Santana- Ultimate Santana (2007) VBR

Santana- Ultimate Santana

Year 2007

Tracks
1. Into The Night Santana Featuring Chad Kroeger 3:44
2. This Boy's Fire Santana featuring Jennifer Lopez & Baby Bash 3:30
3. Smooth Santana Feat. Rob Thomas 4:56
4. Maria Maria (Radio Mix) Santana featuring The Product G&B 4:22
5. Oye Como Va Santana 4:18
6. Black Magic Woman Santana 3:15
7. Evil Ways Santana 3:55
8. Corazon Espinado Santana featuring Mana 4:35
9. Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile) Santana 5:05
10. The Game Of Love Santana featuring Tina Turner 4:22
11. Put Your Lights On Santana feat. Everlast 4:45
12. Why Don't You & I (Alt. Version) Santana Featuring Alex Band Of The Calling 3:51
13. Everybody's Everything Santana 3:32
14. Just Feel Better Santana featuring Steven Tyler 4:12
15. Samba Pa' Ti Santana 4:45
16. No One To Depend On Santana 5:33
17. The Game Of Love (Main/Radio Mix) Santana Featuring Michelle Branch 4:14
18. Interplanetary Party Santana 4:06

The new 'greatest' by Santana sounds outstanding--crystal-clear and pulsing with energy and sound. The standards are on here, and they sound great. However, I do not think this collection represents the best of Santana. There is too much of his newer (collaborative) material, and while I enjoy the new songs, they are not as strong as his early music. While this is ultimately a satisfying album, I would not consider it the definitive collection of the Great Carlos Santana's works.
Longtime fans will be better served by 1998's single-disc THE BEST OF SANTANA or 2002's double-disc THE ESSENTIAL SANTANA. This latest collection is principally targeted for Santana's latter-day fans. There are flashes of brilliance with the big name cameos ("Smooth," for example, was a huge hit for a reason--it's a damn good song), but overall they pale in comparison to the band's seminal Seventies' work. If you're interested in Santana's work over the past decade (but don't want to purchase their last three albums), this does a nice job of catching you up.