Abraxas (Numbered Edition)

The San Francisco Bay Area rock scene of the late 60s was one that encouraged radical experimentation and discouraged the type of mindless conformity thats often plagued corporate rock. When one considers just how different Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, and the Grateful Dead sounded, it becomes obvious just how much it was encouraged. In the mid-90s, an album as eclectic as Abraxas would be considered a marketing execs worst nightmare. But at the dawn of the 1970s, this unorthodox mix of rock, jazz, salsa, and blues proved quite successful. Whether adding rock elements to salsa king Tito Puentes "Oye Como Va," embracing instrumental jazz-rock on "Incident at Neshabur" and "Samba Pa Ti," or tackling moody blues-rock on Fleetwood Macs "Black Magic Woman," the band keeps things unpredictable yet cohesive. Many of the Santana albums that came out in the 70s are worth acquiring, but for novices, Abraxas is an excellent place to start. ~ Alex Henderson