“Abraxas”

“The most successful covers stimulated a thrill of anticipation whose character matched that of the emotions which their encased music aroused. Skylar’s finger came to the cover of Santana’s Abraxas album. The vividness and sensuality of the music shone gorgeously on this cover: a monumental black goddess with intimidating breasts reclines in space, a white dove between her legs; a lithe spirit, female, vermilion, and bald, with a violet-plumed wing, her mudra-fingers pointing skywards, rides a thigh-held conga drum aimed at the goddess’s groin; a riot of red-, orange-, brown-, and yellow-hued sunflowers, fields, fabrics, carpets, and toiletry trays spill over, under, and around one another in chromatic profusion. Simply looking at this cover sufficed to put one in the mood for the luxurious Latin undulance of Santana’s music.”