Santana (III)

The last hurrah of the original Santana band, which had stunned the world with its fiery performance at Woodstock two years before, Santana (frequently called "Santana III" so as not to confuse it with the group's eponymous 1969 debut) is an impressive combination of tightly constructed Latin-fueled pop songs ("No One to Depend On," "Everybody's Everything," "Everything's Coming Our Way") and sprawling jams ("Guajira," "Toussaint L'Overture," "Jungle Strut"). For his part, Carlos Santana hurls lightning bolts from his guitar throughout but offers opportunities for other band members, such as keyboardist Gregg Rolie and recently added guitarist Neal Schon (both of whom would rise to fame with Journey), a chance to shine as well. The 1998 reissue of this album adds three bonus tracks from a 1971 Fillmore West performance: "Batuka," "Jungle Strut," and "Gumbo." --Daniel Durchholz