Abraxas

Latin ist nicht so meins.

The Oye Como Va cover is a classic, and most of the rest is pretty solid. Quite a mix of genres

Smoothia Santanan tilutusta. Black Magic Women tällä levyllä. Muuten ehkä vähän tasapaksua, mutta silti ihan kunneltavaa

Cool, I enjoyed

Noiiicce

it’s that kind of 60s-70s thing that just seems like it was invented for the movies or something

Groovy, hypnotic, and exciting. But I can’t see myself listening to this often. Just not my main jam. I’d probably give it a solid 5 at least tho. Good background music for a taco 🌮 joint.

Why vocals?

This is an album documenting one man’s complete lack of any form of internal struggle.

Could not get into it at all unfortunately ultimately just not my style of music

solid santana album

Hes like a good guitarist or whatever, but it feels like he is just good at guitar in the technical sense and not in the way Jimi Hendrix was good at guitar. I dont feel anything when Santana plays, I can appreciate the talent, but thats where it ends for me. Also fuck him for being a transphobic piece of shit.

A very sad but high three. The first three songs were phenomenal but the rest of the album was just good, disappointing compared to the beginning.

Mellow, rich and… well, I really don’t want to use the word ‘smooth’… god, I hate that song. It turned me off Santana for all these years. What a joke. It’s good. I liked it. Mellow, rich and polished/peaceful/continuous/not rough.

Surprisingly lacking in terms of the grooviness of Latin music. But the electric guitar driven sound is interesting on its own.

Typical (and that’s not a bad thing) Santana formula of….”Here’s your well crafted, imminently catchy, hit single or two….and now we’re gonna fuck around and do whatever the hell we want to do for the remainder of the album” (and that, too, is not a bad thing). But, it’s not MY thing, so I’d give it a 2…..on the other hand, this was a huge record for them, breaking the sophomore jinx, and probably deserves a 4. So let’s compromise with a 3.

Solid background ambience

it ok

Easy listen but not enough grip

The album is good old classic rock. It all feels a bit dated, sure; but I can appreciate the music and admire the musicianship. The songs on "Abraxas" are still good, and Carlos Santana is a great guitarist.

I'm not really into this genre and style of music, but it's quite a nice time.

Carlos Santana did provide some interesting guitar techniques throughout this album along with the Latin-tinged percussions. My only concern here is that nothing seemed to interesting or really stand out other than what's mentioned

- incredibly smooth and slick - honestly was over pretty fast and I like a short album - not something I'd really go back to except to have in the background, but still good music

- great summer evening vibes - incredible guitar skill - surprisingly enjoyed the album despite the lack of vocals

Santana's big album. Lots of Hispanic-influenced jazz here.

Clearly skilled and good, but I'll never want to put this on again. In all due respect.

Santana is nostalgia

Good moments but not exceptional.

Background music

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Black Magic Woman (2) 2 - Hope You're Feeling Better (8) 3 - Oye Como Va (3)

Refreshing to listen to at the time. A few recognizable songs I didn’t realize were Santana. Not sure it ends up in any regular rotation but a good listen. Guitar riffs were well done and well done together and make for good listenablility

Fine, faded into the background for me. As we’ve gone through this list I’ve definitely lowered my opinion on guitar solos, to the point that it is crazy to me that they have been the backbone of music for so long. They are all the same

Fun in the background though I wasn't like mind blown by his guitar chops or anything

fun album, if guitar riffs arent really my thing.

I liked it, mostly the first half. The songs in the second half sound more boomery

3.75

pretty good vibes. Black magic woman is a classic, overall decent

I quite like this

The songs are either really good or really forgettable, but I think that comes down more to my preference. I just don't think the instrumentals necessarily translate into good /songs/, if that makes sense. If this record was all Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va, then we'd have a better time.

Groovy grooves Lots of guitar Kinda just 70s rock

The slower and more thoughtful cuts avoid the excess of cowbell and are thus much the stronger, especially “Incident” with its excellent piano flourishes and “samba pa ti.” Mostly forgettable vocals are the other major demerit that keeps this out of the top rank.

|Not really my thing, nothing wrong with it but I wouldn't listen again

geetar

Nice mix of music with vocals and instrumentals. Enjoyed the variety of genres here. This is a good background listening album.

More jazz then i was expecting. Ok to have on in the background.

Three from me but a 0 from my children, it made them cry but I don’t know why

Varied. Some tracks are smooth and chill, others are a bit more lively. A good listen, provided you're in the mood.

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yeah, very smooth and charming Favourite song: Track 2 - Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen

When this album appeared on my list, my first thought, as it often is when it comes to Santana, was "This will be a fantastic album but not one I nessecarially want to listen to". Which is pretty much how it went. Look I get it, I get the smooth grooves and the amazing guitar playing and Santana's silky voice are all very proficient and its a great piece of Psychedelia. But for me its just not quite to my tastes. I'm not into such Latin jazzy type stuff is probably the root of it.

Definitely worthy of the spot on this list, but somehow despite the great musicianship and all the detail in the music, it fails to grab my attention. Solid ⭐⭐⭐

A few songs, a lot of nurdling, prog/jazz it's the 70s man. Not terrible, not spectacular.

Still only 1 song wonder, no?

