SANTANA: INNER SECRETS

Performer: Santana
Composer: Santana
Number of discs: 1
Barcode: 0196588951312
Label: Original Master Recordings
Format: LP
Genre: Pop/Rock
Year: 2024

The long-awaited reissue of Inner Secrets by Carlos Santana

An album featuring three Top 100 singles and performances overflowing with passion

Remastered from the original analog master tapes

Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressings

Limited edition of only 3,000 numbered copies worldwide

A reissue of the 1978 Gold-certified album with a sound quality previously unimaginable

Throughout his remarkable artistic journey in the 1970s, Carlos Santana steadfastly refused to confine himself to any single style. During that extraordinarily prolific decade, his band recorded nine studio albums, a double album partly live and partly studio, and a triple live album. The group’s penchant for innovation and stylistic evolution—creative choices that produced music which, nearly half a century later, continues to surprise, captivate, and inspire both listeners and new generations of artists—is clearly evident from the first to the last track of Inner Secrets, a Gold-certified masterpiece in which Santana’s band reached peaks of pure musical beauty, seldom matched in the following decade.

Remastered from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressings, and released in a strictly limited edition of just 3,000 numbered copies worldwide, this luxurious 180-gram 45 RPM vinyl reissue of Inner Secrets allows listeners to experience this essential 1978 album with true audiophile sound quality for the very first time. Part of the brand-new series dedicated to the Carlos Santana catalog, this collector’s treasure offers whisper-quiet surfaces and deep black vinyl that lets Santana’s music flow from the speakers with stunning detail, breathtaking dynamic range, and tonal definition previously unheard of.

And what can be said about Santana himself? About the unmistakable tone of his guitar, his exceptional mastery as an inspiring bandleader, and his phenomenal solos? Listening closely to this edition—with its exceptional clarity and almost unreal transparency—you can appreciate the virtuosity, artistic vision, and subtle melancholy that define Santana’s musical personality. His instrumental and artistic charisma extends almost magically to the musicians who joined him on Inner Secrets, including drummer Graham Lear, who displays seemingly inexhaustible energy, and bassist David Margen, whose playing adds remarkable depth and solidity. Together, Lear and Margen form a rock-solid rhythm section, capable of shifting seamlessly from disco grooves to moody pop and classic rock that dominated radio at the time.

Thanks in part to the presence of three singles that entered the Top 100, Inner Secrets marked an important turning point in Santana’s artistic evolution. It was the band’s first album without keyboardist Tom Coster, who had joined Santana in 1972, and without original percussionist José Areas. They were replaced respectively by Chris Rhyme and Pete Escovedo—the latter having already contributed to several tracks on the previous Moonflower (1977). Also joining the lineup was multi-instrumentalist Chris Solberg. These three musicians played a crucial role in guiding Santana’s transition from fusion-based compositions toward a more mainstream sound.

This artistic shift is reflected in the album’s four inspired cover versions: masterful renditions of Buddy Holly’s “Well All Right,” the Four Tops’ “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison),” the Classics IV’s “Stormy,” and Traffic’s “Dealer,” the latter paired with “Spanish Rose.” Santana’s focused approach can also be heard in the structure and duration of the tracks—none exceeding six minutes and fifteen seconds. Despite these apparent constraints, the band delivers infectious melodies, intricate passages, and passionate performances within a tightly woven framework.

In addition to the instrumental brilliance of Santana’s ensemble, Inner Secrets greatly benefits from Greg Walker’s vocal presence. Carlos Santana described Walker’s style as “a perfect mix of street and church music—the ‘street’ being realistic, sensual, warm, and unadorned, while the ‘church’ is spiritual, inspired, full of good intentions, and completely sincere.” These qualities permeate Inner Secrets, making it a landmark album from the band’s golden era—a truly flattering distinction.

Carlos Santana

Side A

Dealer / Spanish Rose
Move On
One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison)
Stormy

Side B

Well All Right
Open Invitation
Life Is a Lady / Holiday
The Facts of Love
Wham!