GREATEST HITS

Along with Pink Floyd's A Collection of Great Dance Songs, this is probably the most unnecessary compilation album ever. In the case of Pink Floyd, having just six songs hardly does the band justice. Especially when that album was being targeted for newcomers in 1981 (when it was released) who likely only knew them from there (still) then latest album The Wall. At least it featured an alternate version of "Money". With Santana's Greatest Hits, all the concentration lies on their first three albums, and nothing else. I understand that Carlos Santana wanted to move beyond scoring hit singles starting with Caravanserai, but it would have been nice if some material off that album, and Welcome was included since this comp was released in 1974. I guess the more fusion direction Carlos Santana was heading by 1972 thanks to his spiritual influence by Sri Chinmoy might seem out of place with the more accessible material from the first three albums presented here. I just think it's a case of releasing a compilation album a bit too early on. Still not a bad selection. Contains favorites like their popular take on Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" but left out "Gypsy Queen", originally by Gabor Szabo, and of course Tito Puente's "Oy Como Va". "Se A Cabo", "Evil Ways", naturally, "Everything is Coming Our Way", but surprisingly "No One To Depend On" was not included. There are probably more comprehensive Santana compilations out there. For the case of this particular album, you're better off just owning their first three albums. In fact those three albums give a better idea what their early work was all about than Greatest Hits. So I have to give this a three star rating because of the selection, but owning the first three albums gives you a better picture.