Santana: Carlos Santana (guitar, congas, timbales, percussion, background vocals); Greg Walker (vocals); Tom Coster (Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond B-3 organ, ARP synthesizer, Mini-Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, marimba, background vocals); Pablo Tellez, David Margen (bass); Graham Lear (drums, percussion); Raul Rekow (bongos, congas, surdo, percussion, cowbell, background vocals); Jose "Chepito" Areas (congas, timbales, bell tree); Pete Escovedo (timbales, guiro, maracas).
Producers: Carlos Santana, Tom Coster, David Rubinson, Glen Kolotkin.
Recorded at CBS Studios, San Francisco, California and live at Hammersmith-Odeon, London, England between 1976 & 1977. Originally released on Columbia (34915). Includes liner notes by Hal Miller.
Santana, which was renowned for its concert work dating back to Woodstock, did not release a live album in the U.S. until this one, and it's only partially live, with studio tracks added, notably a cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There" (number 27) that became Santana's first Top 40 hit in five years. The usual comings and goings in band membership had taken place since last time; the track listing was a good mixture of the old -- "Black Magic Woman," "Soul Sacrifice" -- and the recent, and with the added radio play of a hit single, Moonflower went Top Ten and sold a million copies, the first new Santana album to do that since 1972 and the last until Supernatural in 1999. ~ William Ruhlmann
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (10/2/03, p.123) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Santana and Company return wholeheartedly to their Latin and rock roots..."
Q (1/00, p.140) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...lengthy tongue-out soloing and one-love hippy vibes....the hits sound as joyful as ever and the carnival spirit fuses both live and studio cuts into one seamless whole."
