Crusade

The Bluesbreakers, John Mayall
Hairway to Steven cover

Hairway to Steven

Butthole Surfers
Second Thoughts cover

Second Thoughts

McKendree Spring
Vol. 3: A Child’s Guide to Good & Evil cover

Vol. 3: A Child’s Guide to Good & Evil

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band