There have been a handful of truly inspirational guitar masters when you explore the contemporary field over the last fifty years, Clapton, Hendrix, Iommi and of course there is Carlos Santana.

Master of a highly successful sound fusing his own blues based lead work with the jazz, Latin and salsa sounds generated by his band (who for the most part played under the Santana moniker), Carlos Santana’s legacy has been expanding over the last four decades.

As with any career there are fans and then there are the curious, and for the latter group, the quickest way to recruit is through the release of a solid compilation, thankfully, Ultimate Santana is a solid representation of a long and distinguished career.

Capturing the classic lines of the more free-forming experimentalist era Santana right through to his now mainstream collaborative efforts with some of pop and rocks biggest names, Ultimate Santana does indeed span the length of Santana’s time on stage, however you could argue it is stacked a little too heavily in favour of his modern incarnation as a backing track for younger pop stars.

Santana like most artists was at his peak at young age when the fire was burning white hot and the music was fresh and exciting. Getting these periods back to back is exciting in itself as they contrast each other so completely.

A solid collection which will renew the old fans and educate the new ones… Yes indeed, Mr Santana did have a career before Rob Thomas threw him a lifeline.