Abraxas

Beautiful album. Brilliant sound. Unique vibes.

Moments of magic and explosives in equal measure. I’ve heard some of Santana in passing and enjoyed it, but this surpassed all my hopes. A beautiful creation here that I’m looking forward to enjoying for years to come. 2 listens Favorite Tracks: Incident at Neshabur, Hope You’re Feeling Better, Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen

I liked this a lot. Going into it I was thinking I barely knew any santana songs, and the ones I did know were on this album. Good stuff

muy muy bueno Santana y yo ahora somos friends, lo de que al principio pareciera un álbum instrumental ya me había ganado

Lovely album, although santana is a guitarist I felt this album had overall strong instrumentals and composition beyond guitar

Oye como va! Vou muito bem com essa musica !

Love this album to bits, a lush and thrilling rock album all the way through, definitely Santana at his best.

Den av mina skivor som gått varmast senaste året. Kanske inte är ett perfekt album, men det sitter som en smäck när solen skiner och man precis har ploppat ner limekvarten i coronan. #lifeisgood. Tänl att få brajja på med det här bandet och gå loss på percen. Eller bara ha Santanas gitarrljud. "Hmmm... Något saknas i titeln till Black magic woman..." tänkte den gode Carlos och la till /Gypsy Queen. Nu börjar det bli dags att sjösätta vidare forskning i gypsy-fascinationen sent 60/tidigt 70. "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas..."

Genuinely they ate this shit up

Héroe de la guitarra.

Santana is an absolute guitar virtuoso, and this album shows the breadth of his talent. He mixes rock electric guitar with Caribbean beats, and ends up with a singular sound. Great album cover too.

This second album from Santa showed their second album lived up to the hype that was generated by the first album. This album had hits that played in regular commercial AM radio popular rock stations. The whole album slayed on the rising FM radio stations that utilized album formats. This is a classic album! And Carlos Santana has continued to get better!

I think he must think he's an alien angel... Back before he went through his problematic Rob Thomas/hip-hop crossover era. Angelic

One of the best psychedelic rock albums I've ever heard. Carlos Santana and his band really knew how to jam. I'm not familiar with the recording process of this album, but the arrangements are all so loose and adventurous that it gives the feeling that it's all been improvised. Everyone involved does an incredible job but Santana's guitar work is truly the star of the show, his playing is so emotive and driving with tons of memorable riffs. This is primarily a rock album but the flourishes of blues, jazz, and Latin music give it so much personality and color. This is primarily instrumental but the portions with vocals are excellent. The lyrics are nothing special but they don't need to be, as the vocals clearly aren't the primary focus and are more just a component of the greater ensemble. The two most famous singles, Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va, are obviously both excellent, but the deep cuts hold their own quality-wise. So many albums from this era label themselves as "psychedelic" but very few truly live up to that descriptor like this one does. It truly does feel like an acid-tinged journey through space and time, and it's easily my favorite on the list so far.

Such a good album. Relaxing yet energetic at the same time. Amazing guitars. Really good music of Latin music with American rock. Perfect to listen to from start to finish.

Great album and artist; I love the variety of the album. And ending up listening to it while sitting in the sun was a great feeling.

Love Santana! Heard a few of these songs before but the whole album was great

I will always love Santana. Each song feels connected like it's a full experience, and the man sure knows what he's doing.

Excelente álbum

It's good! What a guitar artist, truly. Love all these bangers.

Just as good as I remembered! Makes me want to experience it ay an outdoor concert with the smell of sweet ganja in the air. I added “Oye Como Va” to my playlist.

santana abraxas

Really enjoyed this album! Perfect listen for a day with beautiful weather, maybe on a drive with the windows down. When "Sambo Pa Ti" came on I immediately knew I'd heard it before and after some googling was finally able to place it. Also, very cool album cover. I've listened to some Santana before but definitely need to listen to more so this felt like a great place to start.

A masterclass of Latin music. Favorite Track: "Oye Como Va".

Oldie but goldie… heard it a lot in my twenties

EXCELENTE

Really loving the atmospheric grooves on this album. The bass lines give the tracks a genuine swagger that I can’t help but enjoy, and the instrumentals dancing around it work a treat, especially the guitar work which is superb. In truth the album feels like a jamming session but in the best way possible, full of life, intrigue and passion.

Abraxas de Santana es más que un álbum, es una experiencia llena de energía y emoción. Desde el inicio te envuelve con esa vibra tan característica de los años 70: cálida, libre y profundamente rítmica. Escucharlo es realmente agradable, y casi sin darte cuenta te dan ganas de bailar. La fusión de rock, jazz y ritmos latinos crea un sonido hipnótico, especialmente en temas como Black Magic Woman y Oye Cómo Va, mientras la guitarra de Carlos Santana le da un toque lleno de alma. Este álbum confirma por qué los 70 son tan especiales: música que no solo se escucha, se siente. 5/5

Siempre escuchar un disco de Santana es un placer, relajante, divertido, tiene de todo, no hay canción de Santana mala o fea, todo lo que toca es oro.

Great stuff.

Classic! Praticaly a greatest hits!

I really like this album and to black magic woman I didn’t like it when I first listened to it a while ago but I really like it now and I wasn’t expecting all the instrumental stuff but I loved it

each song keeps the album fresh. the Latin beat is nice

5/5 the guitar fucks so hard and also has some pop hits and Latin drum beats like reggaeton Oye como va!

muy bueno

This is a fantastic record. Great arrangements, exciting percussion, a lot of tasty playing. Excellent song choices and wild album art. I had never listened to this album front to back. Loved it.

This album rocks. Too bad Carlos Santana is a transphobe

Holy shit what an album, I keep thinking about it long after listening.

