Top 10 Santana Album Covers

Santana Album Covers

Feature Photo: Sterling Munksgard / Shutterstock.com

Our Top 10 Santana Album Covers list will look at one of the most successful rock bands of all time. Santana has sold over 100 million albums. They have recorded several albums throughout their career. Fourteen of their albums peaked in the Top 10 on Billboard 200. They have won numerous awards throughout their illustrious career. They made history when they won eight Grammy Awards in one night. Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. The lineup evolved over the years just like their music as well as their album covers. They always give fans something to talk about with their music as well as with their album covers.

Santana wanted their album covers to stand out among the rest. The artwork on their album covers is just as innovative as their music. Their album covers are filled with depth and tell stories. Some of their album covers resemble paintings. They use mystical and spiritual themes for their artwork. They also use optical illusions on the album covers. Their album covers are original. If you look at their covers, you will never describe them as boring. The artists who created the artwork like to think outside of the box. One of their album covers features the head of a lion on top of human legs. This photo isn’t something you see every day, but it works for Santana.

Santana has a lot of album covers for fans to admire. The artwork is breathtaking and will give you something to admire while you are enjoying their music. We want to give the artists who created the album covers a round of applause for their masterpieces. They created unforgettable artwork for the band. Our Top 10 Santana Album Covers list will give you the stories behind the extraordinary album covers. They have a lot of great album covers to choose from so see which ones we chose for our list.

# 10 – Moonflower

The first pick on our Top 10 Santana Album Covers list is Moonflower. This is Santana’s ninth album. This is the band’s live album. The album cover is picturesque. It features a picture of the ocean. There is a shot of the mountains in the background. It is a shot taken from the air. It captures the ocean and the mountains. The clouds are dark with glimpses of light in the sky. It is a majestic shot of the ocean. It has a hypnotic blue border around the cover. Santana as well as the artists responsible for the photo wanted to capture the turbulence that was going on during the time the album was released. You can see the rays of sunlight through the dark clouds. It is a great juxtaposition of the light and dark colors.

Herb Greene and Roslav Szaybo were responsible for the art direction of the album cover. John Paul Jones and Russ Anderson were responsible for the graphics. The artwork was inspired by the photograph taken by Yoshikazu Shirakaua. Herb Greene has taken pictures for other musicians. He has worked with Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Jeff Beck, Janice Joplin, Led Zeppelin, as well as others. Roslav Szaybo is a painter, photographer and cover designer. He has done artwork for Santana, Judas Priest, Elton John, Roy Orbison, The Clash, as well as others. John Paul Jones has worked with Santana, Van Morrison as well as other artists. Russ Anderson has worked with V.S.O.P. and Santana.

Moonflower was released in October 1977. The album peaked at number 10 on Billboard 200. Moonflower features the singles “She’s Not There,” “I’ll Be Waiting,” “Let The Children Play” and “Black Magic Woman.” The album sold over two million copies.

# 9 – Marathon

The next pick for our Top 10 Santana Album Covers list is Marathon. Marathon is Santana’s 11th studio album.Santana was going through a musical change. They were becoming more conventional. This album was a departure for the band. The creative album cover features runners running through flames. They look as if they are running in a marathon. It is symbolic of the change the band was going through. The nondescript images are dark. John Paul Jones uses orange to represent flame. He also uses an orange background. There is a black border around the cover. The lettering is written in orange. It allows you to use your imagination to figure out why the images are running through flames.

Carlos Santana gave John Paul Jones pictures of runners that were used as a motif. While John Paul Jones used the pictures Carlos Santana gave him, he noticed the flames. The flames looked like wings. The runners and the flames became the double image he was looking for. John Paul Jones manipulated the picture so that it looks as if the runners are running into flames. It is two separate shots juxtaposed together to create the illusion that they are running through flames. John Paul Jones wanted to pay homage to Santana’s first album cover. The artwork for this album cover coincides with the album title because they look like they are running in a “marathon.”

Marathon was released in September 1979. The album peaked at number 25 on Billboard 200. Marathon features the singles “You Know That I Love You,” “Marathon,” “Lightening in the Sky,” “All I Ever Wanted” and “Summer Lady.” The album sold over 500,000 copies.

