The album marked a period of transition for Santana as it was the band's last to feature several key early members, while shifting in a more instrumental, progressive jazz fusion direction.

The album was supported with a tour, which spanned the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania and lasted from September 1972 to December 1973.

[10] The album was regarded as an artistic success, but the musical changes that began on its release in 1972 marked the start of a fall in Santana's commercial popularity.

A 1976 review in Rolling Stone by Ralph Gleason said the album affirmed and "speaks directly to the universality of man, both in the sound of the music and in the vocals.

[11] On the Q8 quad version,[12] "Song of the Wind" and "La Fuente del Ritmo"—the next to last tracks on each side of the LP—were traded to even the timing for the tape.