Santana - Hot Tamales (1969)

For this second volume of Santana demos I've picked the best of the extended jam sessions that actually sound like Santana to me. 'Jam In E' and 'Jammin' Home' don't have the Latin flavour of early Santana, and so I think that they really are Neal Schon's audition recordings from 1970, with a heavier rock guitar sound more to the fore, and while I'm sure 'Santana Jam' really is the band, it doesn't really go anywhere so I've omitted those three tracks. That leaves us with five recordings from the early 1969 version of the band, and with a few nips and tucks it's an excellent showcase for what the group could accomplish when they were left to stretch things out as long as was needed. As before, if anyone has a definitive history for these tracks then I'd love to hear it. 

Track listing

01 El Corazon Manda

02 Hot Tamales

03 Fried Neckbones And Home Fries

04 Jam In G Minor

05 Latin Tropical