Cheap Best of 2 (Music) (Santana) Price

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Customer Reviews of Best of 2

Great Music.
I bet some Santana fans were wondering why other great classics from the band like "Se Acabo," "Guajira" and "Incident At Neshabur" were not in the first "The Best Of Santana" collection. Now here is their answer with "The Best Of Santana Vol. 2." This is a more jazzy, deep album than the first one and the songs are all good and incredibly well-performed, especially on the percussion angle. "Guajira" is my favorite track because it's all Latin flavor but also with touches of jazz. The album has two treats which are live performances of "Black Magic Woman" and "Europa." The songs that have some sort of jazz/blues touch to them like "Persuasion" and "You just Don't Care" are memorable and what makes this a great album is the exhilarating, stylish flavor of it all, showing why the Santana sound is so unique. This CD comes fresh off the heels of the success of "Supernatural" where Carlos Santana left his mark in music history once again with hits like "Smooth" and "Maria Maria." Here is a slice of more stuff for those who are new to Santana and want some quick lessons in the music. This album has everything from jazz to blues to Cuban sounds. You'll want to listen more than once to catch every detail, every note and sound. A great collection of great songs. And of course, the most memorable part is Carlos Santana's guitar which is up there with the greats like B.B. King and Eric Clapton.

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Everything's NOT Coming Our Way
The first CD Best-of accomplished a very daunting task: boil the hits or very best songs of Santana's career on Columbia. It accomplished this very well. There were a few minor hits missing: Stormy, Well Alright, and You Know That I Love You, but these were replaced with hot album tracks (Open Invitation and All I Ever Wanted)

A second volume should pick up the missing pieces to the Santana puzzle but falls very flat! Yes it does have the three singles from Inner Secrets but not the above mentioned single from Marathon. Nor does it pick up anything from Caravanserai (which Carlos describes as the equal of Abraxas).

We have a couple of odd choices (the live Black Magic Woman from Viva, or live Europa from Moonflower). Where are Blues For Salvador, I'll Be Waiting, or Aqua Marine. There was room. The CD clocks in at 67 minutes.

On the plus side, it does pick up all the missing tracks from the first three albums. Persuasion, Se Acabo, Hope You're Feeling Better, and Everything's Coming Our Way are welcome additions.

So, it's a halfbaked affair. Do I hear a Volume three next year?

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OK As A Supplement To The Original Greatest Hits
If you want a mere quick study of Santana, this sequel compilation to the first greatest hits set is certainly appropraite. The first three songs Persuasion, You Don't Care, and a live version of Black Magic Woman are definite keepers. Also qutie special is Guajarina, L'Touisanit De Overture, and the mellow Stormy.

Personally, I would explore the first three classic Santana recordings as those CD's have many other high quality tunes not available on this compilation. Also, Carlos Santana has so much talent brimming in his fingers that it would be worthy to check out his other CD's to gather a better feel for his latin flavored styles which always soothe the soul. Howeer, this sequel is fine for those who merely want the quick study approach.