Clearly inspired by Bitches Brew, Santana takes us on a short druggy trip infused with Latin rhythms. It's a shame that there are so many artists in the 60's and 70's who were making this kind of psychedelic Latin rock (Los Jaivas come to mind), in many cases much better, but never achieved the same cross-over success. Still good for what it is, and a very nice cover. 3 crystal balls out of 5. 🔮🔮🔮

Enjoyable for a bit but was ready for the album to be done well before it finished

This was a weird one for me! Individually, I think I’d enjoy most of these songs pretty well as a change of pace. End to end as an album, though, it got repetitive quickly and I was ready to be done halfway through. Torn between two and three stars, went with three because I can respect the talent and artistry.

I am typically a vocalist/lyrical gal so this was often out of my ‘zone’ but… great guitar playing? Lol

I can respect the level of talent and instrumentation within Santana but the music just never seems to resonate with me. Overall very middle of the road for me

Groovy tunes

Solid

I was expecting to hate this, but it was actually quite good and it only very occasionally sounded like someone jamming to a backing track in their bedroom. A respectable 3+/5

A solid album, I can only really compare it to other music I've listened to from the time period. Nothing in this album seems ground breaking to me but there's no skips on this album, each song is good even if some of them blend together a little too much. While I said nothing seemed ground breaking to me, Santana's style is unique. He was able to find a sound and stick to it without ever pushing those boundaries very much in every album since this one. Overall, it's an amazing album, considering it's the first one I've listened to from this list I have nothing to really compare it to. The fact there's no skips on the album makes it at least a 3, but there's also no songs I saved or really wanted to listen to again after I listened to the whole album. It's something I could see myself putting on in the background while I draw or paint but it's not something I will closely listen to again for a while. I'd probably give it a 3.5/5

Guess it's the most popular album in Santana's discocgraphy, and it's probably one of his most important releases as well. It's got insanely famous cuts: "Black Magic Woman" (a cover), "Oye Como Va" (another cover) and "Samba Pa Ti" (a... Carlos Santana original here!!! Phew, for a second I thought what made this album what it is was only... covers). That latter track sort of sounds like a rough draft for later "Europa" at times, by the way... Hmm... Given that all those three cuts, *plus* Europa, are in most of the band's compilations available out there in 2023, maybe a "best of" makes a little more sense if you want buy Santana music today... Well, OK, this album also has a nice seventies rock cut written by the band's then singer ("Hope You're Feeling Better"), unfortunately absent in most compilations... So, maybe for this one song as well, I could include *Abraxas* on my list... The thing is, the rest of this record is nice jammin', but I can't help feeling such jamming is easily interchageable from one Santana LP to the next. Maybe experts will tell me I'm dead wrong here. In the meantime... Number of albums left to review: 651 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 175 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 84 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 96

1970. Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman

Good but disappointing at the same time.

Much more interesting when it's faster - the more laid back tracks give it a major hotel lobby vibe, but Incident at Neshabur and Hope You're Feeling Better have a bit of edge to them. 3/5, better than I expected.

I listened to this for the third time while eating sh*tty beef noodle soup alone in the dining hall. They also had the Food Network on the big screen. Kind of a vibe.

Oh I know Santana! Remember when he did a song with Rob Thomas (of Matchbox Twenty)? Or when he did a song with Chad Kroeger (of Nickelback)? Or when he did a song with Dave Matthews (of Dave Matthews Band)? Or when he did a song with Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith)? Or when he did a song with Eric Clapton (of The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream, etc.)? Or when he did a song with CeeLo Green (of Gnarls Barkley)? Or when he did a song with Gloria Estefan (of the Miami Sound Machine)? Or when he did a song with Shakira ({formerly} of Gerard Piqué)? Yeah, those songs were all better than any on this album except for Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen.

I REALLY liked singing winds, crying beasts. And ofc I liked Black magic woman. The rest? Eh. This is a baseline 3, good to measure other albums against.

Idk if it’s because we’ve been listening to absolutely dreadful music, but this was quite good. Maybe I do like Santana. Shameful number of covers though. Shoutout to twosqishes for having a nice tush.

Has a nice vibe. Nothing extraordinairy

I enjoyed the vibes of the album, I liked the guitar playing and the overall music but after a few songs it got a little meh just because nothing new was happening. However I did enjoy it.

Apropos of nothing really, but I always find it amazing that Journey was born out of a fair chunk of the Santana band. No slam whatsoever, it's just a cool rock fact. Anyways Santana. Honestly I'm not sure. I often hate giving 3s because it feels like a copout. Take this album ... the first ~4 tracks are great - some classics and are just different enough from standard classic rock fare to stick out. That Latin flair just is rarely (never?) heard in mainstream rock. So that element alone gives it a little separation. It's just that it ...wears thin. The instrumentals are good....but...haven't I heard this before? like last track? And when they try to get more up tempo/rock i.e. the vocal tracks on side 2 .... they're just not good. Had a great 4+ start and petered out with a lame 2... sounds like an overall 3 here. But side 1 is worth the admission. Should have been an EP! 7/10 3 stars.

santana is NOT just one person dawg. the album was pretty cool, ill give it a solid 3.5

Identifying Carlos Santana : It’s Carlos Santana

There were definitely some classics here. Not a huge Santana fan but I did not manage to fall asleep while listening to the album (unlike when I saw him live with DMB once.)

Latin jazz-rock landmark album. But also dated

Dug it. Great playing and song writing.

Oooh, I wanted to love this so much, but it was "just" enjoyable. I really only love Oye Como Va, not even BMW.

This album is very good. The album art is even better.

Mystiskt

Some classics on there but was kinda of meh.

After three double albums in a row, a short and snappy Santana album, perfectly fine, well made, with a brilliant Oye Como Va and the thrilling Black Magic Woman. Didn’t quite grab my attention but decent.

