SANTANA 3

Santana's third album essentially followed the template set by the previous "Abraxas"but the sound is even fuller this time with a revised line up including Neil Schon as a second guitarist.The opening track this time round is a rather funky little number which pretty much sets the tone for the whole album. "Toussaint L'overture" is another instrumental track (bar some chanting early on) and is quite engaging for the first few minutes before dissolving into a bit of a Hammond Organ vs guitar free-for-all solo-fest.I can see why some Prog fans might enjoy this track so much but personally I really do prefer a bit more structure."Jungle Strut" is a much more engaging instrumental which has plenty of soloing but is based on a standard blues format.The vocal numbers are all fairly good especially "No one to Depend on"with a few dynamic twists.Unfortunately this is the last really great Santana albums. With the next album "Caravanserai" they decided to build on the "Toussaint L'Overture" style with endless formless noodling which totally does my head in" As for this album, iit is a worthy follow up to "Abraxas" but because it doe not have any real classic tunes I will give it one star less than the previous two albums.Still excellent though.4 stars