Essential Santana  (Audio CD) 
by Santana

Guitar hero, world-music pioneer, and Latin-rock superstar--Carlos Santana embodies them all on this 33-track double-disc anthology of the legend's first 20 years in music. Yet none of those labels seem to capture the true musical essence of the mercurial, Mexican-born icon. Literally from the very beginning here (the furiously rhythmic 1969 reworking of Nigerian star Babatunde's Olatunji's "Jingo"), Santana cuts his own rewarding and peculiar swath across rock history, whether giving similar "Jingo" treatment to Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" or infusing the meat-and-potatoes R&B of "Everybody's Everything" with his emotional soloing. While that familiar, warm guitar tone adds compelling new dimensions to covers of staples like the Zombies' "She's Not There" and the Classics IV's "Stormy," as well as to the string of '80s hits also included here, it's the sense of spiritual freedom he gives tracks like Joe Zawinul's "In a Silent Way" and the gorgeous, understated "Europa" that seem his greatest legacy. And lest anyone thought the pop affectations of the Grammy-winning Supernatural a fluke, there are plenty of reminders in the set's second half (the joyous funk of "Vera Cruz," his bluesy duet with John Lee Hooker, "The Healer") to remind us that Santana's commercial timing has oft been as masterful as his fleet-fingered soloing. --Jerry McCulley