The tastefulness of the arrangements elevate this beyond what it might have been. Santana's guitar playing never feels self-indulgent, but totally in harmony with the band. But his guitar IS incredible, perhaps most notably on Black Magic Woman. It almost feels like a living breathing thing. Oye Como Va is the most Latin of the songs so far, especially the vocals, but the Hammond organ gets to shine as well. Great soulful guitar again. Incident at Neshabur is very strong as well, a jazzy instrumental with an extended intro before the guitar comes in and a beautiful calm middle section. Se a Cabo is mostly instrumental again: first the guitar takes center stage, then the tribal sounding drums. Mother's Daughter is a lively blues rocker with nice riffing, then Samba Pa Ti is emotional again, an almost perfect instrumental. The quality of the solo and lead guitar work on Hope You're Feeling Better is outstanding - I'm repeating myself. Say no more. Perfect runtime and an incredible fusion album. Not to be missed.

A perfect fusion of rock, latin, jazz and blues that keeps things fresh and never overstays its welcome. Gorgeous guitar playing and an amazing rhythm section. Flawless.

Me pareció una mezcla interesante entre sonidos más latinos en la percusión en conjunto con buenos riffs de guitarra. Muy buen álbum.

This is such a danceable album! It's great to just have on in the background throughout the day or for a chill hangout. Definitely makes my body want to move!

Me sorprendió para bien, el ritmo latino es delicioso.

Magic

Cuando la psicodelia se mezcla con los sonidos latinos solo puedes garantizar un éxito como este. 0001

I bet it feels really good to be one of these guitars.

Gran disco de percusión y solos de guitarra que alimenta el gran disco en vivo que años después grabará el gran Carlos.

A masterpiece and a showcase for Carlos Santana's guitar playing. Anyone who was a teenager during the 1970s surely must have had a smooch to "Samba Pa Ti", and if you were lucky, "Oye Cómo Va" as well. Album also has a version of "Black Magic Woman" that I think is better than the original version by Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac.

Iconic is a word that gets used far too often but that is the only word for this album. Banger after banger with Hope You're Feeling Better and Incident at Neshabur being my personal standouts.

Yesterday, to start a stressful week off right, I requested that the website give me 5 continuous 5 star albums in a row. Today, insanely enough, I’m 2/2. Carlos Santana is on the Mount Rushmore of Hispanic Guitarists, and just outside of the overall Mount Rushmore. I feel like every successful artist has a song that features him, and if you don’t, you just haven’t made it yet. Anyway, it’s rare to hear him on a solo album. Of course I knew “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen” and “Oye Como Va”, the ladder of which being my favorite song on the album going into this, but this entire album is just insanely good from top to bottom. It fades into the background at some point and helps me lock in to my work when I need to. The guitar playing, as previously mentioned, is phenomenal. But, it’s not just 40 minutes of guitar playing. It’s so much deeper than that. The entire album as a whole just flows into itself and is actually better as a whole. The 2 hits play right after each other, and to hear them both in the full context of the album is freaking awesome. Something immensely humorous I find about Santana from his Wikipedia page is that he was ranked as Rolling Stone Magazine’s 20th best guitarist in 2015, but then in 2023 they corrected this to number 11. Curious as to what changed in that time to lift him to a much more accurate position. Fan outrage?? Or did they just realize how much of a mistake they made. Anyway, the album art makes me think I’m about to dive into some Heavy Metal or something. It still kinda fits, but it’s pretty crazy looking. Definitely has undertones of an LSD induced trip. Love this album, love Santana, wish he had more albums on here. We’re off to a good start to the week. Let’s see if we can get 3 5’s in a row for the first time ever. I’m feeling pretty good about it.

Really really good Will I listen to again: 100%

This is brilliant. What a rock album! I was genuinely sorry that the album ended.

Very good experience. Will definitely relisten. Only inconveniant? Too short

not what i expected from the album art

“Abraxas” is Santana’s most important early album, and it was a pleasure to listen to it in its entirety again after so long. Everyone probably knows “Black Magic Woman” and the instrumental “Samba Pa Ti” (and perhaps “Oye Como Va” as well), but on this listen, “Hope You're Feeling Better” stood out to me in a particularly positive way. The real strength of Abraxas, however, lies not only in the magnificent performances and the sound that was completely groundbreaking at the time, but also in the narrative arcs that span multiple songs (exactly one side each on the vinyl version). This is, of course, a result of years of live experience (and probably explains why no one listens to the albums of average pop acts), but some artists just pull it off particularly well.

Classic album. 5 stars all the way.

Love everything about this one. The rhythm section pairs perfectly with Santana’s leads.

I grew up jamming this album with my dad. Excellent. We played Santana at his funeral.

some Latin Rock album that got famous in 1969 on Woodstock ig that says plenty just as the cover wow a song that was referenced by nine inch good stuff, i like that theres almost no vocals. each song has its own character in a way, but they're not drastically different at the same time. i liked it, but not my cup of tea. i liked "incident at neshabur", "se a cabo",

I don't care what anyone says, I'm giving this 5*. The whole thing is just such a great time. The blend of latin rhythms with heavier guitar riffs and exciting drums. I couldn't help but smile throughout the whole thing. Beautiful! Favourites: Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen Incident At Neshabur Se a Cabo Samba Pa Ti

Clásico y maravilloso El cruce de dos culturas y abrazadas juntas en lo más alto

3/9 Classic album. Not a bad song on it

Wonderful music, finally a decent album on this list to really listen to.

Discazo

I feel like that meme. Okay, was anybody gonna tell me how great Santana was? Or was I just supposed to figure out how great Santana was on my own?