Literally nothing wrong with this album

I enjoyed the instrumentals but not really the vocals (when there were vocals on some of the tracks).

I never owned this album because when it came out I was 14 years old just starting my sophomore year in high school. Limited money meant you were limited by the number of albums that you could buy. I knew friends who had the album so I've definitely heard the whole thing before but not in a very long time. I forgot that there was such a jazz element to Santana's music and it almost felt a little Prog rock as well. After listening to this it made a lot more sense that once Journey spun off of this group, their first three albums were so Prog rock before Steven Perry joined. I definitely enjoyed listening to it and I would give it a three. I would maybe put some of the songs in rotation.

Supongo que esa mezcla de música latina y rock/guitarra eléctrica tuvo que ser impactante en su época. Sigue sonando bien y creo que es algo a escuchar alguna vez.

Pretty decent. I really liked the track Black Woman/Gypsy Queen. A nice album to enjoy on summer's day. Mother's daughter was also a standout track. Even though I liked it, I wasn't as impressed with it as I expected to be. Ratings on RYM for this album are particularly strong, but I just thought it was good. Therefore..3 stars.

Black Magic Woman definitely the highlight for me

Jazzy and...."smoothe"

Santana is always good to have in the background. First Listen?: Y Fav. Track(s): Black Magic Woman / Gipsy Queen, Hope You're Feeling Better Rating: 3.2/5

Santana is a gifted player may perhaps be an oversimplification of his talent, but it is the truth. This is the kind of album played on a sunny day while on vacation, or maybe just a weekend in the backyard. Musically, the album is just really enjoyable, there is no sense of profound, or any mind-blowing feelings associated with it. It is at its finest, a really comfortable experience.

Not the worst albums recently.

Very good, Nat many lyrics

Como si una galaxia latinoamericana cayera de punta sobre California.

groovy baby

One of my favourite coffee shops in Amsterdam is presumably named afterthis album, and it's fitting as this would make a very good coffee shop album. 3 stars is harsh but it's not my type of thing and if I give this 4 stars it gives me nowhere to really go with ones I do like or really like. Some nice jazzy vibes, wasn't quite what I expected. Definitely there are situations this would be perfect as ambient music

Great mix of influences in a sweet, psychedelic rock package.

kind of Cream, JTull, fusion, he copied all around

Ok, definitely a lot jam band vibes here, very dangerous territory for me. Also, is it me or is the only time Santana sings about bad women? Despite the meandering, start/stop jammin' jazziness that dared me time and time again to press the skip button, a lot of it was fairly enjoyable. A lot of it was pretty evil, though. Santana, I blame you for Phish.

Black magic woman is great. Oye como va is also some of his best guitar. I think Santana is one of the most underrated guitarists of all time and I’d put him solidly in my top 10. Didn’t think any of the songs here were amazing though. Giving this a really strong 3, maybe could be a 4 it’s really smooth throughout but I didn’t think it had a ton of standouts. Disclaimer: I saw Roger Waters last night so now I only want to listen to Floyd and my expectations for albums are unrealistically high sorry Carlos

3/5

This album went by really quickly. It had some really good playing, but most of the songs really failed to make an impression. It seems like a case of great musical talent that doesn't really translate into great songs. A 2.5 bumped to a 3 because of respect.

•Pink Floyd vibes •black magic woman is a classic •not really a fan of this sound but glad i listened to it

16th August 2022 Listened in the living room while working from home. Busy day finished with going to see top gun maverick in Stroud. Heard a lot about Santana but never sat down at listened to them. Kind of washed over me which is good and bad. Enjoyed the samba rhythms.

You can only go so far on vibes, jamming and stage presence. The flavor's on point though, can't go wrong with Santana's guitar playing. It's like salsa music and little Richard had a baby. Which is cool and super dance-able. But like I said. You can only go so far.

The first track is hard to listen to. It’s long and not much happens. Black Magic Woman is a classic. Hope You’re Feeling Better isn’t a great song per se but Carlos’ guitar playing makes it good.

Mad decent for Santana, not my jam tho

Sounds like half an hour of Santana which isn’t bad but you definitely know what it’s going to be goin in. If you want to listen to Santana listen to this, if you don’t don’t

Disappointed by the length of the album, but it has some good music on it. With the into and out to tracks this thing is probably about 30 mins/7 songs so I just wanted a little more. 6/10

I am not a Santana fan. This album did have some of the his more well known music. It wasn't a bad album. I don't think I will revisit the album.

Solid, not my cup of tea but the band is very good.

Ik vond het vroeger te gepolijst, te glad. En eigenlijk vind ik dat nog steeds, hoewel dat niet voor alle nummers op gaat.

middle school jazz band flashbacks solid jams and a classic song

Noodly doodly doo

Oooh, _this_ is where "Oye Como Va" comes from! Only it's not, as it's really a Tito Puente cover. Well, still nice to locate it! Apart from that, sure, a pleasant enough listen, but nothing too captivating. Fave track - "Oye Como Va", duh.

the ones you know are decent, rest meh/noise

Different but nice and cool.

Some lovely old grooves, but it is a bit samey and just washes over you

3.5/5 niceish, i'll have to relisten

3, classics

A little bit rock, a little bit prog, a little bit jazz and a little bit Latin. Sounds like a good mix on paper and admittedly, there are some good tracks on ‘Abraxas’, but as a whole, it just lacks that little something to really elevate it.

