  abraxas is the second studio album by latin rock band santana. consolidating the interest generated by their first album, santana (released in may 1969), and their highly acclaimed live performance at the woodstock festival in august 1969, the band followed-up with abraxas in september 1970. the album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound. ==name== the title of the album, which features mati klarwein's 1961 painting, annunciation, on the cover,young, rob, "lush life. mati klarwein" john hassel atmospherics, www.jonhassell.com/mati. accessed 2013 july 18. comes from a line in hermann hesse's book, demian, quoted on the album's back cover: "we stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. we questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: we called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it abraxas...." the word "abraxas" has use within gnostic cosmology.cf. hippolytus, refutatio, vii. 14; irenaeus, adversus hÃ¦reses, i. xxiv. 7 {{album ratings | rev1 = allmusic | rev1score =  | rev2 = robert christgau | rev2score = c+ | rev3 = rolling stone | rev3score = favorable{{cite news |newspaper=rolling stone |issue=73 |date=december 24, 1970 |
1970_albums Albums_certified_gold_by_the_British_Phonographic_Industry Albums_certified_multi-platinum_by_the_Recording_Industry_Association_of_America Albums_certified_platinum_by_the_Syndicat_National_de_l\'Adition_Phonographique Albums_certified_triple_platinum_by_the_Canadian_Recording_Industry_Association Albums_produced_by_Carlos_Santana Albums_recorded_at_Wally_Heider_Studios Albums_with_cover_art_by_Mati_Klarwein Columbia_Records_albums English-language_albums Grammy_Hall_of_Fame_Award_recipients Jazz_fusion_albums Mobile_Fidelity_Sound_Lab_albums Santana_(band)_albums Spanish-language_albums