Santana (1969 album)
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Santana is the debut studio album by American Latin rock band Santana, released on August 22, 1969, by Columbia Records. Over half of the album's length is composed of instrumental music, recorded by what was originally a purely free-form jam band. At the suggestion of manager Bill Graham, the band took to writing more conventional songs for more impact, but managed to retain the essence of improvisation in the music.
The album was destined to be a major release, given a boost by the band's performance at the Woodstock Festival earlier that August. The album's first single, "Jingo", was only a modest performer, spending eight weeks on the chart and reaching #56;<ref name="Santana">Template:Cite magazine</ref> however, "Evil Ways", the second single taken from the album, was a U.S. Top 10 hit, reaching #9 and spending thirteen weeks on the chart.<ref name="Santana"/> The album spent more than two years (108 weeks) on the Billboard Top LPs chart and peaked at #4 in November 1969.<ref name="billboard">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It also reached #34 on the UK Albums Chart. It has been mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. The album cover features artwork by Lee Conklin.
Critical reception
Template:Album ratings In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Langdon Winner panned Santana as "a masterpiece of hollow techniques" and "a speed freak's delight - fast, pounding, frantic music with no real content". He compared the music's effect to methedrine, which "gives a high with no meaning", finding Rolie and Santana's playing repetitively unimaginative, amidst a monotony of incompetent rhythms and inconsequential lyrics.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Village Voice critic Robert Christgau shared Winner's sentiment in his "unreconstructed opposition to the methedrine school of American music. A lot of noise".<ref name="VV"/>
A retrospective Rolling Stone review was more enthusiastic, finding Santana "thrilling ... with ambition, soul and absolute conviction - every moment played straight from the heart".<ref name="RS2000">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2003, the magazine ranked Santana number 150 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> moving up to 149 in a 2012 revised list.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Colin Larkin deemed it an excellent example of Latin rock in his Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2011).<ref name="Larkin"/>
Track listing
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1998 reissue
Writing credits and songs' lengths are in accord with album's inner notes.
2004 Legacy Edition
Template:Track listing Note: Tracks 10–12 are from the studio sessions for the album recorded in May 1969.
Template:Track listing Note: Tracks 1–6 are from the original studio sessions for the album recorded January 27–29, 1969.
Personnel
- Carlos Santana – guitar, backing vocals
- David Brown – bass guitar
- Gregg Rolie – lead vocals, Hammond organ, piano
- Michael Shrieve – drums
- Michael Carabello – congas, percussion
- José "Chepito" Areas – timbales, congas, percussion
Production
- Brent Dangerfield and Santana band – producers
- David Brown – engineer
- Lee Conklin – album cover art<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- David Rubinson – producer (original first session January 27–29, 1969)
Charts
| Chart (1969–1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref> | 14 |
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web Select Santana from the menu, then press OK.</ref> | 5 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">Template:Cite book</ref> | 98 |
| Spanish Albums Chart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 1 |
| US Billboard Top LPs<ref name="billboard"/> | 4 |
| US Best Selling Soul LP's (Billboard)<ref name="billboard"/> | 13 |
Certifications
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