The original Columbia LP came out in 1974 and, with the advent of the CD, the suits at Columbia naturally thought that the buying public, in order to satisfy their curiosity about the new format, would rush out to purchase equally-skimpy CDs. And they were right. At least until faced with competition from the likes of Rhino, Ace of London, Bear Family, Eric Records, etc., and within a few short years we were able to get 20- to 30-track CDs and with substantial liner notes to provide background information on the artist or artists concerned, as well as discographies.

Having said that, at first glance at the sealed CD contents, when it came out as a CD in October 1990 a potential buyer probably thought it at least filled the bill insofar as their greatest hits were to 1974 by having these 5 charted singles and three B-sides: Jingo (Jin-Go-Lo-Ba on some pressings) - # 58 Billboard Pop Hot 100 Nov 1969 b/w Persuasion on Columbia 45010; Evil Ways - # 9 Hot 100 Feb-March 1970 (b/w Waiting which is missing from the set) on Columbia 45069; Black Magic Woman - # 4 Nov-Dec 1970 b/w Hope You're Feeling Better on Columbia 45270; Oye Come Va - # 13 Hot 100/# 32 R&B March-April 1971 b/w Samba Pa Ti on Columbia 45330; and Everybody's Everything - # 12 Hot 100/# 39 R&B Oct-Nov 1971 (b/w Guajira - another omitted B-side).

The same buyer might have wondered at the inclusion of tracks 8 and 9, which were not among their "greatest hits" but if long-time fans of the band would recognize that Everything's Coming Our Way was from their 1971 LP "Santana III" (Columbia KC-30595) while Se A Cabo was culled from their 1970 "Abraxas" (Columbia CA-30130). They might also have wondered why the original 1974 album compiler at CBS chose not to include instead the April 1972 # 36 Hot 100 No One To Depend On which came out on Columbia 45552 b/w Taboo, along with one of the missing B-sides, or even go to 12 tracks and include all 6 hits and their B-sides.

But even at the (then) steep price for 10 tracks, and figuring that beggars can't be choosers, they bought the CD, took it home ... and then were horrified at the pathetic sound reproduction which included abridged and often cut-off tracks. As most other reviewers point out, avoid this. No R&R Hall of Fame inductee (1998) should have this kind of junk still circulating.
The original Columbia LP came out in 1974 and, with the advent of the CD, the suits at Columbia naturally thought that the buying public, in order to satisfy their curiosity about the new format, would rush out to purchase equally-skimpy CDs. And they were right. At least until faced with competition from the likes of Rhino, Ace of London, Bear Family, Eric Records, etc. , and within a few short years we were able to get 20- to 30-track CDs and with substantial liner notes to provide background information on the artist or artists concerned, as well as discographies. Having said that, at first glance at the sealed CD contents, when it came out as a CD in October 1990 a potential buyer probably thought it at least filled the bill insofar as their greatest hits were to 1974 by having these 5 charted singles and three B-sides: Jingo (Jin-Go-Lo-Ba on some pressings) - # 58 Billboard Pop Hot 100 Nov 1969 b/w Persuasion on Columbia 45010; Evil Ways - # 9 Hot 100 Feb-March 1970 (b/w Waiting which is missing from the set) on Columbia 45069; Black Magic Woman - # 4 Nov-Dec 1970 b/w Hope You're Feeling Better on Columbia 45270; Oye Come Va - # 13 Hot 100/# 32 R&B March-April 1971 b/w Samba Pa Ti on Columbia 45330; and Everybody's Everything - # 12 Hot 100/# 39 R&B Oct-Nov 1971 (b/w Guajira - another omitted B-side). The same buyer might have wondered at the inclusion of tracks 8 and 9, which were not among their "greatest hits" but if long-time fans of the band would recognize that Everything's Coming Our Way was from their 1971 LP "Santana III" (Columbia KC-30595) while Se A Cabo was culled from their 1970 "Abraxas" (Columbia CA-30130). They might also have wondered why the original 1974 album compiler at CBS chose not to include instead the April 1972 # 36 Hot 100 No One To Depend On which came out on Columbia 45552 b/w Taboo, along with one of the missing B-sides, or even go to 12 tracks and include all 6 hits and their B-sides. But even at the (then) steep price for 10 tracks, and figuring that beggars can't be choosers, they bought the CD, took it home... and then were horrified at the pathetic sound reproduction which included abridged and often cut-off tracks. As most other reviewers point out, avoid this. No R&R Hall of Fame inductee (1998) should have this kind of junk still circulating.