Solid Album

The Santana album

Wow. This album is packed with virtuosic performances. Carlos Santana is an amazing guitarist, and everyone else in the band keeps pace with great playing too. The music is a blend of psychedelic rock, jazz, Latin music, hard rock, and blues. There’s a lot of variety across the 9 tracks, but it all feels like the product of the same band. I’m just realizing now while I listen to this that Khruangbin, one of my favorite current bands, owes a great deal to Santana. They have their own unique blend of styles from around the globe, but they were clearly very influenced by Santana.

Santana is awesome, fully of flavor, with tasteful melodies, great guitar playing and singing, and all of this combines to be a really enjoyable listening experience. I know a lot of Hispanic people that absolutely adore him, and I think this is telling that he's not like on outsider attempting to make Latin music, he's the real deal. The panning is really great on this album. "Oye Como Va" is of course amazing, and I appreciate that I can sit and really enjoy the bongos and congas in the right ear, the guiro in the left, and the guitar cutting right through the middle. "Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen" is one of the best electric guitar songs of all time; probably within my personal top 100. Every note is so memorable, every phrase is tasteful. The tone is SO good. The lick that breaks through at 00:45 and what comes after is really masterful.

This album is perfection. I adore it. I'm thrilled when each track starts because I think it's my favorite when in reality the whole darn thing is my favorite.

Used to listen to this all the time. Honestly giving it my first 5 star of the project. Slaps, diverse, english, spanish, great guitars, great percussion. Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va, Mother's Daughter, Hope you're Feeling Better.....I mean wow.

I really love Santana and the great Latin jazz vibes they bring in.

This album was excellent. I’ve heard Black Magic Woman a million times, but I’d never heard the instrumental lead-in before and now I want to hear that every time BMW comes on.

Very enjoyable

That's a good album. A couple of songs on 'greatest hits' compilations and a bunch of others that could also easily be too. I look forward to finding this on vinyl.

Un clásico

Großartig!

Increíble.

Listened the whole album, I knew about the song "Black Magic Woman" before.I mean it's a classic lol but what a delight it was to listen it all! Very vibesy! One of my fav decades of music and I loved the Spanish lyrics! I'm not even talking about the cover of the album,,,,holy shit just pure art. I feel like a boomer saying this even though I do like modern music and techno a lot, but genuinely music had more soul back then...

Having a bad day, so grateful the generator gifted me something so life-affirming. Like many reviewers I only knew the singles, but they sound completely different in the context of the album. Definitely makes me want to listen to more of his stuff.

Wow

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Oye Como Va put a big smile on my face. Vibe and a halfffffffff

Bewb on cuver ( . Y . )

Latin music combined with rock and jazz. A really good album! Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen is a quintessential track!

Growing up is realizing your dad actually has killer music taste

this is such a vibe. so many crazy beautiful sounds

Watching the Bad Bunny halftime performance and then getting to this not too long afterwards. YO SOY LATINOOOOO MUHDERFUKERS!!!!! (9/10, 5/5 on this scale)

Guitar as protagonist. The organ. The bongos. Genre-bending. Shifts in pace and mood.

BANGER!

Absolutely loved this.

I mean, fuck. This album is an entire journey. The guitar is of course iconic but the vocals, drums, and everything else is next level.

Classic

Este disco huele a sexo y vino tinto. Es un disco de madrugada, de confesiones y de recuerdos.

Absolutely essential. My first exposure to Santana, containing bath the big hits and Samba Pa Ti.

5/5

Insane album, absolute classic

T H E B E S T <3 <3 <3

Not my type of music normally, but this album grew on me slowly. It's petty amazing!

What a surprise this was, I really only knew of any Santana from the 2010's collaborations and thought that was it, how wrong I was, this album was amazing from start to finish!

Инструментально кайфовый альбом. Готова переслушать ещё разок другой. Сохранила трек "Hope You're Feeling Better", врубила на репите, божественные рифы, балдею и от гитары и от баса с ударкой. Обложка классная, люблю подобный коллаж.

This was a great album. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Exceptional.

Hace unos meses encontré a Masayoshi Takanaka. Su álbum "All of me" me encanto. Me apareció un tal Santana en las recomendaciones pero no le di importancia. Me voy enterando que es un guitarrista legendario que incluso ha tocado con Takanaka. Lo entiendo completamente, todo el tiempo estuve emocionado escuchando esa guitarra. Takanaka inclusive hizo un cover de samba pa ti en On guitar. También la canción "Oye como va" es una referencia a un personaje de jojos. Ya van dos álbumes con referencias.

Favourite song: Black Magic Woman

Listened while sorting the washing Oyo como va and hope you’re feeling better

banger after banger. absolutely amazing album.

Absolutely No Notes.

Very good!

Very fun, hot, sunny vibes. Had a feeling a few songs from this were featured in movies, that’s exactly right. «…notably the hit "Oye Como Va" in comedies like American Pie & The Hangover and classic Scarface, while "Black Magic Woman" also appears in various media…» Very awesome album to smoke hookah and vibe to. The cover artwork is incredible.

Black magic woman is a classic but the album was great. This feels like a great album but also a great showing of classic rock.

A classic.

Snappy Latin rhythms and fiery guitar playing, it can only be Carlos Santana. Fantastic album.

this if fire though.

God the bass is so great.

