Havana Moon is a solo album by Carlos Santana, released in 1983. It features covers of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry songs and performances by Booker T Jones, Willie Nelson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and also Carlos' father José singing "Vereda Tropical", a song Carlos had first heard when his father was serenading his mother following an argument.

Reception

J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone deemed Carlos Santana recording Tex-Mex music to be a natural fit, and felt that the Fabulous Thunderbirds were ideal collaborators for such a project. He particularly praised the renditions of "Who Do you Love" and "Havana Moon" for throwing in inspired Tex-Mex elements while staying true to the appeal of the original recordings. However, he found the album's roaming to other styles on the six cuts recorded without the Fabulous Thunderbirds to be dissatisfying, remarking, "It's not so much that Havana Moon is inconsistent — although it's that, too — as it is confusing, jumping from style to style as if Carlos Santana weren't sure what he wanted to do. It's nice to see that he's eager to expand his horizons, but it's disappointing that he undercuts his efforts by attempting to cover all the bases."

Track listing

Side one

Side two

Personnel

Charts