Santana – Santana (180g 45rpm 2LP)

Label: Mobile Fidelity – MFSL2-45012 – 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl – AAA 100% Analogue
45RPM – Numbered Limited Edition – Pressed at RTI
Pure Analogue Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich from the Original Master Tape at MFSL
Half Speed Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity The Gain 2 Ultra Analog System
AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only, from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List TAS Harry Pearson Super LP List

The newfound dynamics on the 45RPM pressing transform the presentation,making it more lively, engaging, and three-dimensional . but the 45RPM version stuns, with Santana’s signature lead guitar locked in place like a planet and the rest of the instruments orbiting near and far.- . Tone Audio

This Deluxe 45RPM set is mastered from the original master tapes, and I think we have the definitive version of this incredible album from my youth. As I listened to it I was shocked that the music was even better than I remembered; why haven’t I been listening to this album more often? The beautiful tones of Santana’s guitar and nuances of his playing comes through so well on this reissue. I was drawn into the music and felt an wonderful emotional connection to it. I never enjoyed this album more! Dagogo Review

Improving upon the label’s critically acclaimed 180g LP pressing, this deluxe 45RPM set is mastered from the original master tapes and overflows with the information, textures, and colors afforded by wider grooves. The result: Spacious, airy, and you-are-there sonics that trump all prior versions. In addition to correcting the imaging, Mobile Fidelity’s collectable version captures the full tonal range of Santana’s guitar and nuances of his distinctive touch. It all brings you closer to the music and enhances your emotional connection to this stellar album.

Indeed, separation between Carlos Santana’s fluid fills, spicy solos, and broiling grooves and pianist Gregg Rolie’s soulful Hammond organ runs allows the music to come alive with a newfound freshness and radiance. Songs simmer, with each passage bursting forth with vibrant color. Just like the equally essential follow-up Abraxas, Santana also lays claim to one of the biggest (and unfortunate) production gaffes in music history. Until Mobile Fidelity fixed the error with its 180g LP and 24K Gold releases, Santana had never been heard correctly.

For nearly four decades, copies were produced with the left and right channels reversed, meaning that everything was placed in a backwards manner. This even extended to compilations on which individual songs from Santana were included. Rest assured that, in addition to boasting reference audiophile sonics, this 180g 45RPM 2LP set gets all the specifications exactly right. And with a record of this magnitude, you want everything to be perfect.

Bound by natural chemistry and earthy spirituality, the record’s innovative synthesis of myriad styles goes beyond anything that came before-as well as nearly everything that’s followed. Playing with the finest band that the iconic guitarist ever had, Santana doesn’t water down any exotic roots or simply incorporate mainstream Western styles into a Latin framework. This is a true hybrid, responsible for opening up borders, transcending cultural divides, and, most importantly, exhilarating the senses.