Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

33 songs for under 20 bones! Does it get any CHEAPER? While most hardcore fans won't find much in this set that they don't already have, this is perfect for new listeners. At that price who can pass it up?
There is a mix of material here, including live performances, and the sound is excellent. So sit back, crack open a cold one, and crank it to 11.

What else can i say other than Stevie ray Vaughn is the MAN and everyone should listen to all his music.

Some of the tracks on this splendid, reasonably priced 2 CD-set could peel paint off road signs. Self-taught, unable to read a note of music, Stevie Ray Vaughan displays technical virtuosity that at times seems almost Faustian, it's hard to believe that what you're hearing is even possible. Most of all, SRV is a complete Texas blues package, his singing is excellent, his command of the blues idiom so total one imagines he must have dreamt blues as well as lived them - everything works, right down to the outfits and soul patch.

In a sense, SRV was the brightest hope of a next generation of blues masters. He picked his idols wisely, patterning himself after Albert King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, among others. However, there are also strong rock overtones here, most notably the influence of Hendrix who he clearly worshipped. The several Hendrix covers attest to this - they are actually not the best parts of this effort although Little Wing is marvelous. The others prove that SRV could recreate the Hendrix sound - which in itself is an amazing achievement - but add nothing new.

SRV was discovered by legendary virtuoso Johnny Winter, who retains the title of Texas blues heavyweight, and also frequently crossed over to rock. There will be those who will claim SRV outstrips Winter, I can't agree, but I would say they belong in the same sentence. In life, Vaughan was unable to outlive irony. Decades of chronic drug and alcohol abuse took him to death's door where he made the decision to get clean. He did, and was enjoying success as a sober man, only to die in a helicopter crash. It's a tragic story, but he certainly left us with some incendiary, thoroughly satisfying music. I guess that really is why they call it the blues. Highly recommended.

This album is a must own for any one who enjoys anything by SRV. There is a reason they called it the essentials!

There's just nobody else out there that can do it like Vaughan. This is a great sampling of his recordings, too, and makes a good starting point for those just getting into Vaughan's music.

I have not received the CD in the mail, and have had no correspondance with the seller.

Stevie Ray sings and plays from the heart. Great first cd for anyone. Imagine what kind of jams he would be pulling down today!

Stevie Ray Vaughan was, without a doubt, the greatest Blues-Rock guitarist of all-time. However, I'd like to stress the term, "Blues Rock", and not "Blues". He was not a Bluesman. Being a Bluesman requires more than just playing Blues guitar licks very fast and accurately. On this album, his singing is solid, the music makes the listener move his/her feet, the guitar playing is frantic and a great deal of fun, and Vaughan simply comes across as having an original image and sound. The album is available for a very cheap price on Amazon.com, so you should definitely pick it up. This is Vaughan's best album. Although I detest him being considered "the best Bluesman", he was still a great musician and I would have loved to have seen him live in concert. His pre-mature death will remain one of the greatest tragedies in music history. "Pride And Joy", "Texas Flood" and "Rude Mood" are all excellent. Fenton Robinson also performed "Texas Flood" on his "Somebody Loan Me A Dime" album, and it sounds a great deal different than it does on this album.

I remember reading about this smoking guitar player out of Austin Texas in early 1983. Couple months later I was in the record store and I looking for a new guitar album to buy. I look down and see this guy with a strat and a gun slinger look. Then I remembered what I read. So of course I bought it. Put it in my cassette player in my car and was totally blown away. That tone, those smoking licks and solo's. That was really the last time I was really blown out of the water by a guitarist. I mean, who can live up to this guy. He was the whole package. Great songs, good vocals, great rhythm section. I think SRV is the best blues rock guitarist to walk on this planet. I miss him....

even though im 16 i think that S.R.V. was one of the best Guitarist to ever Play. HE IS A FRIGGIN LEGEND!!

And as always is SRV's music is outstanding! However, the case was broken so how can I review it than anything more that on a 1-10 is a 1.
Cheers,
Greg

AN EXCELLENT CD & DVD BOX SET FOR ANY SRV COLLECTOR....!!! WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ITEM!

