Personnel includes: Carlos Santana (guitar); Greg Walker, Willie Nelson (vocals); Jimmie Vaughan (guitar); Orestes Vilato (flute, percussion); Kim Wilson (harmonica); Flaco Jiminez (accordion); Booker T. Jones, Barry Beckett (keyboards); Keith Ferguson (bass); Graham Lear, Fran Christina (drums); Armando Peraza (percussion).
Recorded at the Automatt, San Francisco, California.
The third Carlos Santana solo album marks a surprising turn toward 1950s rock & roll and Tex-Mex, with covers such as Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" and Chuck Berry's title song. Produced by veteran R&B producers Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, the album features an eclectic mix of sidemen, including Booker T. Jones of Booker T & the MG's, Willie Nelson, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Havana Moon is a light effort, but it's one of Santana's most enjoyable albums, which may explain why it was also the best-selling Santana album outside the group releases in ten years. ~ William Ruhlmann