I mean, my top three of all-time favourite guitarists are Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince (in no particular order). Add to that the perfect blend of Latin, Jazz, Blues, and Rock, and you've got the recipe for one of my favourite albums of all time. Yes, I might be biased, since I've got nearly all of Santana's recordings, but this is by far (together with some of his other albums from the '70s) his best! And yes, I've got a "Black Magic Woman" too! 5/5

Amazing

*Abraxas* I pretty much give this one the same review that I gave their first album i'm not quite sure which one I like better because they both are just very energetic and very incendiary. If there was anything I was going to say lessons Abraxas is the intro on the outro which neither did anything for me but pretty much everything in between is just incredible. My favorite bits are the more Latin 10 which is a carryover from the first album but they also showed muscle and just straightforward bluesy rock and roll especially with *Hope You're Feeling Better* of course also the big hits were good *Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen", "Oye Como Va" and "Samba Pa Ti" (9.8) ★★★★½

Hot stuff. Or rather should I say mucho caliente. This is just a brilliant, timeless classic fusion of rock, jazz and latin. Good enough to be preserved in the Library of Congress as well as Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock. Santana’s guitar tone is killer, the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Black Magic Woman is an all-timer and there are some underrated blastin rockin highs in the second half as well with Mother’s Daughter and Hope You’re Feeling Better. Great bongos on this. 5+/5 album art from Mati Klarwein as well. The lady on it with the dove is actually meant to be the Virgin Mary so the timing of this album for Christmas is actually pretty good.

felt like one long song and i loved every minute of it

THE COVER OMG

Turns out I really like Latin rock

Listened Before: No Insanely lit 5/5. Listened twice before lunch

instrumental HEAVENN to viciada on repeat

This seriously awesome tripped out electric music album has got the power of 3 nuclear power plants. It is so powerful and forceful with the stylings of jazz and samba but clearly a very electric album. They prove without a doubt that they were in control of the music scene after their performance at Woodstock. This album was meant to be savored fully and to totally soak up the power of it.

Mitt kjennskap til Santana har primært vært "Smooth" og "Black Magic Woman", men mitt første møte med bandet var på en trippel-cdsamling jeg hadde som het Children of the Revolution. Trolig en av de utgivelsene som har formet min musikksmak mest. Der var altså "Samba Pa Ti", og det var en av låtene jeg pleide å skippe på CD-en. Jeg ville heller høre på Deep Purple, The Band, Free og Steppenwolf. Med litt voksnere ører syns jeg det er en chill låt. Det er kanskje tålmodigheten som kommer med alderen? Og generelt syns jeg albumet er overraskende bra. For mitt inntrykk var at Santana er litt sirumpa gitarrunking. Litt gitarrunking er det jo, men det er ikke noe verre enn andre artister jeg liker fra den tiden. Faktisk mener jeg flere av de andre instrumentalistene får vist seg. Den litt Deep Purple-aktige "Hope You're Feeling Better" er feks en orgellåt fremfor alt. Mens "Se a Cabo" er rytmeseksjonens tid til å skinne. Det er et velprodusert album med et lydbilde som låter friskt selv i 2026. Andre latinrock-album jeg har hørt virker å ha fått stemoderlig behandling studiomessig. For eksempel The New York Sound av Flash & the Dynamics, et album jeg digger, men som sliter med et noe tynt lydbilde. Jeg tror jeg kommer til å komme tilbake til Abraxas

Another banger from Santana, his first few albums are generationally amazing and so easy to listen/groove to.

Great album

I don't know what else I could ask from an album. Latin-fused rock, congas, nasty bass lines, a tasteful virtuoso on lead guitar, players who are absolutely locked the fuck in together, and masterfully-recorded and mixed. Wonderful album. So nice, I listened twice

10/10 extrem de funky, nu mă așteptam

Classic guitarist here with classic guitar riffs. Can’t really hate it at all.

I give so many 5 stars because I like so many things! but this one should be on a whole other level. one of the top 10s

Once again, an album that needs no introduction. Simply magnificent. Memories from my early days as a student in the dormitory come flooding back. 5/5

Sensational! High energy. Beautifully blends piano and guitar over soulful, funky rhythms. Best enjoyed on a rainy morning with a cup of coffee when you have a BUNCH to get done today

loved the jazzy elements

This is an absolute killer album, first time I've listened through a Santana album. Always heard highly of them and this is evidence of why they're amongst the best. Fresh, jazzy, and high percussion that crosses into rock genre a bit.

I never listened to this album and loved it. Adding the my regular rotation.

Fantastic

Expert guitar craftsmanship

I read that Santana was rated the 11th greatest guitarist ever. I’m not sure what world Rolling Stone is living in that there are ten better guitarists.

Black magic woman is the peak of sexiness Love the mix of rock and what seems like more indigenous Mexican sounds

Excellent listening, beging to end

Hot and Spicy. 4.5 star

This is the pinnacle of cool

Great album! So many hits that fly under the radar, and the other tracks are great too. People always want to chalk Santana up to a solo noodler or just another guitarist who only does collaborations with popular artists, but his range and variety of music over the years is crazy. Awesome on his own, and automatically levels up anyone else he plays with.

Had never heard of Santana before, had absolutely no idea what to expect. LOVED THIS. Don't think I've ever heard anything like it. What a treat. A lovely reminder that this project is great for discovering new things Songs added to playlist: - Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen - Oye Como Va - Se a Cabo - Samba Pa Ti

This album is badass for background music.

Loved it, best recommendation of the list so far. I guess also I had never really listened to Santana before, of course I knew their name and the general vibe but I honestly didn’t know that tracks like Oye Como Va are Santana songs. Love the Latin psychedelic vibe, right up my alley

I listen to this classic album at least once a month. If you like guitar rock, you're probably already a fan of this one. The original Santana band, featuring Carlos Santana, of course, and Gregg Rolie, released four albums. All of them are perfect in their own way. Caravanserai, the fourth, is a personal favorite, but Abraxas is the one most universally regarded as Santana's masterpiece. The 2008 MOFI One Step tops many lists of best vinyl releases of all time. Even though I am very familiar with this album, I listened three times yesterday, on vinyl, streamed, and high quality files through headphones. No matter how you listen, this record holds up as potentially the best Latin/electric blues fusion album of all time, beautiful passages leading into blistering guitar and organ solos, the entire band playing off of one another. I am looking forward to reading the negative OAD reviews of Abraxas because I simply can't find a single thing wrong with it. Five stars.

