There is a lot of buzz about this album in the fan newsgroups - and well deserved. If your typical exposure to Santana is on the radio, then you are going to hear a whole lot of new material. If you are a fanatic, then you've maybe heard some of this before.

For example, the song MANANA seems most like EUROPA with words - and it makes lots of sense that way. I had always wondered if there were words, and these fit the song very well.

TRUTH DON DIE (not a typo, that's the way it is on the album) feels a lot like ADOUMA, but it stands on its own.

LET ME LOVE YOU TONIGHT is also very interesting.

The remixes show their own charm, and if you are a variation collector, you may find some real gold here. Some of it is subtle - if VICTORY IS WON is a remix, then the change is something I can't catch. PRIMAVERA on the other hand, feels very different.

The rest of the album is worth the listen as well.

The Santana website says this is a limited edition of 100,000; if you are interested, get a copy while you can! It's really good!

LIsten. This is a great album for a Santana fan. Everyone keeps saying Shaman was weak, and offering their opinions on what could have made it better, but all it boils down to is Santana's guitar playing. He makes the guitar speak, and that is all tha matters. This album has all of Carlos's talent packaged up and presents it very well. Some people don;t only listen to the vocals, they listen to music. THIS IS MUSIC.

With all the hype that this CD is a limited edition, does not take away the fact that this indeed is a very good disc especially after the weak Shaman. The re-mixes are well done & Carlos scores really high & each track stands seperately from the other. At just under 55mins & 11 tracks, this is definately worth buying.

This album restores my faith in Santana. It is not just for fans and collectors. Rarities does not imply poor sounding tracks, as other artists have done. I could live without the pointless remixes, are they going to remix the original 3 albums next? But the whole thing gets a rare 5/5 from me... especially since I got it new for $4.99.

This album was bought for a poet friend of mine - you can buy his book on Amazon (Surfing the Soul)
He loves this album and so do I!
We both especially love the song Curación (Sunlight on Water). My friend is a Santa Cruz poet surfer with excellent musical taste - this entire album touches the soul!