Best known as both one of the founding members of the Latin rock group Malo, and for being the brother of Carlos Santana, Jorge Santana shows impressive form on this reissue of his own solo albums. The 1978 eponymous album had Santana playing lead with Richard Bean carrying the lead vocals and guitar along with Carlos Riberto/b, Kincaid Miller/key, Jerry Marshall/dr and Yogi Newman/per. Most of the tunes like “Sandy” and “Darling I Love You” are peppy and upbeat pop pieces, with some hip jazz soloing by Santana on the smooth “Oh! Tengo Suerte” and the band getting into a funky jam on “Nobody’s Perfect.”
The 1979 It’s All About Love features Jay McKinnon on lead vocals along with Newman, Miller, Roger Reid/dr and John Thompson/b. The team does a Soul Train dance groover on Allen Toussaint’s “Feeling Good” and the Motownish title track. The percussion sizzles on “New York, New York” and Santana gets some nice licks in on his own “My Inspiration.” Romantic moods have Santana charming the strings on “Love Me Tonight,” but the overall mood is fun and funky, as on “Ain’t No” and “Three Mile Island.”