# 8 – Festival

Festival is Santana’s eighth studio album. This is an optical illusion because there are different things going on in the picture. It looks like two snakes slithering on opposite sides of a statue. If you look at the picture from afar, it looks like someone sitting in an oversized chair. It could also be a lion in the background. You could spend some time wondering how many images you can see in the picture. Most of the picture is bright red with a white background. There are flecks of green and orange to balance out the red color. It will catch your attention.

The picture of the album cover doesn’t match the title of the album. Like our first two entries on our list, Santana isn’t featured on the cover of the album. Graphic artist David Singer did an amazing job creating this album cover. He will have fans scratching their heads wondering what is going on in the picture. David Singer has worked with Santana, Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, as well as other artists. Festiva was released in January 1977. The album peaked at number 27 on Billboard 200. Festiva features the singles “Let the Children Play,” “Jugando” and “Verao Vermelho.” The album sold over 500,000 copies.

# 7 – Borboletta

Borboletta is Santana’s sixth studio album. The title of the album means butterfly. It would explain the album cover. The exquisite album cover features a metallic blue butterfly. The background shot is a closeup of the butterfly wing’s structure. You can get an idea of what a butterfly looks like up close. Santana’s name blends in the background. You may have to relax your eyes in order to see it. The letters are written in white. It is a striking color blue with hints of white throughout the picture. It is not too bright or too dark. It is just right. It is easy on the eyes.

Carlos Santana worked with Barry Imhoff and Ed Lee to create the artwork for the album. Barry Imhoff is an artist. He has worked with Santana, Crosby Stills & Nash, as well as other artists. Ed Lee is an art director, designer and photographer. He has worked with Santana, Billie Holiday, Tony Matos, Percy Faith, Redbone and Fleetwood Mac. Borboletta was released in October 1974. It peaked at number 20 on Billboard 200. The album features the singles “Give and Take,” “One With the Sun,” “Practice What You Preach” and “Here and Now.” Borboletta sold over 500,000 copies.

# 6 -Shango

Shango is Santana’s 13th studio album. The album is named after one of the Latin American and Caribbean religions. The album was relevant for the time it was released. The celebratory album cover represents the title of the album. The illustrative cover features two people dancing. One of the people is painted blue with a pink face while the other is painted black with a blue face. There is a crescent moon in the top right of the cover. There are symbols between the people. There are flowers on the right side of the cover. The people are surrounded by a soft green background. The border of the cover is bright yellow.

The album cover represents culture and religion. Richard Stutting did a great job with this album cover. It will have you talking about the artwork. He used the right colors to celebrate life. The colors are vibrant without being too bright and flashy. Richard Stutting has worked with Santana, True West, Too Much Joy, Beggars, Train, as well as other artists. Shango was released in August 1982. The album peaked at number 22 on Billboard 200. Shango features the singles “Hold On,” “Nowhere To Run,” “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)” and “Night Hunting Time.” Shango sold over 500,000 copies.

# 5 – Beyond Appearances

The next pick on our Top 10 Santana Album Covers list is Beyond Appearances. Beyond Appearances is Santana’s 14th studio album. The magnificent album cover is a collage of people from different walks of life. There are people kneeling and praying in the picture. There is a shot of a baby in someone’s arms. There are also other babies in the picture. People are staring at something that caught their attention. There are different statues in the picture. You can see someone’s eyes staring at you. There are trees and grass in the background. There are a lot of images on the album cover. There are a lot of colors used to create this cover. Every color is used in this picture.

Art director Mick Brigden and graphic designer Marty Gessler used dark colors to showcase the photo. They used shades of light to balance out the darkness in the picture. They created artwork that could easily be in a museum. It will make you think about the title of the album. It would explain the different appearances in the picture. Mick Brigden has worked with Santana and Eddie Money. Marty Gessler has worked with Santana, Robert Vaughn and Charlie Peacock. Beyond Appearances was released in February 1985. The album peaked at number 50 on Billboard 200. The album features the singles “Written in Sand,” “Breaking Out,” “Say It Again” and “Who Loves You.”

