Santana - Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent (1995) 3 CD

The bulk of the songs on this greatest hits or anthology (whatever you want to call it) Santana CD is composed of studio tracks from Santana albums. However, there are some in the combined category of live, unreleased, outtake, video, and appearances on albums by other artists, with a nod to John Lee Hooker on two songs. Carlos was quite even-handed on his extensive output with regard to inclusion.
It is clear he did not favor the early period too much, selecting only seven songs from his superb first three albums knowing people would want more. At the same time, he did not leave out the less-commercially-successful but brilliant jazzy period of the early- to mid-70s, except that there is nothing from Borboletta, which is my biggest disappointment, for the Mexican guitar wizard has not done many things better than "Aspirations" or "Promise of a Fisherman." As to the later stuff, a blatant omission is "She's Not There," perhaps reflecting a desire by Carlos not to put on too much pop, but it still should have been included. However, he is on target with "Europa," of course, as well as "Mudbone" from Havana Moon, "Bella" and the title cut from Blues for Salvador, and "I'll Be Waiting" from Moonflower. The bottom line is that Santana's work deteriorated after Borboletta, bouncing back briefly only with Moonflower.

Tracklist CD 1 - Heart:

01. Evil Ways (from Santana)
02. Soul Sacrifice (from Woodstock I - Viva Santana!)
03. Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen (from Abraxas)
04. Oye Como Va (from Abraxas)
05. Samba Pa Ti (from Abraxas)
06. Everybody's Everything (from Santana III)
07. Song Of The Wind (from Caravanserai)
08. Toussaint L'Overture (from Lotus)
09. In A Silent Way (from Filmore - The Last Days)
10. Waves Within (from Caravanserai)
11. Flame Sky (from Welcome)
12. Naima (from Love, Devotion and Surrender)

Tracklist CD 2 - Soul:

01. I Love You Much Too Much (from Zebop!)
02. Blues For Salvador (from Blues For Salvador)
03. Aqua Marine (from Marathon)
04. Bella (from Blues For Salvador)
05. The River (from Fesival)
06. I'll Be Waiting (from Moonflower)
07. Love Is You (from Freedom)
08. Europa (from Amigos)
09. Move On (from Inner Secrets)
10. Somewhere In Heaven (from Milagro)
11. Open Invitation (from Inner Secrets)

Tracklist CD 3 - Spirit:

01. All I Ever Wanted (from Marathon)
02. Hannibal (from Blues For Salvador)
03. Brightest Star (from Zebop!)
04. Wings Of Grace (from Secred Fire vidio)
05. Se Eni A Fe L'Amo-Kere Kere (from Dance To The Beat Of My Drum (Olatunji))
06. Mudbone (from Havana Moon)
07. The Healer (from The Healer (John Lee Hooker))
08. Chill Out (Things Gonna Change) (from Chill Out (John Lee Hooker))
09. Sweet Black Cherry Pie (from Spirits Dancing In The Flesh (Previously Unreleased))
10. Every Now and Then (Previously Unreleased))
11. This Is This (from This Is This (Weather Report))

Compilation 1995 Sony Music Entertainment Inc./Manufactured by Columbia Records/550 Madison Avenue, New York, NY10022-3211/"Columbia," L and Legacy Reg. U.S.
Compilation Producer: Lawrence Cohn
Co-Produced by David Mitson

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