I've never found Santana's music to be interesting. His guitar player (on studio albums) doesn't seem as loose as say, SRV or Clapton, which is what I prefer. It's a decent album, but dull. Didn't add.

Jazzy Latin Rock. 3 big tracks on here...C Santana is undoubtedly a great guitarist . I find it a bit wearing after a whole album (you need to be in the mood for that percussion) but it is solid stuff. 3

- 1970, holy shit - pleasant fusion of jazz, latin, psychedelic rock

I have this on vinyl and have always enjoyed it. It’s not great, but just good. You have to be in the mood for Santana, and luckily I was. There are some of their classic hits, mixed in with some all around good tunes.

Quite good fun. A couple of his most well known tracks here but the others stand up well on their own. A jam album with some fantastic instrumentalism going on.

I mean it's OK...

Great album. Not much else to say here. It's in my rotation for a while now and I don't see me getting bored with it.

A great mix of classic rock and latin sounds. No surprise why Santana became a legend. I enjoyed it but it wasn't something I'll really go back to.

Santana y su guitarra. Correcto. Sin más. 3

Psykedelisk blues rock, oyo como va, lange soloer, fusioner

I vibed with this - a relaxed but lively listen with enough variety to be interesting throughout. A good album to play whilst cooking I reckon. Once the album finished a few songs from Supernatural auto-queued and they had exactly the pizazz I think Abraxas was missing tho. A solid 7/10

Fun fun fun

Pretty good (if overrated) moment in psyche-rock/jazz fusion. This wants to be a Latin-flavored intermediary between Axis (Bold As Love) and Bitches Brew. It doesn't really hit the highs of either Hendrix or Davis, but it does showcase some serious talent. It's like an unfocused but tighter studio album from a jam band - there's talent there, but not from anyone with a clear, concise vision.

Pretty good! Nothing that blew me away or had me salivating with excitement, but wouldn’t turn it off if it came on. Not high praise but suitable for the music I think. Reckon you’d only manage one Santana album before you’d be sick of it though…

The second half of 'incident at neshabur' sounds like the soulful instrumental tracks that Van creates. They appeared in concert together once with Dylan and Bono. What a concert that would have been.

I wreszcie jakas odmiana pomiedzy przeskakiwaniem uk i us, wiec latino rokowanie w wykonaniu bandy Santana, ktora swoja nazwe bierze od lidera formacji pana Carlosa Santany, tytul abraxas jest referencja do demiana hessego, krazek z 1970, nagrywany w hameryce, na zachodnim wybrzezu, co ma niewatpliwy wplyw na to jak brzmi ten album, bo ekipa santany, to miks latynosow i bardziej bialych hamerykanow, wiec plyta dwu jezykowa, chociaz i tak blizej jej do instrumentalnego albumu, bo trzy kawalki sa spiewane po angielsku przez klawiszowca Gregga Rolie, reszta jest instrumentalno latynoska, bo jakas liryka jest, ale sa to glownie rytmowe chorki, szesciosobowy sklad w ktorym jest podwojna perkusja i congi, jak na muzyke latino przystalo, bo gatunkowo najlatwiej nazwac to latino rokiem, ale rownie dobrze pasuje fuzujacy jazz na sambowych rytmach, albo mozna jak na discogu cala litanie Afro-Cuban, Fusion, Samba, Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Chicano Rock, wiec bogaty miks, nawet jesli chodzi o zlistowane traki, to w 37 mintuach i 9 trakach jest wmieszanie orginalnego kontentu z coverami szlagierow jak oye como va, pana Tito, ktory juz sie przewinal przez liste, to wlasnie coverami stoi plyta, bo sa one najbardziej sluchanymi utworami wedlug spotifaja, poza Samba Pa Ti, ktory jest orginalnym santanowym kawalkiem, co do plejkowych pickow to zdecydowanie titowy cover i hope you are feeling better, ktory najblizej podchodzi pod psychodeliczne brzmienie, ktore jest zarzucane plycie, dodatkowo ostro porobione wokale, brzmiace prawie jak cos beatlesowego, czuje ze tej bandy o wiele lepiej sluchaloby sie na zywca, bo 37 minut plyty to zbyt malo jak na tak roznorodne granie

Really great guitar playing, but that doesn't mean it's super standout album all the way through. Enjoyed it, but feels a 3.5. I didn't realize Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va were both covers. Way to make 'em popular, Santana!

First time listening to Santana and I liked it very much! His name and the album cover had already lifted my expectations, and the music lived up to it! I did hope for more psychedelia, but the other elements I was not expectating made up for it.

Tiene una buena mezcla de sonidos. Me gusta mucho que se perciba el rock, el jazz, el blues y la salsa. Se puede apreciar la influencia latinoamericana de Carlos Santana. Calificación: 3/5. Agradable de escuchar.

p218. 1970. 2022-01-14. 3 stars Early 70s samba jazz rock and ace guitar, vague Doors-ish echoes. Slightly bland. Cool background summer music :)

Very guitar heavy. Stand out song was Black Magic Woman.

Nice melodies and jazz like solos. But I couldn't really get into the album. "Black Magic Women / Gypsy Queen" my favourite song on the album.

Black magic woman Oye como va Samba Pa ti très bon

For the sick guitar licks it is a good listen

Isssssa mood

70s Santana er geggjað stöff.

medium 5/10

Very guitarry, very tropical, very Santana. This is palm beach, coctel, hawaiian shirt type of music. But it's also south-American rhythms, cuba and cigars. And Santana with his guitar in the middle of this craziness trying to make sense of it all. Sometimes, it does make sense. Some other times, it doesn't. "Oye como va" sounds out of place, and I wonder if I have come to actually dislike this song because it feels like an intruder in this bunch.

