The bulk of the songs on this greatest hits or anthology (whatever you want to call it) Santana CD is composed of studio tracks from Santana albums. However, there are some in the combined category of live, unreleased, outtake, video, and appearances on albums by other artists, with a nod to John Lee Hooker on two songs. Carlos was quite even-handed on his extensive output with regard to inclusion. It is clear he did not favor the early period too much, selecting only seven songs from his superb first three albums knowing people would want more. At the same time, he did not leave out the less-commercially-successful but brilliant jazzy period of the early- to mid-70s, except that there is nothing from Borboletta, which is my biggest disappointment, for the Mexican guitar wizard has not done many things better than "Aspirations" or "Promise of a Fisherman." As to the later stuff, a blatant omission is "She's Not There," perhaps reflecting a desire by Carlos not to put on too much pop, but it still should have been included. However, he is on target with "Europa," of course, as well as "Mudbone" from Havana Moon, "Bella" and the title cut from Blues for Salvador, and "I'll Be Waiting" from Moonflower. The bottom line is that Santana's work deteriorated after Borboletta, bouncing back briefly only with Moonflower. This makes makes Discs 2 and 3 uneven listens, but Disc 1 is a gem.

I'm biased. I think Carlos Santana is one of music's greatest contributors. I like just about everything he's recorded. Since 1969, he has put together some outstanding band line-ups and has performed some of the best latin-blues-rock-jazz-funk ever. I'm trying to be as objective as I can.

This box set is a fitting introduction to his vast catalogue of music. His hits are (almost) all here: Soul Sacrifice, Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen, Oye Como Va, Samba Pa Ti, etc...(where's Jingo?) Unfortunately, with the exception of Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Tower of Power-fuelled Everybody's Everything, Santana III is largely neglected.

Most of the other selections are strong and represent the ever-evolving Carlos Santana vision. Like I've said, this is a great place to start for anyone who wants three CDs worth of hits. However, don't expect a full rendering of Santana's work because it's impossible to get in such limited disc space.

The reason I didn't give it 5 stars (and it's hard for me not to give Santana 5 stars) is because of a disturbing trend I've discovered since expanding my Santana collection. This trend is the editing of songs. The Woodstock version of Soul Sacrifice is pared down two whole minutes. I think they took it out of the drum solo. Also, Milagro's Somewhere in Heaven is missing the entire middle section. The album version of the song is reminiscent of Clapton's Blind Faith offering, Presence of the Lord with a blistering chunk of funky wah-wahed guitar and organ solo dropped right in the middle.

If you're less anal than I am (and most people are), this glaring omission probably won't ruffle your feathers but I can't help wonder if I'm being short-changed on any other songs.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this box set as a fitting tip of the iceberg for anyone just becoming acquainted with Santana. If, however, you're looking for more, the first three albums (Santana, Abraxas, and Santana III) are worth their weight in gold.

Another example of what happens when the artist compiles a set to his liking without the fan in mind. The fan is the one who is going to purchase this release. Carlos categorized his music (arranged somewhat chronologically) Soul, Heart & Spirit. The love songs which comprise disc two (Open Invitation, Bella, Europa, Aqua Marine, etc. should have been labeled "heart." They are labeled "soul." The same illogic applies to disc one. The classics Black Magic Woman, Evil Ways, Oye Como Va comprise the very soul or essence of what Santana is all about. This is labeled "heart."

This is a bad start to this box. Curious is the fact that those who are devoted fans relish their peak years (1969-1972) and albums (Santana/Abraxas/Santana III). Yet only five songs are culled from these albums. Soul Sacrifice is an edited live version as released on Viva!

The casual fan is looking for a career retrospective of their classic songs, yet Jingo, No One To Depend On, She's Not There, Dance Little Sister, Hold On, Winning, Stormy, Well Alright, and You Know That I Love You are all missing. Carlos may have not wanted pop songs to adorn this, but if that is the reason...why is The River on this?

The serious fan is looking for a wealth of unreleased songs. Except for a few that appear on disc three (Sweet Black Cherry Pie and Every Now And Then) the box comes up short.

The positive notes are the release of In A Silent Way - (live) and a couple of tracks from Caravanserai. But one expects more from a box than that.

The single disc Best Of Santana (which has been rated far lower than the box) has all but two of the top forty singles of Santana, and covers the peak years more thoroughly. Thus it gets the nod over the box.

Dance of the Rainbow Serpent is brilliant. The music of Carlos Santana is nearly a spiritual journey and this set is no exception. Every song is incredible, the book is full of rare photos, and the cover art is reason enough to buy it. No other band has ever matched the style of Santana and their perfect combination of soul, Afro-Cuban, jazz, Mexican, blues, and most of all rock n roll.

Driving cross country last year, my brother picked out a dozen CD's to help me along my way. I didn't want any jewel cases to save space. Of these many disks, disk three of Dance of the Rainbow Sperpent was included. It has no track information on the disk and only the title "Spirit Disk 3". I had no idea who I was listening to until I returned home. I thought the CD was a best of various guest artists disk like John Lee Hooker and Vernon Ried. I also wondered why he gave me disk 3 only. There was a reason.

Frankly I loved disk 3, particularly "Mudbone" of which the sample listed here only hints at it's potential. The song builds in intensity with all the instruments coordinated such that I thought perhaps a single artist layed the whole thing up in a studio. I strongly recommend those reading this, at the very least, download this piece of music as an mpeg file.

I like Santana. Overall, I didn't think much of this CD. I'd rate disk 1 as a 3 or 4 (better to buy the LP Abraxis than this), disk 2 as a weak 2, and disk 3 as a very strong 5. Disk one included a live version of Soul Sacrafice that is weak compared to the studio edition. By the way, I'd rate Abraxis as one of the best LP of all time, so why include any of it here, when that LP stands so strongly on it's own?

All in all, I liked the rhythm and subtlety of the song Mudbone on disk 3, so much that I was tempted to rate this album a 5 for that alone. I listened to that song over an over on autorepeat driving through the desert. Two tracks on disk 3 inlude John Lee Hooker, "The Healer" and the excellent "Chill out (Things are Gonna Change)". "Every Now and Then" with Vernon Reid is excellent also. When you mix talent like this, something wonderful happens.

The question is this? Do you want to buy all three disks to get disk 3? If it was me, I'd say yes it's worth it. On the other hand, if you listen to mpeg files, you'd be better off paying for and downloading just those few songs.