While this marks the second remastering and repackaging of Santana's debut, this two-disc set is worth the price of admission. Originally released in August of 1969,the same month as their stunning performance at Woodstock, Santana released one of the strongest albums of their thirty-year-plus career. But while their debut was a wonderful collection of terrific songs--"Evil Ways, "Jingo," "Persuasion"--they were an even better live band.

The 1998 reissue featured three of their songs from Woodstock, including the 11:49 gem "Soul Sacrifice." This 2004 Legacy edition includes their entire Woodstock set (with the exception of "Evil Ways"), adding four more songs: "Waiting," "You Just Don't Care, "Jingo" and "Persuasion."

Additional material on the bonus disc are studio sessions of songs like "Soul Sacrifice" and ""Persuasion" that were recorded before drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionist Joe Areas were brought into the band, revealing compelling but alternate performances of these songs.

Even if you already own the 1998 remaster, this is the definitive release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

There are now two expanded editions of "Santana" (sometimes referred to as "Santana 1"). This is the version fans of the "Woodstock Era" band should buy. The other vesion is "The Woodstock Experience," released a couple of weeks ago at the time of this review.

This version has superior remixing/remastering of the first album, outtakes from the first album, the "almost complete" Woodstock set ("Evil Ways" is missing) and the sessions for the band's unreleased first attempt at their debut album.

The bonus tracks of the first crack at their debut album are minus the world-class percussion section of the amazing Mike Shrieve (drums), Mike Carabello (congas) and the incomparable Jose "Chepito" Areas (timbales, trumpet solo on "Fried Neckbones" from Woodstock). It's interesting to hear the band with Marcus Malone (congas) and Doc Livingston (drums) on these six tracks and how much the music and arrangements grew in just a few short months.

I found the remastering (if it is such) of "The Woodstock" experience to be much harsher and too high end. Most of the onstage banter is removed from the Woodstock set and the overall mix of the debut album sounds like the original CD release in the late 1980s, it's so harsh, ill defined and compressed, as is the Woodstock set.

"Santana 1" is a classic album, one of my all-time favorites from the Santana BAND, when it was such, not a backup unit for Carlos and his guitar solos. Everyone shines on this album in beautiful, remastered sound. Carlos had something special with this band and he was never to recapture the kind of musical ESP he enjoyed with supreme keyboardist/lead vocalist Gregg Rolie. Check out the eye-popping chemistry they display on "Studio Jam" at the end of disc one, where you get to hear Gregg's all-too-often overlooked bluesy/jazzy acoustic piano chops interacting with Carlos' Wes Montgomery-inspired jazzy guitar lines! Classic!

Grab this one today before Sony Legacy decides to stop making it available to boost sales of "The Woodstock Experience." Purchase the mp3 of "Evil Ways" from "The Woodstock Experience" and add it to this gem and you have THE definitive version of "Santana 1."

Even if you have the other editions of Santana's first album, this is still a "must-have" for fans of the group.

The entire electrifying performance at Woodstock is here in all its digitally remastered glory and that alone is worth the price of admission!

By August 1969 the musical landscpe we called rock&roll, had expanded immensely!Like jazz,rock&roll had become a very broad term, as there were many musical style's exploding on the scene.The late 60's had seen landmark albums released by bands who were pushing the envelope further and further.There was The Beatles Sgt. Pepper,The Who's Tommy,The Byrds Sweetheart of Rodeo,The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet.Then there was some major jaw dropping debut's by bands like The Doors,The Jimi Hendrix Experience,Led Zeppelin,& King Crimson, to name just a few,all bringing together many different musical styles and influence's.Santana's debut is one of those ground breaking landmark albums.In August 1969, Santana went up to Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York and unleashed his brand of latin rock and raised the bar even higher! Carlos fused together his latin and afro/cuban influences with his signature guitar style that had us begging for more.Then later we realized not only was he creating cutting edge music, but he was sending us a message of spirituality,love and peace.This is where the journey began, a musical journey that reads like a novel and continues today,almost 40 years later after the release of the first Santana album. Enjoy, for we may never see the like's of a Carlos Santana again!

In addition to the original cuts from the first Santana album, this "Legacy Edition" includes several live songs from the same era --the late '60s-- including a delicious tune called "Fried Neckbone."