Santana III album cover
Santana III

Santana

1971
Columbia

Though it comes wrapped in a supremely cosmic sleeve, Santana’s third album is an earthier and funkier effort than its predecessor, Abraxas. This is a band that wants to groove, and have hit singles, and the first side is a collection of four hard-rocking jams, including the scorching “Toussaint L’Ouverture” and the cranked-up “No One to Depend On.” On the flip side, they indulge their soul and Latin sides more, adding punchy horns on “Everybody’s Everything” and going full bolero on “Guajira,” while “Everything’s Coming Our Way” is a dance-in-the-sunshine wannabe pop hit and the album ends with a sprint through Tito Puente’s “Para Los Rumberos” featuring high-flying trumpet from Luis Gasca. It’s a patchwork record, shifting moods with virtually every track, but Santana’s musical identity was so multifaceted that this was really the only way they could show all the things they were.

Phil Freeman

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