Percussion panning - left/right Pretty good

Let me add another Hell Yeah! Such a brilliant album. Everything's here, Santana's guitar that would dominate any other band is somehow just another genius sound on on this album.

Wow! This is music! I think I’m a Santana fan now.

This album was fucking yummy. I love Santa and I think he's got such a great feel

What a treat after yesterdays album (69 love songs, really did not like it). Not sure if im giving a 5 for the juxtaposition, or if it really is just that good. Pretty sure Abraxas was just that good. Latin music mixed with psychedelic rock? Hell yeah brother. Album art might be one of my new favorites. Trippy af! 9/10

The vibes on this album are world class. I am a huge fan of Santana's ability to blend together Latin influences, rock and blues. The playing on this is super well done and the album as a whole comes together perfectly. The only criticism I can come out with is that I wish it was longer.

Easy to listen to late 60s rock with that infectious guitar of Santana mixed with Latin influence.

Part rock, part jazz, part salsa. Groovy, smooth, funky, rocking. Is there anything this album doesn't do? I guess the vocals are nothing to write home about? But don't mind that, let Santana sing to you with his guitar. It's a pity Santana's most popular tracks are from when he did the pop crossover album in the 90s. I mean good for him to keep himself relevant and to create something a little more geared toward the masses, but that stuff is nothing compared to this.

I’m not sure that this is my favorite of the classic Santana records but it’s probably objectively the best. They really nail the Latin jazz pop rock mix, to perfection. Santana would go hard in all of those directions later, but never struck the balance so sweetly before or after. There isn’t an ounce of flab here among the lengthy jams and instrumentals. Black Magic Woman>Gypsy Queen>Oye Como Va>Incident at Neshabur is an album run of greatness I’d put up against anything from the era

The beginning of this record has an amazing rainy day vibe. It's moody. I like it. I really enjoy Santana’s playing. He has his own signature style but it isn’t flashy, it’s musical and melodic. This band is tight. REALLY tight. Good lord. “Se a Cabo” is excellent. "Mother's Daughter" is incredible! Especially that transition between them. Those first few tracks I was thinking this was a three to a four, then "Se a Cabo" pushed it to a four, then that transition - 5. "Hope You're Feeling Better" just puts it over the top. What a build up this record has! Whatever Carlos was paying his percussionists it wasn't enough. These guys are killing it. This was a big surprise to me. FIVE STARS

Beautiful. Blows my mind this came out in 1970 lol and he’s still performing.

I can't believe this album was rom 1970. It sounds as applicable today as ever. True art is timeless, and this falls into that category.

It simply doesn’t get much better than a mixture of jazz and rock. Every song made it to my liked playlist (besides the last one which was aight).

Just great. Such a cool album. Really caught my Latin mood today. Haven’t heard it for years but gets a big yes from me.

Outstanding

Enjoyable soulfoul music. Focused on guitar, but there is more to it than that.

So cool, so chill, so hypnotic. These guys are so great.

Classic

Well-deserved addition to this list!

Generally I'm highly suspect of bands named after the guitar player (or anyone besides the singer) unless you're Van Halen which gets a pass because: 1) Eddie Van Halen is basically the greatest guitar player ever; 2) 1/2 of the band had the last name Van Halen; and 3) it's just a sick name for a band. So I've never been really been sure what to do with the Santanas of the world and I of course lived through the Supernatural era and indeed worked in a record store in 1999-2000 where that was the only consistent seller that year besides Enimem's second album, and it was weird how much Rob Thomas was involved with that. Anyway, this was absolutely great and I need to relax and go with the Santana flow.

A landmark for a near perfect fusion blending Latin jazz, psychedelic, blues, and polyrhythmic rock seamlessly. I love how some songs slow down the energy bringing a smoother, ballad like atmospheric feel that contrasts beautifully with the energetic fiery instrumental sections. The polyrhythms give it a slight progressive feel, which I really love. The guitar work and overall instrumentation are wonderful, they showcase great use of dynamic range and precision throughout the album. I love how the Latin percussion like the congas, timbales, bongos add depth and culture to the sound, while Santana’s guitar flows freely through it all. The addition of the organ and piano tie everything together. As a whole creating a sound that feels spiritual and bursting with energy. Overall, the fact that I enjoyed a 40 minute of an almost fully instrumental album speaks for itself! This album has the perfect balance between groove and melody. The artwork fits the music perfectly too, abstract, vibrant, full of motion, pieces all over the place just like the songs themselves. I already knew Black Magic Women/Gypsy Queen, however I really enjoyed Singing Winds, Crying Beasts, Oye Como Va, Incident at Neshabur, Se a Cabo, Mother's Daughter and Hope you're Feeling Better.

groove. guitar. cool.

Amazing album, I was grooving the whole way through. I seriously need to listen to more Santana

Black Magic Woman is a song that is so seared into my brain from childhood that I couldn't NOT enjoy this album. Obsessed with how all the songs lead into one another. Obsessed with the horns and the piano and everything. Sexy, smooth, just extremely wonderful overall!

Loved it.

So good

Solid album that I could listen fully any day. Didn’t know that some songs were that old.

Das ist ein Meisterwerk. Punkt.

A fantastic display of Latin music and atmospheric rock

I really like this album. Bluesy proggy rock but with a Latin twist. Great cover of Black Magic Woman and I really like Oye Como Va and Samba Pa Ti.