Great front end of the album, falls off towards the end.

Första låten agerar ett långt intro till en jävla KLASSIKER i form av Black Magic Woman. Otroliga Guitar Hero 3- flashbacks. En helt fantastisk låt såklart. Resten av albumet följer egentligen samma stil. Ganska unikt album!

Solid pleasant rock. Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va are classics. 6/10

After only really experiencing post Smooth-era Santana, this was a breath of fresh air and made it rather obvious what founded the band's legacy. A lot more mellow and groove-heavy than the flashy guitar show-off that I've heard of him. Of course it's a little bit lengthy on the endless noodling side, but, still, a good show.

not my kind of thing

Gypsy woman is fantastic enjoyed the harmonics guitar with vocals Oye como ve is another really good song I enjoyed hope your feeling better even though the lines were repetitive. The rest of the album was Santana being santana.

Would be a nice album to listen to on a lazy summer afternoon sinking a few cold boys.

Santanan soundi on kyllä pirun siisti vaikkei levynä ihan parhaasta päästä ollutkaan.

141121 17:15 3

It’s good.

A totally smooth album filled with what Santana are known for, cool latin/jazz fusion rock. Best: Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen Worst: Samba Pa Ti

6,5/10 Legal

Actually pretty groovy. I'm not mad on Santana - he makes a good sound, but after a while the tone gets kind of boring for me and it all starts to sound a bit samey. But I really enjoyed the Latin influences on this album, and it does a pretty good job of sounding sexy. Oye Como Va is always gonna be a classic

Funky, punchy pure groove Santana's leads are psychedelic as hell

Very good instrumentals, short and sweet length

TIL that Carlos Santana was not the lead singer of Santana. "Mother's Daughter" was when it occurred to me - it was not the voice I was expecting. I only previously knew "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Vas" from this album, and always assumed it was Santana singing. Speaking of that singing, when the album transitions from more Latin-influenced or traditional songs back to more typical classic rock, the singers powerful voice coming back has a bit of a jarring effect. While I enjoy bands with the ability to interweave multiple styles into a cohesive whole, I don't think it feels cohesive with "Abraxas." It feels like two completely different bands. Both decent-to-good, but neither really stand out.

This album makes me think of work, specifically those people that excel in one particular aspect of their job and have no interest in working on their weaknesses, being well rounded, and becoming truly exceptional. In many cases they don’t really have weaknesses because they rise above in anything they put effort into. Their only weakness is the lack of drive to become more. They just want to work on what they enjoy and dig in as deep as they can. On one hand, there is something to be admired about someone knowing, and sticking to, what they like. On the other hand, the main takeaway for me is lost potential. Like what if Elton John had just said fuck it, I am a piano wizard and I don’t need lyrics. What if he never paired up with Bernie Taupin? I would probably not care much for Elton John’s music catalogue, and I don’t think we’d be calling him Sir. Santana’s lead guitar work is top notch. It’s beautiful. The Latin instrumental stuff (conga, timbales, etc.) is good, don’t get me wrong. However, there is just too much instrumental on its own. This is not all to say that instrumental albums can’t be interesting. They can be interesting, but they usually serve a specific mood, and the artist must commit to being an instrumentalist. Abraxas can’t decide if it’s a rock album or an instrumental album. That’s a problem. There are only 5 (of 9) songs with lyrics, and two of them repeat the same line or two the whole song. This leaves just 3 songs that are stimulating lyrically, which is the Achilles heal for this album. I am most pleased to have been introduced to Mother’s Daughter, which is the standout song for me on this album.

If I hadn't heard Santana's other albums I would've said this was flawless, but given a side-by-side comparison of this and their debut, I would have to say this pales in comparison.

Of course the famous tracks but the rest meanders like a muddy river. Notable for Latin+Rock but my favorites of his come much later.

Good background music. Awesome guitar

Good stuff

A neat blend of psychedelic blues rock and latin jazz. The Tito Puente cover was nice, and I never realized "Black Magic Woman" wasn't originally a Santana song (it was originally a Fleetwood Mac song). Makes me envision The Allman Brothers getting lost in the desert and doing some peyote. Favorite tracks: "Incident at Neshabur", "Mother's Daughter"

First songgg singing winds, crying beasts. Lowkey eerie start with the wind chimes and wind and threatening piano. Ooh now some geetar. Gotta expect that from santana. It’s starting to get more groovy I like it. Ooh yes get it bass. Some keyboard. Bling boing boing. Elevator sounding shi. A little bored. I like it but I’m a little bored. Really nice and groovy though I will say. Chill. Also side note I love the album cover like what is it? Idk but I absolutely love it. Psychedelic man. Next one, track two, is incident at neshabur. THIS defines elevator music. Definitely more interesting though now. Is Santana prog rock/psych? That’s the feel I’m getting. Ooh that guitar is fantasmic. So chill and nice. I would listen to this at a spa while getting a massage or something. BASS. Piano do be tinking. Oh shoot sorry it was on shuffle track to is actually black magic woman/gypsy queen and the other one is track 4. I’ve heard black magic woman before and I already love it so yeah it’s just amazing 10/10. Mmmm so good. Whoever’s singing is so smooth too (pun intended). Ok now 3 oye como va. I like the organ. Nice n groovy. I skipped four cuz I listened to it already but now it’s five, mother’s daughter. I like this one a lot the bass is so nice and the guitar is so awesome I love the tone of it. Ooh yes more singing. Yes please keep it coming. Geeeeetarrrrrr. Next is track six samba pa ti. This is my favorite one musically. It tickles the eardrums quite nicely. Yes I love this one. Track 7, hope your feeling better. Start that organ off with a bang wooooo. Alright this one is catchy some more singing I like it. Some claps now alright. I can’t get over this guitar tho it is actually so great. All improvisation and still awesome. Last song is track 7, el nicoya. What do all these titles mean? Idk. Some chanting and Congo drums. Interesting. Alright all done. I liked the album it was all improvising and chill psychedelic grooving which I liked. I will say though you have to really be in the mood for chill psychedelic stuff to listen to this album and if your not in the mood it’s lowkey boring. Really cool though Ill give it 6/10 stars.

