Your favourite Santana albums 69-79?

not much love for 'inner secrets'..........

it's really good album.

 

Caravanserai is my favourite. All the love in the Universe is a tune I could (and have) listen to all day. The first three are great too

 

The first three albums, Lotus and Amigo for Europa and Dance Sister Dance

 

Someone on that Journey Civil Wars thread called Santana a one trick pony, which made me laugh. Sticking to the formula of Santana III and repeating that one trick for the next 30 years is what he did the exact opposite of.

 

1. Caravanserai
2. Welcome
3. Abraxas
4. Santana
5. Love Devotion Surrender

 

III
Caravansersi
Lotus
Moon flower
Inner Secrets

 

1st 4 albums for me,
But Abraxas stands out first heard this album as a 6 year old my older sister had it and it stopped me playing with my Lego one day.
I said what's that Linda and she said
Santana.
I remember thinking what a funny name, but now nearly 50 years later I still play this record often, thanks sis...

 

I’ve never heard most of these after the 4th album. Am I missing much? I’m familiar with the few successful singles from this era, but that’s about it.

 

The catalog is worth exploring past the first 4 albums.

Love Devotion Surrender - I like, your milage may vary
Welcome - has good stuff that does not get put on comps - and FLAME-SKY!
Lotus - Yes! stream this
Illuminations - another YMMV, I like Alice Coltrane separately so this is up my alley. Angel of Sunlight!
Borboletta - I had basically nothing off this until I purchased, but this is a good one, last of/moving out of the fusion syle phase. Give and Take!
Amigos - Back to basics record, but still solid quality. most of what I like on here I like better on Moonflower though.
Festival - Similar to above about the Moonflower versions being preferred. Not bad, but don’t play much.
Moonflower - For sure yes stream this. Weird mix of live and studio but makes a solid album. The one to get from this phase.
Inner Secrets - Don’t play it much
Oneness - Don’t play it much. Ordered an import CD version only for it to mostly sit on the shelf.
Marathon - Better than expected. I like and still play Marathon.

The list cuts off here but Zebop! is better than the cover had me expecting, and I stand by Shango as a solid 80s Santana record. My favorite of the 80s.

 

I have heard Lotus and Moonflower. I'm a sucker for live albums, although I find both frustratingly uneven/unfocused, despite stellar moments on both. I'll check out some of the other ones you recommended though.

 

I could as well have added all albums from Santana members. Dozens of them!

 

Illuminations is a bit of a different affair I suppose, and a little less accessible. Alice Coltrane and Santana together in an instrumental/fusion album in '74 is quite a dream come true. I think it's great actually.

 

The Bill Laswell 'Reconstruction & Mix Translation' of Illuminations and Love Devotion Surrender is also worth having, and quite a trip.

 

All of the albums on the voting list are worth listening. There are some borderline masterpieces and every album has at least several outstanding tunes. It makes sense to go chronologically, to trace the evolution of their style.

 

The 1st 4 albums plus Borboletta. Also dig Welcome. Would love to see Welcome & Borboletta on SACD. I saw the original line up
at The Fillmore East (had first row seats). Gregg Rolie added a lot to their sound.

 

I found this for $1 in the clearance bin some years back. Tremendous buy.

 

Moonflower
Caravanserai
III
Abraxas
Borboletta

I have a few others but I rarely listen to them.

 

The first 2 are the best, especially Abraxas. "Incident at Neshubur" is one of the greatest multi part instrumentals of all time.

The 3rd is highest on the energy scale, a very exciting album but just a bit more generic arena rock sounding than the first 2. Still a great album though.

Caravanserai is one of those "wow I didn't expect this" types of albums, very different jazz fusion direction. Still getting into this one but I think I will after a few listens.

The only other one i've heard is "Love Devotion Surrender", which was a snoozer.

 

My favourite 5

Caravanserai
Abraxas
Santana III
Welcome
Santana

 

This is one of my all-time favourite catalogues, right up there in consistency of quality and quantity with Led Zeppelin, Stones etc.

The fusion period of ‘72-‘74 is some of my most played and most beloved music of all time. The king among those albums is Welcome, just an astounding album with a variety of expression and a vibe unlike anything else. A transportive experience. Caravanserai is almost as good. Lotus is one of the greatest live albums of all time. So all of those are on the list.

I came into Santana via the first three albums, and it feels odd to leave any of those out, because they are all good enough to be on the list. But I chose III. The first one has a rawness and looseness, but they would refine it further with Abraxas, which is let down by a few filler tracks. III, to me, is the most consistent as well as being the pinnacle of the original lineup.

My last choice was a toss-up between the two 1974 releases. Illuminations is a gorgeous, but very different album. Bonus points for capturing one of the loveliest guitar tones of all time, and featuring perhaps Carlos’ best ever guitar playing. But I went with Borboletta which, while being a step down from Welcome, still has some remarkable music. Particularly side 2 is stunning.

 

5. Lotus
4. S/T
3. Caravanserai
2. III
1. Abraxas

 

Inner Secrets and Marathon are two of my favorites. When I was listening to FM rock stations in Detroit in 1980 there was so much great music to discover. I loved the Santana songs Open Invitation and All I Ever Wanted. Those were played a lot along with songs like Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo by Rick Derringer, Kashmir by Led Zeppelin, Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent, Sunshine of Your Love by Cream, and many others. Earlier Santana songs like Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways were also played.

 

1. Santana (1969)
2. Abraxas (1970)
3. Santana III (1971)
4. Caravanserai (1972)
5. Love Devotion Surrender (1973)

 

I voted the first 4 plus Moonflower, which I've always greatly enjoyed, though I realize some don't care for the live songs mixed with studio cuts.

 

Caravanserai
Abraxas
Santana
Amigos
Moonflower