Gostei

Carlos! c

No one sounds like Santana. I always think of his story at Woodstock, where he hallucinated the headstock of his guitar as a snake which he had to fight off. This actually reflects his playing style pretty well-- it's like a wild animal he is constantly trying to tame and control, and sometimes the guitar bites and screams before he can bring it back. This album is perhaps their best as a full band concept too, a sweeping epic of Latin soundscapes, from the gentle opening of "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts", to the bluesy twists of "Black Magic Woman", to the danceable grooves of "Oye Como Va", to the anger and grit of "Se a Cabo", to the melodic masterpiece "Samba Pa Ti". I don't think any track is skippable here. It's one of my favorite albums alongside their debut, which is arguably even better.

Bravo Carlos

5 stars, just because there aren't 6.

Guitar pr0n

Great listen.

Before: I've heard the name Carlos Santana a ton, but I think the only song I'm really familiar with is black magic woman. After: Wow! Two amazing days in a row. This album is so incredibly smooth. This is the perfect mix of rock, jazz, and Latin music to me.

I love the variety in sounds in this record. The psych rock, the latin sound, and jazz. They're all kind of fused together in a really amazing way which is something I appreciate so much in music. I thoroughly enjoyed this record. Every musician killed it. The organ playing, the guitar playing, the piano playing, all interweaved. I loved the bongos throughout it all. I loved the polyrhythms as well which gave it a prog feel too. This record essentially had bits of a lot of my favorite parts of music.

Incident at Neshabur

Honestly this album was fantastic. There wasn't many vocals in this album at all and it made the album blend all the tracks together because of that. I'll definitely listen to this album again and I finally understand why Santana is considered to be the best guitarist of all time.

#138/1001. All the Santana hits in one album? I didn't realize this was the case. I think I am only familiar eith couple other albums from some reason. But this rocks, the original superstar who brought Latin grooves to hippie consciousness and beyond. I'm also glad how the guitar master sometimes steps aside and let's the band shine.

Great album.

Альбом хорош и обложка хороша.

Alltime Classic

It’s way too easy to forget how greats Santana is. What’s wrong with me?

This album is amazing! Just great from start to finish. No filler, all great.

Awesome debut album

oye como va cured my ear infection

this guy does drugs

The percussion was on fire. It’s like a cousin to Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew in a way more than just same album cover artist.

Got nice vibes to get work done

Classic.

A very enjoyable album, good to hear everything other than the obvious Samba Pa Ti and Black Magic Woman. Something I would listen to again.

Samba Pa Ti is very close to my heart in that it is the only song that is guaranteed to get me off my butt to dance with my wife. The rest of the album is just spectacular.

First day of Yoga

Extremely Unique instrumentals from anything else in the list thus far and this album is incredible. We got Donkey Country level music beats in this thing.

Every song is interesting and well put together. The instrumentals are on point and the highlight. The vocals are great touch to the whole thing. That guitar made me feel something. I'm in love with this album. Favourite Song: Oye Como Va Honourable Mentions: Samba Pa Ti, Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen, Incident at Neshabur

5 *!!!

Santana

Great artistry, a deserved classic.

This is such a powerful album. I love the Latino percussion fused with rock, and jazz. I love Santana's guitar playing. If I could rate this album, it would be 100%. 5/5

Wow bogfest surprise yet, album is great start to finish

Novedoso, me gusta la combinación de sonidos y estilos que mete

Solid all the way through.

Amazing music, great guitar, rhythm and it continues to rock

Wow, I grew up with this so a bit biased, I will have to give 5 stars. It's been around a decade at did not liste and there are so many amazing songs.. alo latin blood so this speaks to me. the rythm is amazing (drums). Se acabó! (It is finished!). 5 stars (4.5 rounded up)

The guitar-playing is stellar, yet it blends so well that it isn’t a “guitar record”

A CLASSIC.

Sole!

crazy, liked every song

Labai patiko. Visos dainos buvo groovy, gitara atrodo kad dainavo vietomis. Tikra klasika. Vienu metu gitara grojo garsiau nei dainininkas dainavo lol

Abraxas is a timeless Santana masterpiece, blending Latin rhythms, rock, and blues into a hypnotic, genre-defying classic.

DNF - will review later. Liked what I've heard so far (~first 4 songs, have heard black magic woman before)

La verdad es que es un disco que te abraxa, te da calorcito y te llena de ritmo el cuerpo.

Now we're cooking, Carlos Santana! What a melting pot of musical styles this was, led by the virtuousness of Carlos on his guitar. There was so much much spectacular music coming out of San Francisco in the early 70's and Santana was part of that movement. This is my favorite Santana album, narrowly beating out their first album for that position.

Easy 5/5, classic album with a wide variety of styles and sonic overtures contained within the overall Latin rock theme. Never gets old.

yessssss LFGGGG

Great album - fab tunes, thx!

5. Some absolute bangers. Great album.

Amesome album, really great from start to finish with great synergy between the bass, guitar and percussive instruments