nice and refreshing album, cool vibes and good music. was missing some lyrics but overall enjoyed it

Cool guitar as expected. Drums and rythym were nice too. I enjoyed.

BMW duh

It took a few tracks for me to get into it, but it's a decent slice of Latin rock. "Se a Cabo" and "Hope You're Feeling Better" were the highlights.

First heard about Santana from that awful Smooth song so knowing he was some Latin jazz fusion monster back in the day was a surprise. Still good stuff here, kinda wish it was a bit harder as he has the chops to really go

Pretty okay as far as people showing off how good they are at instruments music goes. Probably because it comes with a sense of musicianship, danceability and songcraft that most prog (I’ve discovered, for me) seems to lack.

This is some pretty great music and I liked it for the most part but I felt it became somewhat tiring by the middle. Then it kind of gives you a break with Samba Pa Ti and finishes ok. It has some killer tracks but I don't think it flows that well as an album.

Some very cool riffs in this album, "smooth" music that is nice to listen to. Don't know if I'd return to it much past that, but still an enjoyable listen Saved: Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen, Mother's Daughter Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Eh, this is clearly a bunch of talented dudes but idk it didn't really hit. I can't really put into words why I didn't really like it, but it just faded into the background for me. 2.5 that I'll round up.

Not bad, not great either

Good album. Only so far guitars etc can take you. Mothers daughter my favourite.

I think my opinion on this album is going to be very unpopular. First the positives. The keys solo on Oye Como Va is amazing. Incident at Neshabur is also really good but still not as good as most songs from some other fusion groups. Generally, I found the album kind of boring. Also, it didn't seem locked in all the time. People were off the beat on a lot of songs and I'm not sure if it was intentional but I didn't really like it. I'm also not a huge fan of Carlos Santana's tone or solos. It's not really that innovative or interesting. I really don't get the hype. Some of it sounds like it's trying to be jazz but it's not competent as a jazz album which bothers me. It's still okay but it's not great in my opinion. Favorite Songs: Oye Como Va, Incedent at Neshabur, Se A Cabo, Hope You're Feeling Better Least Favorite Songs: Singing Winds, Crying Beasts; Samba Pa Ti Strong 6/10

Good

Suave!

* Singing winds has a really chill sound, and the way they used the cymbal to sound like wind is super cool. * Black Magic Woman has a great sound to it with a nice bass-line, and subtle conga drums. But then at around 3:50 it takes off. Probably live this is a great part of the song, but listening by myself I'll be happier when it ends. * Oye Como Va is one of my all time favorite songs. I think it's on queue in my head to play at a moments notice. I could probably recognize it after 2 notes, including the one bass note and one keyboard chord. It's no wonder that genius.com translates "oye como va" to "listen, how it goes, my rhythm". * Incident at Neshabur (Neyshabur sp?) is complex, but on rhythm. Chaotic until about 3:00. And it's no wonder its on beat, because Carlos Santa did "lead guitar, vocals, and percussion" * Se a Cabo has a bunch of frilled solos noodling, probably fun in concert. The conga solo at 1:35 is pretty cool. I also like the big-band like un-mic-ed band singing "Se a Cabo" lines. But the guitar is what I didn't enjoy as much. * Mother's Daughter has great a great rythm and bass combo to start. But then takes off into the kind of chaotic noodling I'm not a super fan of. Then the lyrics cool it off and it becomes good again. * Samba Pa Ti, didn't even notice this song played and finished. * Hope You're Feeling Better is a good song, I like that there are lyrics to it. I would listen to it on the Radio without turning, but I wouldn't play it on purpose. * El Nicoya - I love the singing in the beginning of the song. Ooh and acoustic guitar, yes! Ok it's getting a bit repetitive now during the bongo solo. Aaand the track is over.

Better than I expected but still not something I'd seek out

Anders als erwartet, irgendwie mehr jazzige Einflüsse als Gitarrengewichse. Dennoch recht Café del Mar Sampler tauglich, durchwegs gefällig, teils hypnotisch/krautige Bass Läufe, im besten Fall haben sich auch mal Zeitgenossen von D.Banhart über Destroyer bis Woods bedient („Incident at Neshabur“). Ein Album, das nichts konkret will und in den besten Momenten alles sein kann. Cambozola-cremige 3.4

its good just not my style.

Classic Carlos sounds. Two fantastic fantastic songs back to back

Enjoyable listen, but not quite my style.

