Recorded in 1980, this set of latin infused jazz instrumental work-outs wavers, often precariously, between self-indulgence and brilliance. Drawing on the formats pioneered by Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Lifetime, and supported by a pantheon of jazz masters - including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams - Carlos Santana comes dangerously close to producing a classic "jazz fusion" album. But... the problem that permeates the record is simple: the inherently melodic guitar playing and compositional style of his latin based music lead the listener to expectations that sit uncomfortably with the free-form, often frantic, improvisations that underpin the "fusion" format being adopted.

Virtually all of the tracks have a strong initial melodic "hook" that is then subjected to serious instrumental exploration. In some cases, such as "Love Theme From Spartacus" and "Song For My Brother" the formula works, quite superbly - two of the very best of Carlos Santana's tracks regardless of format or time. However, in others such as "Gardenia", "Phular Matan" and "Swapan Tari" the quest for improvisation at best intrudes into, and at worst seriously diverts from, a potentially highly satisfying outcome. The worst example of this is "Golden Hours" where a superb track is virtually destroyed by a final guitar and organ "jam" that leaves the listener with the distinct feeling that musical virtuosity as an end in itself has taken over. While brave, the truth is that to make Carlos Santana's latin style work in fast, improvisational jazz structures is very difficult - witness the fact that when the format is switched into more standard jazz fusion as in "Sher Kahn, The Tiger" (a straight reference to early Weather Report) the conflicts disappear and the outcome is not only excellent but comfortable and expected.

A "difficult" album on many levels but, in the end, worth the effort. Along with "Santana"'s very first album and his work with John Lee Hooker, this album contains some of the most innovative and exciting output that this marvellous guitarist has produced.

The idea of Carlos Santana jamming with the likes of Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, et. al., is more brilliant in design than execution. Chemistry is somewhat lacking, and the whole thing never really gels. Still, "Swing" is better than Carlos' post-2000 duet output. Stick with "Caravanserai" and "Welcome": the New Santana Band was a tight crew on these albums.

While Carlos Santana skirted the edges of jazz for much of the 1970s, here he plunged right in and made a real jazz album with jazz giants. It is a brilliant success. Too bad he never tried it again. The playing is really hot yet accessible. The inspiration level is consistently high. This is not esoteric jazz--it fits comfortably into the upper level of electric jazz of its day, but has aged better than most of the electric jazz by other artists. This album should not be overlooked!

It is difficult to rate this album and be fair to all the review readers.
To start, yes this is a Santana album. The guitar and the mood is all of a Santana album; yet "The swing of delight" is a total swing from Santana's previous releases. It is not Rock; it is not Rock- Jazz -Fusion either, but a pure Jazz album.
Featuring great Jazz musicians like Ron Carter, Tony Williams and Herbie Hancock.
How wrong can you be, buying a Jazz album with all these musicians playing in it? Not much.
If you are a ROCK Santana Fan, then stay away from this album.
If you are into Jazz music and want to hear Carlos Santana perform with some great Jazz musicians, this is your only chance.

This is largely an album dedicated to Santana's guru, Sri Chimnoy, The tunes Phuler Matan and others with exotic titles are short modal mantras written by Sri Chimnoy (I have heard him perform them on his own albums, which is his voice accompanied by air organ only). Santana has taken the melodies and brought in the top fusion guys of the day to play them in an improvisational setting. The results are mixed, with Tony Williams pumping out rocky fusion beats over Herbie Hancock's sympathetic but a little harsh-sounding Rhodes. Mind you, in terms of clarity, the production on this album is superb, the best around at the time when I heard it. Also the original was a double-vinyl, with less than 15 minutes per side so that the groove spacing could be farther to allow for extended dynamic range during playback. Great idea but a lot of side-flipping...anyway the music is solid but the material is a little thin, melodically, and the ryhthms closer to rock or latin that to jazz. Mr. Santana thanks Hancock and Wayne Shorter and the other stellar players on this album as the culmination of a dream to make an album with those he considers the best musicians in the world. The rest of the album consists of Wayne Shorter titles such as "Shere Khan, the Tiger" and "Love Theme From Spartacus". I liked the album originally but now I don't listen anymore as I found it to be a little too pretentious, despite the star power.