Top notch

"Abraxas" is the second studio album by American Latin rock band Santana. Latin rock, Chicano rock, jazz fusion, pyschedelic rock and blues rock. Yeah, quite the spread but true. The bandmembers at time included Carlos Santana (lead guitar, backing vocals and produced the album with Fred Catero), Greg Rolle (keyboards. Lead vocals), David Brown (bass), Michael Shrieve (drums), José Areas (percussion, congas, timbales) and Michael Carabello (percussion, congas, keyboards). Commercially, the album reached #1 in the US and #7 in the UK. The album has had significant critical acclaim and, in 2015, it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its artistic significance. After the lovely opening instrumental "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts," the band kicks into the Peter Green cover "Black Magic Women/Gypsy Queen." An organ, congas and that famous guitar line. More percussion is added, the bass comes in and then a piano jam. That's all before any vocals. The songs veers psychedelic with a guitar jam and the beat. The ending is an instrumental cover of Gábor Szabó's "Gypsy Queen." They're not shy with the covers are they as they go right into their other big one, Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va." Those organ keys, the percussion, the guitar riff and then they all join together. The vocals with minimalist lyrics. A long organ jam. More guitar. I think even cowbell too. "Samba PA Ti" is an instrumental Carlos wrote when he was a jazz saxophonist. Slower guitar and softer percussion and bass. An exquisite guitar jam. Greg Rolle wrote "Hope You're Feeling Better." Organ, drums and a wah-wah guitar. The guitar and bass give this a bluesy vibe. Heck, even a prog vibe. Another showcase Santana guitar jam. To say this was a musical fusion alone does not do it enough justice. There are Latin and rock polyrhythms, a soulful organ, a jazzy piano and a guitar and bass that go rock, jazz, blues, prog and elsewhere. This band can seriously jam with the guitar, organ and piano all throwing it down. And that's on top of the three percussionists who anchor it all with multiple beats and time signatures. Musically, there's a lot to like here. Half of the songs are instrumentals and the time just flies by as you listen. A true classic and one everyone needs a listen to.

184/1089 - It's really cool how versatile rock is as a genre, this album being a good example of the fusion of latin jazz and rock. Definitely gonna listen again.

oye como va

Great songs feels like we're in Mexico!

Incredible album

Abraxas is the backdrop to every driving game on the PS2. No I will not elaborate further.

Was initially meh when I saw this album pop up. Still traumatized by hearing Smooth every five minutes when it came out, which probably tainted me to Santana Pleasantly surprised. This album has a lot of killer guitar work and melody. Really really enjoyed it

Simplemente wow

Fucked incredibly hard

sehr geil! gueti stimmig, gueti musig. gefällt mir.

God this is good. I'm learning Oye Como Va on the drums. Five stars for the god of guitars.

Mid to high 4, very easy listening and fun Latin grooves

Increíble construcción musical como se mezclan los instrumentos y los arreglos tremenda composición y técnica de guitarra y bajo, y música en español. Obra maestra

Santana the goat. What else to say.

Smooth.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album, especially Oye Como Va and Incident at Neshabur. I particularly appreciated how many instrumental (or almost instrumental) songs it had.

My day kinda sucked, but when this album was playing, it ruled.

This album did it for me since I was a kid.

Das Album Abraxas von Santana wurde 1970 veröffentlicht und in den Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco sowie in den Pacific Recording Studios in San Mateo aufgenommen. Die Bandmitglieder stammen überwiegend aus den USA und Lateinamerika, was sich in der stilistischen Ausrichtung des Albums widerspiegelt. Musikalisch bewegt sich Abraxas zwischen Latin Rock, Blues Rock und Jazz-Einflüssen. Die Verbindung von afrokaribischen Rhythmen mit Rock-Instrumentierung ist für das Werk charakteristisch. Besonders prägend sind Stücke wie „Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen“, das mit einem fließenden Übergang zweier musikalischer Themen arbeitet, sowie das Instrumentalstück „Samba Pa Ti“, das sich durch seine schlichte Melodieführung und eine klar strukturierte Dynamik auszeichnet. Auch „Oye Como Va“, eine Adaption eines Tito-Puente-Titels, wurde zu einem der bekanntesten Songs des Albums. Das Zusammenspiel der Band ist präzise und rhythmisch differenziert, wobei die Gitarrenarbeit von Carlos Santana in mehreren Stücken eine zentrale Rolle übernimmt, ohne sich in Vordergründigkeit zu verlieren. Abraxas ist ein sorgfältig produziertes Album, das verschiedene musikalische Einflüsse verbindet und einen eigenständigen Sound entwickelt. Die Stücke wirken auch aus heutiger Sicht geschlossen und durchdacht.

Rating (1-5): ✩✩✩✩✩ Higlighted songs: Black Magic Woman / Gipsy Queen, Oye Como Va, Samba Pa Ti, Hope You're Feeling Better Por el culooooooooo

Carlos Santana is an unparalleled guitarist, delivering soulful, masterful playing throughout the album. But it's not just him. The entire band brings an incredible level of skill and energy. From the rhythm section to the percussion and keys, every instrument adds to a rich and electrifying sound. It's nonstop musical excellence from start to finish.

Santana. Enough said.

For someone who hates jazz, this is an awesome album. Front to back, all the way, I was hooked by every song. Layered, transcendental, wonderful. I got lost in the songs and was left wanting more. My Rating: 5/5

one of the instances that make me sad i don't do drugs, but then again, this album feels like a high in the best way possible, so i guess drugs are not needed. this album is surprisingly timeless. sure, it makes sense it came out`70 but i als would not have been surprised if you told me it was released by some niche underground band last year. the perussion is truly to die for and the guitar solos are hawwwwt!

Smooth, sexy, stylish. This album is wonderful and well put together. Amazing instrumentals with great vocals! Easy 5. 'Black Magic Woman' takes the fave spot for me.

This album absolutely rules.

A favourite album since I was a kid.

Really enjoyable

Holy shit this album rocked my world! First off I just knew Santana as that guy who made that song with Rob Thomas that you could escape in the early 2000s cause it was EVERYWHERE! (Which is a guilty pleasure now cause it’s so nostalgic for that time in my life) But seriously, this album fucking rocks! It’s got a lot of crazy impressive and emotional guitar playing and instrumentation. Like I know this is Santana’s band and it all built around his playing, but he has some great musicians in his band to accompany him. I knew I liked black magic woman, and I knew I liked “oyo como va” cause both of those songs have been saved in my phone for as long as I can remember but I never listened to the album as a whole actually better that way. There’s so much going on in this album you really gotta give it a try. It’s fantastic!