Ближе к 4

3

Me encuentro muy como al inicio cuando tocaron los Doors. Creo que Santana es un gran guitarrista, tiene técnica, inventiva y suficientes credenciales para callar a cualquiera. Su música es música que he escuchado muchísimas veces, es buena; esa mezcla de rock con ritmos latinos pero no solo ritmo latino realmente es más mezcla con jazz fusion latino. Creo todo un género y manera de arreglar canciones realmente a lo "chicano." Tiene todo ese crédito y más pero realmente, yo ya no lo aguanto. No puedo escuchar más sus versiones de Black Magic Woman u Oye Cómo Va. Este es un disco y una manera tan particular de tocar que ya para mi gusto tengo demasiado quemado y desgastado. Se que es bueno, me gustó en su momento pero ya no es para mí. Por cierto que siempre he pensado que Samba Pa Ti, que es la única canción de este disco que escribió él, es la menos aguantable (en este caso es una canción que nunca he tragado). Tiene puntos altos porque en el pasado me gustó y aprecio su importancia; simplemente creo es mejor que cortemos por lo sano Don Carlos.

Instrumental, meant to be listened to as a whole. Really nice. Samba Pa Ti, Singing Winds, Crying Beasts and Incident at Neshabur were the best.

Boomer tier.

i like it but it don’t have anything special to make me wanna give it more than 3 stars

Though pretty dated and is clearly the showcase for black magic woman & oye como va, it is a solid and energetic, groove-infused album. Not a giant fan of the date electronic keyboards and percussion as the message, but still give props.

I appreciate the skillful and soulful guitar work, the songs themselves don't do much for me.

OYE COMO VA! QUE LINDO!

Very good album, classic Santana songs.

Its okay. I really enjoyed Black Magic Woman and Incident at Neshabur, nice mostly instrumental album.

Classic Latin Rock. It's nice to have in the background but beyond that doesn't do a ton, but it's definitely culturally significant, 3.5 down to 3.

Never been a huge Santana fan, but this album has two of his greatest hits.

First Santana record I listened too. Knew "Black Magic Women" and "Oye Como Va". "Samba Pa Ti" has a killer guitar sound and feel but beyond this this album did not move me too much.

better than i expected from Santana,

2 huge Santana hits that would make anyone dance (Black magic woman and Oye como va) on there, but there's just too many instrumental songs/parts of songs for me to give 4 stars.

Santana at his best

Black Magic Woman immediately added to cooking playlist!

It's taken until age 40 to properly listen to a Santana album, despite being aware of him forever, and sadly it didn't do it for me. Not a fan of the Latin influence in general and his guitar work is so smooth and clean that it falls into the category of 'easy listening' for me. It doesn't engage me in any way

Meh

Peaceful at first but fell off a bit

1st track was cool, some good Latin beats throughout the album. Needs more rob Thomas

Not my type of music.

Best Track - "Black Magic Woman"

It was okay, quite liked the covers (Black Magic Woman and Oy Como Va) but otherwise wasn't blown away.

It has interesting elements but also not my cup of tea, the intro was BEAUTIFUL though. Some tracks might grow on me with repeated listens.

Hmmm i like songs with more lyrics. It was nice listening to while cleaning, but not my favorite

I thought he would just be edging the whole time after the first song but at least there was more going on than just guitar. Still sounds like music 70 year olds have sex to

Bad

Nothing of note hear. Not offensive but really meh. I can't remember what a single song sounds like after listening, and every song felt overly long. Can't say there was much here to connect with for me. The guitar and the somewhat bossa nova elements are nice tho, so I'll give it that. Fav Track: Oye Como Va

Meh. Not my favourite.

not many lyrics ☹️

Just to much focus on his exceptional guitar work to be anything other than ok. ‘Oye Como Va’ is the standout track and highlights how this works best when embracing their latin routes.

It was mostly fine, but I have limited patience for guitar noodling, so this is not really my kinda thing. I kept finding reasons to listen to other things, which is never a good sign. Oye Como Va is great though, that would get a 4 by itself. Clearly a collection of extremely talented musicians, but not ones who I want to spend time with. 2/5

Ok. 2.3

Fattar grejen men det här går inte för mig.

Not for me

I don't hate it, but I can't in good conscience give praise to those responsible for the creation of both the band Journey and "Smooth ft Rob Thomas." Reprehensible. All the best songs here were written by other people.

ну не без слов не

When this came up I was quite looking forward to it with only listening to bits of Santana. Pretty disappointed to be honest, it just didn’t get going. Felt like it was over before it started

Algo distinto, como para escuchar de fondo mientras estudio o hago alguna tarea que requiera concentración, gracias a su falta de letras. Me gustó, aunque salí completamente de mi zona de confort en lo que respecta a la música.

Is it mean to say this album bored the fuck out of me. I’m saying wake-up-from-a-beach-nap-to-turn-it-off levels of boring.

Solid 2. Good listen albeit not something I will regularly listen to

Han kan spille, men 40 minutters gitarsoloer har aldri vært min greie.

I do not like that Santana man, I do not like that man jams. This was actually NOT the most Santana sounding thing I’ve heard (outside of Black Magic Woman 🤮) but the incredible bongo band did it better. I’ve always kinda liked Oye Como Va

Meget anderledes, og jeg synes sådan set at det var ret fedt, dog er det nok ikke noget jeg ville sætte på, og tror jeg ville være nødt til at lytte til det et par gange for at vende mig til lyden, men vildt fedt at blive introduceret for genren. 2 føles hårdt, og jeg ved ikke hvor meget jeg synes det fortjener en 2'er

Not terrible, not for me though. 2/5

Go Latin rock! I didn’t feel obsessed with any song in particular but I would put this on to cook or something and jam out. Fast as you can by Fiona Apple is to when the pawn as incident at neshabur is to abraxas. Would love this if I wanted to just listen to guitar riffs. Perfect album for a guitar riff lover. Very impressive but as it went on it became less to my taste. Favorites: black magic woman, oye como va

Me outloud, seeing that today was a Santana album: "OH HELL YEAH".

