I don't consider myself a Santana fan; I bought this disc for the same reason I bought a Sugar Ray CD: this stuff is perfectly suited for hot afternoons spent enjoying the pool. This compilation plays like a collection of highlights from Santana's late career comebacks, along with a couple of classic rock oldies. I probably would have been better off with a different compilation disc that focused on the band's earlier releases, but oh well - it ain't gonna matter too much when I'm in the water.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #8
Tracks: Lots of music here - 18 tracks covering 77 minutes (which means we get single edits, not albums cuts). I like the classic rock stuff from 1970's Abraxas album (even my sons know that stuff, mainly from its inclusion in Guitar Hero games) and Everybody's Everything. Of the newer stuff, I like the collaboration with Michelle Branch, The Game Of Love. There are three new songs on this compilation and none of them do much for me, but after the chart-topping success of the Supernatural album, you can't blame them for repeating the same formula as long as it was making $.
| Song | Year | Hot 100 |
| Into The Night | 2007 | 26 |
| This Boy's Fire | 2007 | |
| Smooth | 1999 | 1 |
| Maria Maria | 1999 | 1 |
| Oye Como Va | 1971 | 13 |
| Black Magic Woman | 1970 | 4 |
| Evil Ways | 1969 | 9 |
| Corazon Espinado | 2000 | |
| Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile) | 1976 | |
| The Game Of Love (feat. Tina Turner) | 2002 | |
| Put Your Lights On | 1999 | 118 |
| Why Don't You & I | 2003 | 8 |
| Everybody's Everything | 1971 | 12 |
| Just Feel Better | 2005 | |
| Samba Pa Ti | 1973 | |
| No One To Depend On | 1972 | 36 |
| The Game Of Love (feat. Michelle Branch) | 2002 | 5 |
| Interplanetary Party | 2007 |
Missing Top 40 hits: She's Not There (#27, 1977), Stormy (#32, 1979), You Know That I Love You (#35, 1980), Winning (#17, 1981), and Hold On (#15, 1982).
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: The early '70s stuff reminds me of hot, desert nights growing up in Odessa. The late '90s/early '00s collaborations remind me of teaching at a small, rural school around that time.
In Summer 2007, a few months before this CD was released, HERC compiled his own Santana mix CD for (you guessed it) a pool party. Drawing from both CDs and vinyl LPs, he managed to compile a disc with 15 tracks that lasted just under 70 minutes. Although he had plans grande to segue the songs, he never could find a sequence he liked so went with the old tried and true: chronological order.
ReplyDeleteEvil Ways
Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
Oye Como Va
Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)
She's Not There
Well All Right
All I Ever Wanted
Winning
Hold On
Nowhere To Run
Say It Again
Smooth
Put Your Lights On
Maria Maria
Why Don't You & I
The Game of Love
HERC paid $9.99 for Ultimate Santana at Target for this track only. It remains one of his favorite driving songs, sounding particularly sweet in The Blueberry.