4.5

Legendary. Part of the Holy Trinity of Santana albums: - Santana (1969) - Abraxas (1970) - Santana III (1971) **All respect and admiration is due.

Awesome album

Fantastic

Jävla nice rocky rock rockigt som helvete. Nästan fyra egentligen men den får en femma

It was fantastic. I really enjoyed this one, the songs, the Rhythms, the melodies, the splendid Guitar solos from Santana, the magical arrangements . Masterpiece !

A reminder of my childhood! This must be Santana’s best album because I recognize all these songs. So beautiful!

Fantastic guitar heavy album. The “feel” is on point.

An album that sounded like the cornerstones of a great band. The instrumentation was fantastic. My favorite song was the opening track,

Evry song on this is a save, even the instrumentals.

Effortlessly switches between jazz and rock, always with a cinematic grandness

Excellent

Amazing!!!

What a funky, psych-y album! Filled with grooves, singing guitars, and the best kind of fuzzy keyboards, this record is filled with a ton of latin soul and good old fashioned rock. The two singles Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va are pretty good indicators of the styles contained within, but do yourself a favor and explore the rest.

Absolutely sublime. He only plays about 5 notes across the whole album, but what 5 notes they are.

I liked this. Short and sweet. Plus I like all the song titles. And Oye Como Va is the song my mom wouldn’t get out of the car (even if we needed to get out) when it was playing - always at max vol.

je veux vraiment lui donner 5☆ en partie à cause que les deux chansons que je connaissais déjà de cet album sont des 5☆ pour moi. j’ai un peu moins trippé sur le reste (quoique c’est quand même très bon), mais il faut quand même que je commence à donner des 5☆ à moment donné

bel vibe

Very nice

Great album, inspiring latin rock sound since the 70s and being one of the most influential figures of Woodstock

Not every dong is a 10 outta 10 but the sum of its widdly woodly parts is one bitchin record.

Absolutely brilliant.

Brings back memories days in the past, out in and abandoned area of east Orlando, Jim Smith's van doors open, this album (and many others) playing on the stereo ... Good times, good times indeed. Always worth a listen.

THIS RIPS!!!! I LOVE YOU LATIN MUSIC I LOVE YOU HIPPIE MUSIC I LOVE YOU CARLOS SANTANA!!!!

Truly amazing considering the album was released in 1970. Latin percussion was really tasteful. Nice vocal performance and impeccable production. He knows what he’s doing and understands where the boundaries are. I can imaging him tryna woo a nun but still always in awe. A very solid timeless album.

True story. I once met a nun who told me she lived on the same street as Santana in the 60s or 70s and that she turned him down when he asked her out. I imagine it was the raw sexual energy that leads one to try banging a nun that fuels an album such as this.

Carlos offers up some sweet, iconic riffage on an album that gets a lot of airplay on classic rock radio, and what your dad would call a "cultural" album. It's hard to argue this record should be given anything other than 5 stars. There's just something about it that's so...smooth... I'll uh, I'll see myself out.

Santana's Abraxas embodies its titular deity's paradoxical nature, fusing technical virtuosity with raw intuition, cultural tradition with psychedelic exploration, and spiritual ascension with earthly groove.

Amazing album, dancing the whole way through

Abraxas is one of those albums that changes your musical taste forever. Santana and his all star crew take you on a spiritual journey across the globe and then into the cosmos and beyond. It is so pure and perfectly jammy, yet psychadelic and groovy all in one. A masterclass of a piece that fits so many different environments. Tender and emotional yet fierce as a tiger and directly to your face. A must have in any collection, but not perfection. 9/10

So many of his hits!

I mean, yeah. It is an absolute classic. It's Carlos Santana at his best, with indigenous-inspired percussion, Mexican songs with a nicely overdriven twist and impeccable guitar work. Amazing how something so lyrically minimal can have so many iconic and memorable songs. This album in particular will have you realize just how many Santana songs have made their way passively into your head. Great album, 5*.

This review could have been more substantial but the instant this album starts I smell herb and feel sleepy. Santana knows how to bring it up then lay it down.

An easy one to judge. I don't dissent from the general world-view of this work.

Scorching psychedelic Latin jams. Exactly the kind of music that's up my alley! The B-side just needs to sink in a bit before I rate it higher, but already it's a 9/10. EDIT: Yup it got there. 10/10

It took almost two weeks of album listening, but we finally have my first 5-star! Santana has always been one of my dad’s favorites, and so I grew to appreciate them as well and it’s a very important band to me. Saw them live in 2023 and it was one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. This album has two songs I already knew, Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen and Oye Como Va (which are both bangers), and I think you kind of get the whole Santana experience in those two, between the keyboard playing, drums, and guitar. Certainly helped by Carlos Santana being one of the greatest guitarists of all time. But I enjoyed the rest of the album too (Mother’s Daughter stood out to me), and there weren’t any songs I hated and wanted to immediately skip. Great album.

Absolute banger from beginning to end. Layered, jazzy, funky, with some fresh latin flavor and a dash of psychedelic. Easy 5⭐on first listen.

This album was difficult for me to rate, but on my fourth listen (which is significant in itself, in my opinion) I realized what I was doing wrong. This album demands your full attention. When listening while driving or working, I couldn't appreciate it. When I sat down and did nothing but listen, it was like an entirely different album.

I had no idea what I was missing. This was an absolute blast to listen to and several songs have entered my regular rotation. I had a more detailed review, but it got lost.

This sounds just as good to me now as it did 55 years ago when I was 12. 5 stars or A.