Santana 3 -- Latin Fusion/Rock Perfection

How do you make a perfect album even better? Add a second disk of live performances. Santana 3, is the original band’s swan song, the apex of the Latin/rock fusion. (Percussionist Michael Carrabello and bassist David Brown would miss out on Caravanserai, the next L.P. and the back bone of the band, keyboard/ vocalist Gregg Rolie, would quit following its release.) The album soars thanks to the addition of the 15 year-old guitarist Neal Schon, Rolie’s rumbling Hammond organ solos, the percussion army of Carrabello, Jose Chepito Arreas, Michael Schieve and newcomer Coke Escovedo, and yes, that other guitarist they named the band after is okay too.

Highlights are “Taboo,” featuring a languid, sly vocal from Rolie and a searing Schon solo; the hit single “Everybody’s Everything,” a slice or rollicking R & B with a soulful Rolie vocal and solos from Rolie, Santana, Escovedo/Arreas/Carrabello backed-up by the powerful blasts of the Tower of Power Horn section; “Everything’s Coming Our Way,” in which Carlos steps to the mike and Rolie does his usual rich, Steve Winwood-inspired soloing; and another radio-friendly hit, “No One to Depend On,” in which Santana and Schon trade sharp guitar licks like Ali and Frasier trading body blows.

The additional disc features live versions of the albums cuts, plus a transcendental version of “In a Silent Way,” offering a taste of Santana’s spiritual recordings to come. Rolie’s a little hoarse and the recording isn’t exactly top notch (this was the early 70s, after all), but the live versions illustrate how tight the band was, No other Latin/rock band ever burned with this much inspiration and energy -- including the versions of Santana that followed. Santana fans who think the hip-hop dreck of “Shaman” is what Santana is about should prepare to have their eyes opened.