A DOUBLE CD OF SANTANA A GOOD COLLECTION OF THEIR MUSIC IF YOU LIKE SANTANA THIS ONE YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR COLLECTION SERIOUS....

This 2 cd compilation was the first Santana disk I purchased. I do not understand why it is not a better seller. The set traces the evolution of the band from 1967 to 1986. You can trace the band's progression from blues to jazz to more pop influenced. The set contains many unreleased, rare and live tracks (always a plus with Santana). In addition, it also contains the album versions of some of their hits. The musicianship on this set is excellent. Neal Schon, Gregg Rollie, Armando Peraza, John McLaughlin, Michael Shrieve, and Chester Thompson are just of a few of the musicians who appear on this set. When the percussion section is locked in and the organ and guitar are wailing the musicians who appear here create some awe inspiring music. The music here can be both danceable and spiritual depending upon the song itself. Highlights on this set are too many to mention. Among the rarities and unissued cuts I enjoy are live versions of "Jungle Strut", "Incident At Neshabur", "Super Boogie/Hong Kong Blues", and an unissued version of "Persuasion" from the original Woodstock. Beautiful and stunning live versions of "Song Of The Wind" and "Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile) are also included. The earliest track is a smokin' unissued studio track called "Ballin'" from 1967. Carlos Santana shows with this set that not only is he a great guitarist and band leader but he is also adept at selecting cover material. Songs such as "Evil Ways" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (included on both disks in studio and live versions) have become his own and trademarks of the band even though he did not compose them.

It may be useful to compare this 2 cd set with the 3 cd "Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent" box set. If prefer this set to that one mainly for the rarities. While "Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent" contains such essential cuts as "Samba Pa Ti" and "Toussaint L'Overature" and later period cuts such as "All I Ever Wanted" and "Blues For Salvador" which are not included on the "Viva Santana" set. However, the "Viva Santana" set contains such essential cuts as "Jungle Strut" "Jingo", "Incident At Neshabur", and "Persuasion" not included on the "Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent" set. In a perfect world the "Viva Santana" set would be remastered with an extra disk added containing the aforementioned cuts as well as the great live cover of Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way" included on "Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent" and such omissions from both sets like "No One To Depend On", "Hope You're Feeling Better", "Hold On" "Winning", and "Well All Right" among others. Do not let these omissions deter you from purchasing this set. It costs less and it is compiled more effectively than the "Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent" 3 cd set. Beware! The music of Santana is highly addicting. I also highly recommend at a minimum the first three studio cds (now newly remastered with bonus live tracks) and the "Live At The Fillmore 68" 2 cd set.

Released in 1988, Viva Santana amounts to the most diverse Santana CD, in that it is made up of remixes, live performances, and unreleased studio material stretching throughout Carlos Santana's many years in the public eye. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" is the one song that falls into more than one of those categories (both a remix and a live version are included). None of the unreleased studio material is from before 1979 except "Ballin'," recorded in 1967, and it is interesting to note how its sound is characteristic of the early years. However, the unreleased studio material is overall not that strong. Improvement through remixing is generally not a big concern for me, but it can be detected a bit here. There are naturally a lot of rockers and Latin tunes, but two of the most desirable tracks are live cuts of the pretty numbers "Song of the Wind" and "Europa," as always with great guitar by Carlos. "Soul Sacrifice" is merely another rendition of the Woodstock version, but also included is the group's previously unreleased performance at the giant music & arts fair of "Persuasion," one of my favorite Santana tunes. There are enough of Santana's finest songs on this double CD to justify its purchase as a greatest hits package of sorts, but in a broader sense it is simply an excellent Santana sampler.