If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Carlos Santana scored the biggest hit of his career three years ago with ''Supernatural'' by inviting lots of younger, hipper hitmakers to guest star on the album. He repeated the formula with his new Arista Records release ''Shaman,'' and so far, it's paid off, giving the guitarist his first No. 1 Billboard album chart debut in his 30-plus-year career. He also scored his highest-ever first week sales total by moving 299,000 units, according to SoundScan.
It was a good week for Clive Davis, the J Records chief who revived Santana's career by recruiting the guest stars on ''Supernatural'' and who did the same, along with Arista chief L.A. Reid, on ''Shaman.'' Davis' attempt to perform similar career surgery on Rod Stewart, ''It Had to Be You... The Great American Songbook,'' also met with success this week. It debuted at No. 4 on sales of 114,950 and marked the Scottish rocker's highest-charting debut in 10 years. Also debuting in the top five was Foo Fighters' RCA disc ''One By One,'' which entered the chart at No. 3 and sold 121,550 copies. All three new records are on labels owned by BMG.
Faith Hill's ''Cry,'' which debuted at No. 1 last week, slipped one slot to No. 2 on sales of 195,050, down nearly 60 percent from its first-week sales. Elvis Presley's ''Elvis: 30 No. 1 Hits'' slid two slots to No. 5 and sold another 104,725 copies.
Remaining in place were the Dixie Chicks' ''Home'' at No. 6 and Eminem's ''The Eminem Show'' at No. 7. Avril Lavigne's ''Let Go'' dropped three places to No. 8. The Rolling Stones' ''Forty Licks'' fell five spots to No. 9, and Nelly's ''Nellyville'' slipped two notches to No. 10. Just missing a top 10 debut was ''Simply Deep,'' the solo debut of Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland, which entered the chart at No. 12.
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