This is a great CD from Stevie Ray Vaughan. I would recommend it to all Vaughan lovers.

I'd attend every Stevie Ray concert ever held if granted a wish to change something about my life. This box set is about as close as I can get to that wish. It covers his career pretty well and includes his excellent cover of Jimi's "Third Stone from the Sun." The only disappointment is the brevity of the video disc: an Austin City Limits performance that left me crying for more!
Love Stevie Ray? Buy this box!!!

The CD set arrived in excellent condition and well within the stated delivery time. I was very pleased with my order.

Stevie Ray is absolutely awesome. Next to BB King and Eric Clapton, he's on my fav five.

SRV guitar goes smooth like silk in this Greatest hits. You do not have to search yourr entire SRV collection for those masterpieces because they are all here.

It's a shame that for all of us SRV fans every knew albulm that his estate releases will always and forever be a rerun, but for a true SRV fan all ya gotta do is shuffle the order and throw in a song or two that was recorded different and we are in Heaven. It's SRV to the bone, like everything he did, to the bone!!!

I Have almost every SRV CD out there.And a couple of Bootlegs that are worthy.But still I'ma SRV collector.Just like those people who collect everything The Beatles recorded. I just got a note that they re-released
"Pride in Joy" on DVD. I saw it for sale on another web site years ago & when I went back to buy it. It was gone. Including Amazon.Til Now. I just hit the buy button seconds ago for it & this CD.

BTW,I live in Houston & when I'm in Dallas,
I always have a cup of coffee with Stevie,when I'm in his hometown.

I own many SRV CDs but needed this one to have in my car at all times. Some of his best music is on this CD and it is great to have it handy on one CD. If you own a collection of SRV music this is not really needed unless you want a travel CD like I do. I find it necessary to have one. I mourn for him every time I play this CD and find it difficult to accept the fact that we will never hear the music we could have had if he had not left us so young. And I am grateful for the the music he did leave for us to enjoy.

Double Trouble is an outstanding collection of Stevie Ray's songs. I am a relative newcomer (5 years) to his music and I love it more and more with time. This isn't necessarily his best, but there are some real tasty ones on this album.

What can I say?? It's Stevie Ray... typical great guitar playing, Double Trouble is fantastic. My favorite is Scuttle Buttin'....really shows Stevie's talent on the guitar. Would reccommend this CD to anyone who loves the Blues!

There are some great songs on this album, it's a shame he died too young. His style of guitar will be missed.

My husband complains that Stevie Ray stole his guitar playing from Hendrix, but I'm amazed anyone can play guitar the way he does, much less master the Hendrix style. Everything on this CD is great if you are a blues fan. Double Trouble is an incredible band.

Well, I guess if your a real fan of SRV, then you will love this. I am new to his music, and although he is obviously an accomplished muso, it was not quite what I wanted. It has not sold me on him, but he does have a couple of good tracks. Maybe just not for me.I will not purchase any more SRV if this is representative of his work

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's posthumous album, The Sky Is Crying, is a rarity in the fact that the outtakes here are of the same high quality of the rest of the band's albums. It's big on the blues cover tunes (all of their albums had a few) but the strong performances show an embracing of the blues rather than just a retread. The fact that no guitarist could play or sing quite like Stevie Ray certainly distinguished them as well. Everything here works as the band breathes even more fire into Lonnie Mack's "Wham", turns the Jimi Hendrix classic into a slow burner that gains in momentum until it reaches its end, and turns their own "Empty Arms", which sounded somewhat sluggish on Soul to Soul, into a joyous shuffle. Stevie Ray also shows his continued love of jazz on Kenny Burrell's "Chitlins Con Carne" and pays tribute to the Yardbirds on his own instrumental "So Excited." The tracks recorded during the In Step sessions are also great as Stevie Ray's wicked slide playing highlights "Boot Hill" and he gives a passionate vocal performance on "Life by the Drop." The remaining tracks, versions of "May I Have a Talk with You" and "Close To You", are also very good. All told, The Sky Is Crying is a great album, sounding much better than a collection of outtakes has a right to.

