I agree, if ever there was an album suited to surround it's Illuminations, especially in some of the busier and more frenetic sections. People often accuse Santana of repeating himself (see Frank Zappa's 'Variations on The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression') but on this album he definitely wasn't.
For me, the first track (not including Sri Chimnoy's thought of the day) 'Angel of Air / Angel of Water' is worth the price of admission alone. It sounds to me a lot like a more developed version of 'The Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation', the first track from the Caravanserai album. The two tracks kind of act like bookends on Santana's foray in to fusion - the Caravanserai track announcing the beginning and the track on Illuminations signalling the end. When Santana returned in early 1976 with Amgios most of the fusion trappings were gone and he was headed in a much more R&B direction.
Of the four D-V discs that make up the current release this is actually the one I'm looking forward to hearing most - I know with Mike Dutton's extensive background remastering classical music, Alice Coltrane's string arrangements are really going to shine on this one!
:brew
