CARAVANSERAI

More experimental than the three albums that preceded it, tied together with a theme, and sharp when it's trying to be more than pleasant, 'Caravanserai' deserves to be considered the best SANTANA album and a good example of how progressive sensibilities can influence other genres of music.

'Caravanserai' is an emotional journey across the desert. Sometimes languid (as in the opener), often energetic (check out 'Waves Within') and occasionally downright brilliant ('Song of the Wind' and 'Every Step of the Way'), the journey is never dull. All the elements come together in the wonderful 'All the Love in the Universe', which showcases guitar, keboards, drums and bass guitar. This album was a real departure for SANTANA, and was not all that well received by the public - a sure sign the band got something right. The percussion is more complex, the guitars far more imaginative and the soaring keyboards more tasteful than on previous SANTANA albums. Yet the tunes here are just as addictive as those on the simpler 'Abraxas'.

Where or not you're broad-minded enough to consider this prog, you ought to give this album a listen. Actually, give it a number of listens.