The Sky is Crying. It's the perfect title to this, the first posthumous release of Stevie Ray Vaughan's material.

It's honestly hard to listen to this album without feeling the emptiness left behind with Vaughan's passing, knowing that this was all there was left. A recording, not an album exactly, of outtakes and seconds that, somehow, manages to be just as strong as any other release by SRV.

Given that these are songs never really intended for release, it's amazing how powerfully they come together. Part of the appeal is in hearing SRV cover classics like "The Sky Is Crying" and "Little Wing," songs that, as many times and by as many artists as I've heard them, I never get tired of hearing, just to see how another guitarist combines the familiar with his or her own unique style. Of course, Vaughan does a fantastic job with them, here, as is to be expected, and they provide that appropriate note of sadness to an album that marks a sad moment.

But it's not all sad tunes, as typically SRV bluesy rockers are found in plenty, as well ("Wham"; "Close to You"; "So Excited"). And there are other songs that are just so full of emotion that I'm amazed that they weren't included in other albums ("May I Have a Talk With You"; "Life by the Drop").

In an album so clearly connected to the loss of Stevie Ray Vaughan, closer "Life by the Drop" seems a fitting finish. Simple, with lyrics that seem to fit the moment perfectly, and then the album is over. Just like that.

I've heard some say that SRV is just white man's blues, and that it doesn't recall the true emotion of the blues. Well, this one does for a good many listeners.

The Sky Is Crying (1991) is an album of songs recorded by Stevie Ray Vaughan that weren't used on albums he officially released before his untimely death at 35 on August 27, 1990, in a helicoptor accident. Why, I don't know. There is some really great blues here. The best song on the album is the title track. Originally an Elmore James song, Stevie gives it the full-tilt, wild electric guitar, slow blues treatment (think Texas Flood), and it's as good as he's ever done. His instrumental take on Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing sounds really good, too, and a lot like Jimi. I wish Stevie would have sung on it, too. Boot Hill is excellant electric slide guitar boogie with trademark SRV vocals. May I Have A Talk With You is very good, and Stevie speeds things up with the lusty Close To You. One of the biggest treats on the album is the solo 12-string acoustic guitar Life By The Drop. Stevie sings of being left behind by his best guitar mate, who chose pursuing his dream over drinking his life away (living life by the drop). It's a moving performance of a poignant song. Lovingly put together by his brother, Jimmie Vaughan, The Sky Is Crying sounds as good as any of SRV's albums. While a couple of the instrumental songs are uneven and really nothing new, the album as a whole is very good, and it's essential for the fans of a great bluesman, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Critics cite Texas Flood and In Step as SRV's bests albums, but this is easily my personal favorite. It's a nice sampling of his unbelievable and seemingly unattainable talents and abilities.

Vaughan's deranged vocals and fiery slide guitar hit you like a freight train on "Boot Hill," the CD's first song. "Chitlins Con Carne" is a wonderful example of his jazz guitar--pure elegance--suitable as a backdrop to a formal dinner. In addition, SRV's "Life By The Drop" is a haunting ballad played on 12-string acoustic guitar--a fitting cap stone to a great retrospective CD and brilliant career.

This is easily on par with SRV's first three albums. It's, as you may know, a posthumous release of recordings made throughout his career. Many people rave about the "Little Wing" cover--and it is great--but I'm knocked out by the Kenny Burrell cover of "Chitlins con Carne." Every song is a keeper, not a throw-away in the bunch, just a slightly wider variety of SRV's playing than you'd get elsewhere.

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's In Step (1989) finds SRV clean and sober yet still as intense and powerful as ever. Sadly, this would be their last album as Stevie was tragically killed in a helicopter crash one year after In Step was released. On October 3, 2008, Stevie Ray Vaughan would have been fifty four years old.

In Step is a very good album with several great songs on it. It features more rock and funky soul music than straight up blues, and that's OK with me even though I love the blues. Stevie's singing is as impassioned here as it ever has been, and his guitar work on this album is spectacular as ever. He does include some traditional blues, most notably his SRV slow blues treatment of Buddy Guy's Leave My Girl Alone. It's no Texas Flood, but if you lean your head back and close your eyes, it will get you to where you want the blues to take you. He does a romp n' rockin' version of Willie Dixon's Let Me Love You Baby and this ripping cover of Howlin' Wolf's Love Me Darlin' sounds like something out of fellow Texas bluesman Johnny Winter's playbook.

