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'''Abraxas''' is the second album by Santana, the popular latin rock n' roll group named after lead guitarist Carlos Santana. Released in September of 1970, the album's mix of salsa, blues, rock and roll, jazz and other influences made it a classic that defined a great part of Santana's early sound.
Often considered Santana's greatest album, it most likely drew American appeal for its mixture of latin influences with rock and roll themes like overdriven electric guitar, organs and heavy drums. The album is also known for its exposure of Santana as a versatile band, with softer, slower songs like "Samba pa Ti" and "Incident at Neshabur" - both instrumentals which have rhythm changes. "Incident at Neshabur" has several rhythm and time signature changes consistent with its jazz feel. Latin percussion - congas, bongos and timbales as well as conventional rock drum set, make this Santana's first foray into true Latin rhythm. In the same year, the TV network VH1 named it the 85th greatest album of all time.
The title of the album comes from a line from Herman Hesse's book ''Demian'':

"We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas..."

"Samba Pa Ti" is one of the tracks featured in Nick Hornby's book ''31 Songs''.
In 1998 Sony published a remastered version, which included three previously unreleased live tracks: "Se A Cabo", "Toussaint L'Ouverture" and "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen," recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in April 18, 1970.
The album's eclectic looking cover features the 1961 painting ''Annunciation'', by Mati Klarwein. The painting was seen in reproduction by Santana and subsequently used by the band for the cover image of the album.

Contents

Track listing

Singles

Personnel

Track listing

#"Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" (Carabello) – 4:48
#"Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (Green/Szabo) – 5:24
#"Oye Como Va" (Puente) – 4:19
#"Incident at Neshabur" (Gianquinto/Santana) – 5:02
#"Se a Cabo" (Areas) – 2:51
#"Mother's Daughter" (Rolie) – 4:28
#"Samba Pa Ti" (Santana) – 4:47
#"Hope You're Feeling Better" (Rolie) – 4:07
#"El Nicoya" (Areas) – 1:32
#"Se A Cabo" (1998 Edition) – 3:47
#"Toussaint L'Ouverture" (1998 Edition) – 4:52
#"Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" (1998 Edition) – 1:32

Singles

★ 1970 - "Black Magic Woman"

★ 1971 - "Oye Como Va"

★ 1971 - "Hope You're Feeling Better"

Personnel

★ Michael Shrieve – Drums

★ José Chepitó Areas – Percussion, Conga, Timbales

★ Gregg Rolie – Keyboards, Vocals

★ David Brown – Bass, Guitar (Bass), Engineer

★ Mike Carabello – Percussion, Conga

★ Fred Catero – Producer

★ John Fiore – Engineer

★ Alberto Gianquinto – Piano

★ Mati Klarwein – Illustrations

★ Rico Reyes – Percussion

★ Carlos Santana – Guitar, Vocals, Producer

★ Robert Venosa – Artwork, Graphic Design