# 4 – Corazon

Corazon is Santana’s 23rd studio album. The title of the album means heart. This is a psychedelic album cover. It features a picture of Carlos Santana in the middle of the album cover. There are different pictures used throughout the cover. It is an optical illusion because it will play tricks on your mind. If you pay attention, you will see that it is not a face in the picture. Birds are used for his eyes. You can see statues used for his nose, mouth and moustache. Flames are used to represent his hair. The right side of the cover looks like a right hand or a picture of cacti. There is a vase with hearts in it to the left of the cover. There are also other images in the artwork. The album cover is unique and different. It is a throwback to the 60s.

Boa Mistura is an art collective who designed the album cover. He is based in Spain and does public artwork. He used bright colors to create this album cover. He did a brilliant job putting images together to create Carlos Santana’s face. He used a great balance of bright and dark colors. Corazon was released in May 2014. It peaked at number nine on Billboard 200. Corazon features the singles “Iron Lyon Zion,” “Margarita,” “Feel It Coming Back” and “I See Your Face.” The album sold over 95,000 copies.

# 3 – Caravanserai

Caravanserai is Santana’s fourth studio album. Santana changed their musical style for this album. They were shifting towards jazz music. This is a soothing and peaceful album cover. It features people and camels walking in a desert. There is a bright sun in the blue sky. Soft blue hues are used for the background color. The sun dominates the middle of the picture. The band’s name and album title are written in white letters. There aren’t that many colors used for the artwork, but the colors that were used work very well. They create the image of being in a desert.

Visual and animation artist Joan Chase designed the album cover. She has worked with Santana, Paul Kantner, Philip Glass, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, as well as other artists. Joan Chase kept this album cover simple. The title of the album means to relax and recover which is the look she created with this album cover. This is the type of picture you could stare at for hours. If you are feeling stressed, you can look at this cover. Caravanserai was released in October 1972. The album peaked at number eight on Billboard 200. It features the singles “Just in Time to See the Sun,” “All the Love of the Universe,” “Stone Flower” and “Song of the Wind.” The album sold over one million copies.

# 2 – Santana

Santana is Santana’s debut album. This is the album that introduced the world to the band. This is black and white art. Fans of art will fall in love with this picture. This is a mysterious album cover. As we mentioned earlier, Santana has an album cover that features a lion with human legs. The lion looks menacing in the picture. There is more to this picture than meets the eye. If you stare into the picture, you will see different faces inside of the lion. If you relax your eyes, you can see people by the lion’s eyes. You can see hands by the lion’s nose. This is the band’s debut album, and they chose not to appear on the cover. They wanted the innovative artwork to speak for itself. The album cover looks like sketch work that you would see in someone’s portfolio.

Lee Conklin’s signature style is to use black ink technique for his artwork. This album cover is his most famous artwork. His art makes a statement. It can never be considered ordinary. Santana was familiar with his work and wanted him to recreate his artwork for their album cover. Lee Conklin has worked with Santana, The Beatles, Creedence Clear Water Revival, The Grateful Dead, Tower of Power, as well as others. Lee Conklin did a wonderful job creating this masterpiece. Santana was released in August 1969. The album peaked at number four on Billboard 200. Santana features the singles “Jingo,” “Evil Wings” and “Shades of Time.” The album sold over two million copies.

# 1 – Supernatural

The number one pick on our Top 10 Santana Album Covers list is Supernatural. Supernatural is Santana’s 18th studio album. This is the album that put Santana back on the map. It shattered records and won several awards. The versatile album cover features a mermaid surrounded by musical instruments. This is another album cover that features multiple pictures within the picture. The colors are stunning. The blue in the background represents the world under the sea. The colors in the artwork are irresistible. There is a great blend of dark and light colors which makes the picture stand out among the crowd. The pictures blend in a spacious way that doesn’t make it suffer from overcrowding. The picture commands your attention. The image celebrates music and life.

Visual artist Michael Rios designed this album cover. He has created similar pieces like the Supernatural album cover. This album cover is Michael Rios’ most famous artwork. Santana has enjoyed his work so much that they have worked with him on other projects. Michael Rios has worked with Santana, Testament, Jose Neto, Steve Winwood, as well as others. Supernatural was released in June 1999. The album peaked at number one on Billboard 200. Supernatural features the singles “Smooth,” “Put Your Lights On,” “Maria Maria,” “Love of My Life,” “Corazon Espinado” and “Primavera.” The album sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Top 10 Santana Album Covers article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

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