Crossfire is the big winner on the album. It's a soulful and rockin' tune that includes a horn section and sounds like bluesy soul music with a powerful blues/rock electric guitar. It's a lonely plea for help from a disillusioned soul who has been left to fend for himself in a world full of greed and thoughtlessness.

I am stranded, caught in the crossfire
I need some kind of kindness
Some kind of sympathy

Tightrope and Wall Of Denial are also good bluesy rockin' soul music tunes that feature Stevie's intense guitar solos. It seems that Stevie wanted to explore new ways to express himself and still stay true to his blues roots on this album, and he is successful at both. The 1950s rock and boogie anthem The House Is Rockin' is a lot of fun and it rocks, too.

When the house is a rockin' don't bother knockin'
When the house is a rockin' don't bother, come on in

Stevie really charts new waters with the 9:00 minute sexy smooth jazz instrumental, Riviera Paradise. Slow and mood altering, this beauty highlights Stevie's guitar talents in an entirely different way while it changes the listener's atmosphere to tranquility in aqua blue.

I always say that the best SRV is live SRV. I was fortunate enough to see Stevie live at the Norfolk Scope in 1986. I treasure that memory. There are five bonus tracks on this edition of In Step, the first being an "SRV Speaks" segment where Stevie talks about his last "regular" job in a kitchen that ended in disaster. The other four bonus tracks are live recordings from the fateful In Step Tour including an excellent 7:28 minute version of Texas Flood. Life Without You closes the album, and at 13:17 minutes, the song is well worth the price of admission here. It features two smokin' extended guitar solos that are as good as anything Stevie has ever done. He also gets serious for several minutes during the song and talks about cleaning up his act and being there for the people who love him. It's an interesting and revealing insight into Stevie Ray Vaughan, and who he really was.

In Step won two Grammy Awards, one in 1989 for Best Traditional Blues Album, and one in 1990 for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

You really can't go wrong with this album if you like Stevie Ray Vaughan and his music. The essence and passion of SRV are clearly experienced here, and even though this isn't the blues/rock monument that Texas Flood is, it is every bit as powerful as anything SRV ever did, and even more interesting in a lot of ways because it's something different. This stuff can put sand in your crawl and bring tears to your eyes.

This may be my all time favorite album, at least in the top 3. It's the one you'd chose to have it stranded on that desert island. It's perfect-what more can be said. Stevie was just hitting his peak-only the angels know what more outstanding stuff he could have blessed us with had he lived.
Stevie's own words say it best-
" Life without you....all the love you passed my way
The angels have waited for so long....now they have their way
Take your place...."

Though I had initially given the crown to Texas Flood, on second thought I think that In Step might, in fact, be the best studio release from the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan (and don't forget Double Trouble!).

In Step is a non-stop, rockin' blues party, front to back, and is chock full of great tunes and greater guitar work. "The House is Rockin'," "Crossfire," and "Tightrope" are all favorites, of course, but the album really hits a great groove after the first three tracks that carries all the way through "Scratch-N-Sniff" and "Love Me Darlin'," before ending on a beautifully atmospheric blues note on "Riviera Paradise," which I've always felt is one of SRV's best tracks.

Really an outstanding album!

As for the bonus material, well, the album is great, by itself, so any bonus material is just that...a bonus!

And on this album, the bonus tracks are really fantastic! SRV serves up live versions of three favorites, as well as a cover of Buddy Guy's "Let Me Love You Baby." All are top notch, and I particularly appreciate seeing one of my personal favorites, "Life Without You."

Fantastic SRV! GET THIS!

I adore this album as I do all of his music. I only wish that he were still with us.

Okay, before you read this review, take a look at the ratio of other reviews regarding the number of stars given. At this moment, there were 57 5-Star reviews and 5 4-Star reviews. That says it all.