Psychedelic rock has never been my thing but after learning to play guitar in my 50’s, I definitely respect the brilliance of his guitar work. The music just isn’t enjoyable to me

I am an avowed Santana hater. I gave this as honest a shake as I could give it and… I strongly disliked it. I’m having a hard time articulating what about it I dislike so much. The guitar? The organ? The percussion? The long-winded instrumental sections? "But aren’t you Latino?" Yes, and I dislike it all the same. Give me some cumbia. It’s not enough to warrant a 1, but it’s certainly a 2/5 for me.

2.5

Don’t get me wrong. Nice guitar. But not the perfect vibe for me.

Slightly less than mid.

This is fine but not really my thing and there was nothing in here that made me go "hell yeah this kicks ass" besides some really good guitar.

Wank fest

Not my style, but it was alright

Good

Good psychedelic rock with a warm guitar tone and latin/mexican(?) undertones. Favorite track (and title): “Incident at Neshabur” 2.75/5

it was long and musical not much singing, it would be good if your into that

I never knew Santana had so much latiny stuff. I liked it more than I expected.

Not something id listen to on a daily basos

Как-то нейтрально, будто просто фоновая музыка

Ehh

latino

Very good for old people ears I’m sure

Didn’t listen to all of it, but nothing noteworthy from what I did listen to

not my style sadly but very interesting!

It was okay, I'm rarely a fan of instrumental only songs. My favourites were Hope You're Feeling Better, Mother's Daughter, Black Magic Woman/, and Oye Como va was quite fun.

This was pretty good and I want to check out their other works. Top songs: Samba Pa Ti, Black Magic Women/ Gypsy Queen

Honestly not my favorite, but i think the guitar was pretty nice

Not for me

honestly slysela jsem tak dve pisnicky a jakoze bylo to alright, fajn hudba, ale zas tak me to nezaujalo mega se mi libi ten cover tho

too much weird things happening all at once

Santana needs a few more listens. It seems like something I would enjoy more now than I did when I first heard it in 2019. On the other hand, guitar wankery never appealed to me, and that's what Santana is known for. At least the latin flavor makes it more interesting than other guitarmen like Satriani or Bonamassa. Key tracks: Oye Como Va

Not for me

Not my cup of tea. Not into endless guitar solos. Yawn 🥱

I mainly loved the sound tracks with no voices. The one where there were vocals like black woman magic or so didn't seat well will me .. nice soundtracks

I think my brain needed more stimulation today and this didn’t quite do it

Wel paar mooie nummers maar ik voelde het totaal niet

None of it was really pulling me in.

Wish I paid more attention to my 3 years of Duolingo Spanish Fave track: Oye Como Va

can't get behind the keys/synth but the guitar obviously stands out. just not my cup of tea but i can appreciate the musicality

non english songs, not bad, but not in the mood

12/10/2025 Wednesday cool art

Album rules

It was very average. I couldn't say I despised it by any means but I found it very boring at some points, with some spots of interest which soon faded. It feels harsh to give this a 2 but I can't justify a 3. Favourite track - Mother's Daughter

I've never been a huge fan of Santana and I think this is my first listen to the album. I knew Black Magic Woman & Oye Cómo Va, they are both OK songs. The rest of the album did not excite me. This album offered nothing compelling enough to warrant a second listen.

I recognise musicians (guitarists in particular) rave about Santana, but not for me I’m afraid

Got better as the album progressed,but still just background noise for me.

Viktig gitarist, kjedelig musikk.

I appreciate the talent, but I've just never gotten into any of Santana's music at all.

Bored and couldnt wait for it to finish - can see why some people like it tho

Never been my thing

the album art is a 10 for me overall tolerable, i've never been into prolonged instrumentals and this project is making me realize anything "psychedelic" is not for me. recognized several songs just from existing in the world, but not a single song i'd actively choose to play. "samba pa ti" was a high point

Felt like I was put on hold for 37 minutes

At least 2 are pretty good; as for the rest: at least its pretty short

Handwerklich sicherlich alles gut und so, aber das gibt mir insgesamt echt sehr wenig.

Haut mich als Album nicht um. Ist eine schöne Sammlung einzelner Stücke, aber als Album funktioniert es für mich nicht im Kontext dieses Anspruchs.

eh, its okay

Santana has never worked for me. I usually love Latin music, but this mix of Latin beats with rock washes all of the energy and passion out of the beats for me. The Samba song was ok.

Mais um que não sei se entendi

I used to like it as a teen, but as an adult I find the demonic undertones distasteful

Some high quality guitar work in evidence here, with Black Magic Woman being the only song I was familiar with An interesting snapshot of 1970's guitar sounds Not my bag at all, but great for a one-time listen

Do you enjoy endless guitar noodling and pointless keyboard excursions? If so, then ask your doctor if ABRAXAS® is right for you.

I'm not a jazz fan, or a fan of jams, so idk if Santana is really for me

Ніколи не любив Сантану.

Not a fan. Used to hear black magic woman on the radio all the time, never liked classic stuff. Guitar stuff like this just doesn't do it for me.