Good Question about Rattlesnake Shake / Underway. I've always wondered how he thought of mixing the two. Santana's Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen is a good suggestion. It is obvious that Peter inspired Carlos, but I know that Peter was impressed by Santana's mix of samba rythms and use of heavy percussion.
Peter was obviously into the "part 1 and 2" concept very early. They thought of releasing the Need Your Love So Bad single as part 1 and 2. But Oh Well, of course, is two very different parts, while NYLSB would be splitting the whole (7-8 min) song on two sides.
Peter also listened to classical music at the end of his time with FM. He was very fond of Ralph Vaughan Williams (and maybe also Igor Stravinsky). Though I am not sure if it can classify as "contemporary musicians", as you started out with, sharkfan2000
