Forget 'Supernatural' and 'Shaman',if you wanna hear Santana's best work,you gotta go back to the 70s.In 1974,Carlos released the best album of his career,the sprawling,experimental 'Borboletta'.It's an incredible piece of work.Around this time,Carlos was heavily inspired by jazz artists like Miles Davis and Stanley Clark (who appears on the album) and R&B artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.So,fittingly,'Borboletta' is a very soulful,powerful effort.



"Spring Manifestations"
"Canto de los Flores"
"Life Is Anew"
"Give And Take"
"One With The Sun"
"Aspirations"
"Practice What You Preach"
"Mirage"
"Here And Now"
"Flor de Canela"
"Promise Of A Fisherman"
"Borboletta"


These days,Carlos uses guest vocalists on his albums (which gets annoying after awhile),but back in '74,his lead singer was Leon Patillo,who brings alot of warmth and soul to these eclectic numbers.Songs like "One With The Sun" and "Mirage" (my personal favorite) feature strong,hypnotic melodies that linger in your head long after the CD finishes playing."Give and Take" is downright funky.On the other tracks,which are largely instrumental jazz/fusion,Carlos plays guitar with so much passion and intensity,it blows your mind!

I bought this album on a recommendation from you and I have to say I do enjoy it.

David, I've not heard this one but is it similar to Caravanserai?

What do you think of that album?

mdn7 said:

'Caravanserai' (1972) is Carlos' 'Around the World In A Day'...lol...it's SO different from his first three albums! He went in a totally different direction with that one.I like this album,but I admit,it took me a LONG time to really get into it.The music is very challenging and esoteric.


'Borboletta' is more accessible,although much of it could also be considered jazz/fusion,just like 'Caravanserai'.

This is one of my favorite Santana albums. My favorite song is "promise of a fisherman".

I've played this record so much growing up, that my copy is now badly scratched. If anybody out there has this as a high quality MP3, or is looking to sell a clean vinyl copy, please let me know.