Santana, "Lotus" (Columbia, 1975)

The import sections of record stores used to carry some of the most interesting items, if not quite the most affordable. Perhaps you'd come across the British version of the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Electric Ladyland," the one with all the naked women on the cover. Or the British version of Roxy Music's "Country Life," the one with the ladies in the see-through ... well, you get the point.

Even though its cover is relatively bland - a depiction of an Eastern religious figure in the middle, bordered by black - the Santana album "Lotus" was another noteworthy import item in the late '70s. "Lotus" first was issued as a triple-record set, and at the time Columbia Records must have figured it wasn't going to sell in the States. So it was issued only in Japan, the nation in which it was recorded in 1973.

The music on "Lotus" represents a departure from what fans had come to know and love from Santana's first three albums, featuring radio-friendly material like "Evil Ways," "Oye Como Va," "Everybody's Everything" and the seamless medley of Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" and Gabor Szabo's "Gypsy Queen."

By '73, only half the band's Woodstock-era lineup remained: guitarist Carlos Santana, drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionist Jose "Chepito" Areas. In the meantime, Santana's stylistic focus had shifted to a jazzier, more free-form direction.

As a result, the made-in-Japan set is mostly instrumental. A couple of the hits surface, but the bulk of the album is a series of jams that thoroughly explore the playing talents of the ensemble, an octet at the time.

That doesn't seem like the most commercial of formulas, though, and that probably weighed into Columbia's decision to forestall the release of "Lotus" in the United States until 1990, when it came out as a double CD.

If you're looking for the Santana you know from listening to classic rock stations, try the trio of albums from '69 through '71: "Santana," "Abraxas" and "Santana (III)." But if you have an open mind and the tolerance for two hours' worth of pretty much nonstop music, "Lotus" offers up the band in a not-so-familiar setting.

Proceedings take a bit of a while to unravel, as the album opens with warmup-type sounds called "Going Home" and attributed to Alice Coltrane, John's widow. Some spirited improvisation, given the title of "A-1 Funk" follows, segueing into Shrieve's elongated "Every Step of the Way." Here, Carlos starts to display why he's regarded as one of rock's legendary guitarists, with his rapid-fire attack and screaming feedback at the forefront.

Following readings of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" and "Oye Como Va" - about the only places where vocalist Leon Thomas gets to do much more than shake maracas - the band tears through a series of themes that carries through the rest of the set. Among the more notable are a cover version of Airto's "Xibaba"; a couple of compositions from the first few Santana albums, "Waiting" and an extended "Incident at Neshabur"; and the new "Mr. Udo."

Proceedings wrap up the way every Santana show should, with the transcendent "Touissant L'Overture," from "Santana (III)."

Santana would go on to score more successes in the '70s, from the stimulating cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There" to the less-exciting remake of Buddy Holly's "Well All Right" and the original "Winning." Then there's the late-'90s comeback, but that's a whole other story.

"Lotus" stands as a document of what the band was during during a transitional, experimental phase, and the sheer volume of material makes it a good one to have in the Santana discography. And these days, you don't have to look on the import rack to find it.