0466. Santana
Abraxas

I don't think I've listened to this album in it's entirety since the mid-nineties when it was a staple at a friend's place, so it's a welcome task. If you were to judge from the cover alone, this is a psychedelic album, but listening to it, there's a whole lot more going on as Carlos and the band takes psychedelia, blends it seamlessly with latin jazz and blues to create a highly sophisticated album.

The three most famous songs are of course the two covers Black Magic Woman (not that you'd really realize that Black Magic Woman is a cover of a Fleetwood Mac track, but that's probably to do with that it's not the Fleetwood Mac that's shown up before, but a way earlier incarnation) and Oye Como Va (originally by Tito Puente) as well as Samba Pa Ti (a Santana original). All three in essentially different styles, but with a clear and unifying sound - just as with the other tracks you can't mistake them for not being Santana.