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
Santana reunite with
Rob Thomas, the
Matchbox Twenty singer who helped turn
Supernatural'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
Blessings and Miracles 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
Blessings and Miracles 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,
Blessings and Miracles does the job. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine