Santana

"Love Devotion Surrender" is an album released in 1973 by guitarists Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, with the backing of their respective bands, Santana and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was inspired by the teachings of Sri Chinmoy and intended as a tribute to John Coltrane. It contains two Coltrane compositions, two McLaughlin songs, and a traditional gospel song arranged by Santana and McLaughlin. It was certified Gold in 1973.

"Zebop!" is the eleventh studio album by Santana. It's the ideal blend of the percussive,psychedelic funky latin jazz/rock that Carlos Santana has made so famous! All of those bases are covered here,sometimes together as on "Searchin" and other times on songs like the grooving "E Papa Re". Overall 'Zebop!' also marks a return from late 70's stabs at progressive rock and disco back to Santana's classic sound,marked by "The Sensitve Kind",a JJ Cale cover very similar to the bands Woodstock-era radio hits of yore.

"Freedom" is the fourteenth studio album by Santana. By this recording, Santana had nine members, some of which had returned after being with the band in previous versions. "Freedom" moved away from the more poppy sound of the previous album, Beyond Appearances and back to the band's original Latin rock. It failed, however, to revive Santana's commercial fortunes, reaching only ninety-five on the album chart.

Santana - Evolution - The Original Recordings (1969) {2CD Set, Thunderbolt ‎CDTB502 rel 1994}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 725 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 321 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 1994 Thunderbolt / Magnum Music | ‎CDTB 502
Rock / Blues Rock / Fusion / Latin Rock

Recorded at The Pacific Recording Studios, San Mateo, California 1969. This was before Santana signed a record deal with Columbia Records. These recordings, which also included the original versions of ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Jingo’ and could easily be judged to be finished masters, became the auditions tapes from which CBS was to sign the band and launch them on their way to international success.

Santana - S.F. Mission District (1969) {Akarma AK068 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 320 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 132 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 1999 Akarma / Comet Records | AK 068
Rock / Blues-Rock / Hard Rock / Latin Rock

There are no specific details on this handsome foldout CD package as to precisely when and where these tracks were recorded; the seven-paragraph liner notes are just a perfunctory summary of Santana's early career. It's evident enough from listening, though, that the nine songs were recorded mostly or wholly at live performances during their early career, likely circa 1969. There's a good amount of non-Columbia material floating around from the outset of Santana, and without a handy authoritative discographical guide, it's hard to say if or how much of this material has appeared elsewhere (or on bootleg).

The San Francisco Bay Area rock scene of the late '60s was one that encouraged radical experimentation and discouraged the type of mindless conformity that's often plagued corporate rock. When one considers just how different Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, and the Grateful Dead sounded, it becomes obvious just how much it was encouraged. In the mid-'90s, an album as eclectic as Abraxas would be considered a marketing exec's worst nightmare…

When Carlos Santana made a guest appearance with Eric Clapton at a festival in Hyde Park in July 2018, it marked a special celebration for both guitarists. It was almost fifty years since Santana had made his historic breakthrough at the 1969 U.S. Woodstock Festival, and as many years since Clapton launched Blind Faith at a free concert. The unifying power of rock enables artists from different backgrounds to join forces in the quest to perform exciting, satisfying music together. Santana and Clapton were old friends and it was the blues that formed the basis of their joint passion. The genre was certainly an early influence on the young man who began his career south of the border, down Mexico way, en route to becoming a global superstar.