Supernatural

1	(Da Le) Yaleo 5:51
2	Love of My Life / Dave Matthews 5:48
3	Put Your Lights On / Everlast 4:47
4	Africa Bamba 4:40
5	Smooth / Rob Thomas 4:56
6	Do You Like the Way / Cee-Lo Green 5:52
7	Maria, Maria 4:21
8	Migra 5:24
9	Corazon Espinado / Maná 4:32
10	Wishing It Was / Eagle-Eye Cherry 4:59
11	El Farol 4:49
12	Primavera 5:17
13	The Calling / Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert Band 7:48

Barnes & Noble

Three decades after Carlos Santana made his first, now classic hits -- songs that blurred the line between Afro-Latin groove and American hippie rock -- his ability to blend diverse styles is still inspiring young musicians. So it makes sense that so many contemporary stars stopped by to help out on his first album since 1997's Blues for Salvador. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Everlast, Eagle Eye Cherry, Dave Matthews, and Goodie Mob's Cee-Lo all lend songs and voices to a disc that's mostly a more reflective, contemplative version of the sound that originally made Santana famous. Album opener "(Da Le) Taleo" is hot enough, especially during the main man's spirited solo, but Santana's mojo works on a more mellow vibe during Matthews's sentimental "Love of My Life" and Everlast's pensive folk-rocker "Put Your Lights On." More spirited is Jean's slow, smoldering "Maria, Maria" and the soulful Hill production "Do You Like the Way," especially when Cee-Lo steps in with his best Otis Redding impression. Ultimately, despite some missteps, Supernatural succeeds in achieving its goal of bringing new fans to an old sound and vice versa, which is an admirable feat indeed. Jon Dolan

All Music Guide

Santana was still a respected rock veteran in 1999, but it had been years since he had a hit, even if he continued to fare well on the concert circuits. Clive Davis, the man who had signed Santana to Columbia in 1968, offered him the opportunity to set up shop at his label, Arista. In the tradition of comebacks and label debuts by veteran artists in the '90s, Supernatural, Santana's first effort for Arista, is designed as a star-studded event. At first listen, there doesn't seem to be a track that doesn't have a guest star, which brings up the primary problem with the album -- despite several interesting or excellent moments, it never develops a consistent voice that holds the album together. The fault doesn't lay with the guest stars or even with Santana, who continues to turn in fine performances. There's just a general directionless feeling to the record, enhanced by several songs that seem like excuses for jams, which, truth be told, isn't all that foreign on latter-day Santana records. Then again, the grooves often play better than the ploys for radio play, but that's not always the case, since Lauryn Hill's "Do You Like the Way" and the Dust Brothers-produced, Eagle-Eye Cherry-sung "Wishing It Was" are as captivating as the Eric Clapton duet, "The Calling." But that just confirms that Supernatural just doesn't have much of a direction, flipping between traditional Santana numbers and polished contemporary collaborations, with both extremes being equally likely to hit or miss. That doesn't quite constitute a triumph, but the peak moments of Supernatural are some of Santana's best music of the '90s, which does make it a successful comeback. Stephen Thomas Erlewine