Artist: SANTANA
Album: ABRAXAS REMASTERED (CD)

Release date: 1970/ 1998
Media type: CD

Abraxas is the second album by Santana, the Latin rock n' roll group led by guitarist Carlos Santana. Consolidating their live success at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, and the interest generated by their first album the band took some time to issue a follow-up. Released in September 1970, the album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences made it a classic that defined Santana's early sound, and showed a musical maturation from their first album.

Often considered Santana's greatest album, it drew widespread acclaim for its mixture of Latin influences with familiar rock themes such as overdriven electric guitar, organ and heavy drums. The album also demonstrates Santana's stylistic versatility, including tracks such as "Samba pa Ti" (a classic slow-burning, seductive piece) and "Incident at Neshabur", both being instrumentals. The latter has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion — congas, bongos and timbales, as well as a conventional rock drum setup, make this Santana's first foray into true Latin rhythm. In 2003, the album was ranked number 205 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The album achieved number 7 in the UK album charts. The title of the album comes from a line from Herman Hesse's book Demian. The album's cover features the 1961 painting Annunciation, by Mati Klarwein.

“ 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... ”

In 1998 Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se A Cabo", "Toussaint L'Ouverture" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in April 18, 1970.

TRACKLIST:

1. "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" Carabello 4:48
2. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" Green/Szabo 5:24
3. "Oye Como Va" Puente 4:19
4. "Incident at Neshabur" Gianquinto, Santana 5:02
5. "Se a Cabo" Areas 2:51
6. "Mother's Daughter" Rolie 4:28
7. "Samba Pa Ti" Santana 4:47
8. "Hope You're Feeling Better" Rolie 4:07
9. "El Nicoya" Areas 1:39
10. "Se a Cabo (Live)" (1998 Edition) 3:47
11. "Toussaint L'Ouverture (Live)" (1998 Edition) 4:52
12. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen (Live)" (1998 Edition) 4:57

LINE-UP:

Jose "Chepito" Areas – Percussion, Conga, Timbales
David Brown – Bass, Guitar (Bass), Engineer
Mike Carabello – Percussion, Conga
Fred Catero – Producer
John Fiore – Engineer
Alberto Gianquinto – Piano
Gregg Rolie - keyboards, Vocals
Rico Reyes – Percussion
Carlos Santana – Guitar, Vocals, Producer
Steven Saphore – Tabla
Michael Shrieve - drums