Ziricote fretboard?
Love the inlay!!
You are a very lucky chap, you and I would have a lot to talk about, I think!
Fanboi here? yes... undoubtedly though I have spent many more hours banging on congas to Santana than trying to play along on guitar.
Here is my Santana area in my basement... just stuff I have picked up over the years.
I've seen Carlos and his band(s) probably over 100 times now over the years (my first show dates back about 40 years ago) and in 3 different countries. Highlight of recent years was seeing the Santana IV line up play live together (the show was with Journey).
Fanboi? Yeh, but I certainly can't claim to seeing him anywhere near 100 times. A dozen? for me. Clearly I'm not worthy of calling myself a fanboi.
But it was, unquestionably Carlos that sparked my desire to play guitar.
My album collection, mostly in vinyl:
1. Santana Santana
2. Santana Abraxas
3. Santana Santana 3
4. Santana Caravanserai
5. Santana Welcome
6. Santana & John McLaughlin Love Devotion Surrender
7. Santana Barboletta
8. Santana Amigos
9. Santana Festival
10. Santana Moonflower
11. Santana Inner Secrets
12. Santana Marathon
13. Santana Oneness Silver Dreams - Golden Reality
14. Santana Zebop!
15. Santana Shango
16. Santana Havana Moon
17. Santana Beyond Appearance
18. Santana Freedom
19. Santana Blues for Salvador
20. Santana Spirits Dancing in the Flesh
21. Santana Milagro
22. Santana Supernatural
23. Santana Shaman
24. Santana All That I Am
25. Santana Shape Shifter
26. Santana Corazon
27. Santana IV
28. Santana Guitar Heaven
Sheez. This is not unlike picking one's favorite child! Your two picks are certainly up there among my favorites. I tend to have a few favorite songs that draw me to that album. One of my all time fav's is "Bella" so I love Songs for Salvador. Similarly, "Toussaint L'Overture" draws me to Santana 3. "Song of the Wind" and Caravanserai. In my listing I failed to include Lotus which has "Incident at Nashabur".Favorite album? I go back and forth between Inner Secrets and Moonflower... though Amigos and Welcome get a ton of play too.
Borboletta was one of the first albums I got on CD about ‘87, with my first proper stereo system!Being a jazz fan my Carlos favs are some of his less popular albums.
-Oneness Silver dreams - Golden reality
-The Swing of delight
-Caravansarai
-Borboletta
-Welcome
Moonflower and Amigos are 2 great ones also as he was really excelling in his musicianship during that time.
....and one of my favorite recordings of his was a guest appearance on McCoy Tyner's album "Looking Out". "Señor Carlos" is the tune, McCoy wrote it just for Carlos. Ripping solos by Carlos, McCoy & Stanley Clarke who played bass on the track.
Yep, when Carlos became Devadip and started doing his jazz thing, and spiritual thing, with John McLaughlin he lost a lot of his following. But I really like all those you listed. Decades ago, a local radio station had a Sunday morning 2 hour jazz show called "Jazz Brunch". It, of course, has long been gone. But my wife and I were sitting having having coffee listening to it and a song came one that I had never heard. As we were listening I said to my wife, "I don't know what that song is but I can tell you that is Carlos Santana's guitar". After it played the DJ announced it was some song from an Alice Coltrane album with Carlos on guitar. His guitar is so instantly recognizable a person can tell it after a couple notes.Being a jazz fan my Carlos favs are some of his less popular albums.
-Oneness Silver dreams - Golden reality
-The Swing of delight
-Caravansarai
-Borboletta
-Welcome
Moonflower and Amigos are 2 great ones also as he was really excelling in his musicianship during that time.
....and one of my favorite recordings of his was a guest appearance on McCoy Tyner's album "Looking Out". "Señor Carlos" is the tune, McCoy wrote it just for Carlos. Ripping solos by Carlos, McCoy & Stanley Clarke who played bass on the track.
I have a sentimental fondness for 'Caravansarai' because I first heard the band. live, touring this album's release at the Baltimore Civic Center, February 25th, 1973...
The most incredible stage moment was when they were going full blast, the back curtain was raised and you could see the mirrored back of the band...I'll never forget it. Wow.