Blessings and Miracles
belongs to the
Supernatural
lineage, an album where
Santana
often cedes the spotlight to a diverse array of guest stars. What sounded fresh in 1999 now sounds slightly formulaic in 2021, especially since
reunite with
Rob Thomas
, the
Matchbox Twenty
singer who helped turn
's "Smooth" into an international hit back in the days of Y2K. To his credit,
Thomas
doesn't toss off "Move," a punchy pop tune that also features
American Authors
, but, then again, nobody involved in
sounds as if they're going through the motions. When
Steve Winwood
comes in to sing "Whiter Shade of Pale" to a vaguely electronic rhythm, he sounds invested, as does
Chris Stapleton
when he belts out the vaguely reggae "Joy." The latter suggests how some of the collaborations and ideas here can be slightly off -- there's no escaping that
G-Eazy
and
Diane Warren
make odd partners on "She's Fire" -- but such awkward fusions make
seem like an album created by artists and not in a corporate boardroom. Throughout it all,
Carlos Santana
plays vibrant, vigorous guitar and he sounds as engaged playing with
Corey Glover
or
Kirk Hammett
as he does a posthumous
Chick Corea
. That these diverse strands don't quite get threaded together is OK: as a collection of moments,
does the job. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine