SANTANA

Santana's eponymous debut reminds me a little of Hendrix's debut not musically but the way in which it effectively sets the benchmark for Latin-jazz infused rock in the same way Hendrix set the benchmark for psychedelic blues.What an absolute stunner this album is.From the opening opening track "Waiting" all hammond organ and heavy bluesy guitar blazing away and propelled by that infectious rhythm section to the closing "Soul Sacrifice" which serves up more of the same but with the addition of an absolute killer drum solo-this album just never lets up.Foure of the group's best known songs are here, the aforementioned "Soul Sacrifice" "Evil Ways","Jingo" and the y punchy but all too punchy "Persuasion"There are no bland ballads or aimless noodling here -that would come later- unfortunately and the whole album is an absolute blast.The production is raw, incredibly energetic and sounds like it was recorded live-in-the studio which is one of its many pluses.The next album was arguably more sophisticated as the band began to incorporate some jazz-rock into what was already a heavy brew but for me it is a toss up between this and "Abraxas" as the definitive Santana album.In any case this is a full 5 stars from me.