The Essential Santana [Columbia]

Disc 1
1	Jingo 4:22
2	Evil Ways 3:56
3	Soul Sacrifice 6:36
4	Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen 5:19
5	Oye Como Va / Tito Puente 4:17
6	Samba Pa Ti 4:46
7	Everybody's Everything / Carlos Santana 3:32
8	No One to Depend On 5:24
9	Toussaint l'Overture 5:56
10	Guajira 5:44
11	La Fuente del Ritmo 4:33
12	In a Silent Way Live 7:58
13	Love, Devotion and Surrender 3:38
14	Mirage 4:43
15	Carnaval 2:15
16	Let the Children Play 3:28
17	Jugando 2:12
Disc 2
1	She's Not There 4:09
2	Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana) Live 8:00
3	Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile) / Carlos Santana 5:05
4	Stormy 4:47
5	Well...All Right 4:09
6	Open Invitation 4:45
7	Aqua Marine Live 5:35
8	You Know That I Love You 3:57
9	All I Ever Wanted 3:35
10	Winning 3:29
11	Hold On 4:36
12	Nowhere to Run 2:53
13	Say It Again 3:28
14	Veracruz 3:46
15	Blues for Salvador 5:57
16	The Healer 5:38

Barnes & Noble

This two-disc collection -- which is packaged with a nicely assembled, photo-heavy booklet of liner notes detailing the guitarist's career history -- compiles not only the songs that made Santana a rock radio favorite in the '70s but also the non-smashes that cemented his reputation with fellow musicians. As such, his covers of Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" and Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" -- both of which outstripped the originals in terms of renown -- are presented alongside such virtuosic showcases as the hypno-delic "Love, Devotion and Surrender" (from the era when he preferred being addressed as Devadip Carlos Santana) and a fiery live rendition of "Dance Sister Dance." Santana's groundbreaking fusion of Latin jazz and rock shines through on early staples like "Samba Pa Ti," while the eloquent spirituality of "Everybody's Everything" resonates with the quiet intensity that marked a good portion of his more cerebral work. The second disc is a little spottier, with perhaps too marked an emphasis on languid material, but standout cuts such as "The Healer," on which he's joined by blues legend John Lee Hooker, will keep the interest piqued. David Sprague

All Music Guide

There were enough Santana compilations that preceded the 2002 release of this two-CD, 33-song double CD that it was less of a remarkable event than it would have been had it appeared earlier. The material spans Santana's entire stint at Columbia, from the late '60s to the late '80s, including all the expected favorites: "Jingo," "Evil Ways," "Soul Sacrifice" (though the studio and not the Woodstock version), "Black Magic Woman," "Oye Como Va," "Everybody's Everything," "No One to Depend On," "Love, Devotion & Surrender," "She's Not There," and "Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)." It also throws on John Lee Hooker's "The Healer," which Carlos Santana played on and helped write. For someone who likes Santana a lot, all the way through the late '60s to the late '80s, but doesn't want an exorbitant box set, this is a good deal. It's chronologically sequenced, has all the most famous numbers, and gives greatest weight to the late '60s and early '70s, when the best Santana music was recorded. For someone more discriminating, there's just too much mediocre material on board, particularly on disc two (spanning the late '70s and '80s), when Santana was in artistic decline. Most listeners who want a greatest-hits compilation are still better off with one of the single-CD best-of anthologies available, as those have less dross and emphasize Santana's early peak period. Richie Unterberger