Santana-Borboletta (1974)

In 1972, Santana released his debut album, "Caravanserai", which cemented the American guitarist's worldwide fame after another monumental album, "Abraxas" (1970). But right after that album, the band suffered its first lineup changes. Guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Gregg Rolie left to found the progressive hard rock group Journey, while singer Leon Patillo and keyboardist Tom Coster joined, followed by a few short-lived additions for the subsequent album, "Welcome" (1973), such as vocalist Leon Thomas and keyboardist Richard Kermode. However, despite the loss of two of its best members, Schon and Rolie, the band didn't suffer musically, and in 1974 they released their fifth album, "Borboletta", in which Santana achieved another great work of jazz-rock and jazz-fusion that, in some ways, resembled the percussion and atmosphere of the masterful "Caravanserai". Tom Coster, the new lineup's main keyboardist, perfectly filled Rolie's shoes, playing abundant Hammond organ and organ sounds, and occasionally some great electric piano fills. The rest of the band was more or less the same as the one that played on "Caravanserai", with the sole exception of the new lead vocalist, Leon Patillo, who does a great job here. "Borboletta" is another top-notch demonstration of jazz-rock with forays into Latin sounds, featuring powerful emotional sections, all filtered through a funk lens. The album is meant to be listened to in its entirety, without diminishing the value of any single song, because they all flow seamlessly from one to the next, just as they did on "Caravanserai". However, the highlight of Borboletta is undoubtedly the closing track, "Here and Now/Flor de Canela/Promise of a Fisherman", where we hear 13 splendid minutes of Santana at his absolute best. Even so, it's the first part of the album, with the sublime "Spring Manifestations", the brilliant "Life Is Anew", the jazz-rock "Give and Take", and the melodic "Aspirations", that most closely resembles the sound of "Caravanserai". One of the main differences here is the aforementioned new vocalist, León Patillo, who presents a more accessible sound. In addition, there's the occasional appearance of the saxophone, which adds an even more jazzy feel. With “Borboletta” the first stage of Santana came to a close, a stage (1969-1974) in which his most classic works appeared, from here on his sound would evolve towards a more accessible and commercial style, without diminishing the quality of his music.