The first few tracks on this album show why SRV is considered the best Blues guitarist ever. "The House is Rockin'", "Tightrope", and his best radio hit, "Crossfire", are symbolic of his trademark aggressiveness when the guitar is in his hands.

One thing that a lot of people don't mention about SRV is his voice. The guitar is mesmerizing, but his voice a great compliment to his playing. Flat out, SRV shows his smoothness, not only in the album cuts, but also in the live cuts at the end.

If ever there was a best-of-genre album for driving rockabilly blues, this is it. This album catches SRV at the top of his game. Fully developed, chemical-free, and not overly commercial or over-produced. People can do other things really, really, well, but no-one will ever top this album on it's own terms. Stevie's guitar playing is soulful and virtuosic, his band could not be tighter, and his vocals add the perfect focus for his songwriting. Even the slow, quiet songs are so high energy that listening to them is like being bathed in intense white light.

Scuttle Buttin' is burst of high-speed virtuoso blues energy. The title track shows the band's ease with changing time signatures. Stang's Swang is a credible attempt at electric jazz blues (though serious jazz musicians will complain that he plays IV-V-I over every II-V-I cadence, true rockers will like it better than any jazz they have ever heard).

He gives a nod to his blues roots in almost every song (several are blues standards), but none more-so than Voodoo Child. His version is more driving and "perfect" than Hendrix's though somewhat less spontaneous. In fact, I would go so far as to sum him up as "The Next Jimi Hendrix," except that SRV was a composer while Hendrix was an improviser. What I mean by that is that SRV played exactly the same solos in concert as he did on the record. But he plays each note with such conviction that you would never know without studying his discography.

At one point, I held that against him and passed up an opportunity to see him perform because the show would be "just like the album" and I thought I could always catch him the next time he came to town. Tragically he died a few weeks later and I passed up the chance of a lifetime. I will regret that decision the rest of my days.

Do not wait for something better to come along. Buy this album, clear your schedule, and treat yourself to the best Texas blues ever performed on guitar.

Blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughn tears it up in this, his sophomore effort with backing band Double Trouble. From the electrifying opening track "Scuttle Buttin'" to the jazzy "Stang's Swing" Vaughn shows why he was the premiere axman of his era. There may have been guitarists in the past who were more in touch with the raw emotion of the blues, but nobody can match his technique, his precision, and his fire. Other standouts include the title track (with its unusual timings) "Things That I Used to Do" (applying his lightning fingers to a slower blues) and the delicious "Cold Shot". Throughout, Vaughn does a creditable job with the vocals, and his backing band wisely stays out the way. He fails to come up with anything special for his cover of Hendrix' "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" but then, when has anyone ever managed to improve on Hendrix? A must for aficionados of blues guitar.

This has never been one of my favorite releases from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. It's not bad by any stretch, but it never hooked me that way I would have liked. For example, "Scuttle Buttin'" is a decent opener, and a high energy one at that, but I've never thought it to be quite up to some of their other instrumental pieces. And, while a bit of Jimi Hendrix is always appreciated, his treatment of "Voodoo Chile" doesn't really offer up anything new and, so, is a bit disappointing.

None of these songs are bad. They just don't grab my attention the way SRV did with his debut, Texas Flood, or would again on later albums. There are some very strong points, however, such as the soulful slow blues of "Tin Pan Alley," which really is a top notch track.

This seems like a negative review...but I really like this album! It's just that I have high standards when it comes to SRV, and this one doesn't quite measure up to his best work. But it's still good!

The album sounds great, so it gets high marks for the remaster.

The bonus tracks are always a nice addition, but they just don't make a big impact on this one. "Hide Away" is relatively mild and "Look at Little Sister" doesn't come across as much different than the version on Soul to Soul. Decent additions...but not much that's above and beyond.

one of my friends was trying to get me to buy this cd and I was septical because if you have heard one blues artist you have heard them all right? WRONG! this guys is probubly the best "blues" guitar players I have ever heard. He is nothing like anything you have ever heard. This earns 10 stars even though there is only room for 5. If your into blues music, do your self a favor and pic up this album. it will imediatly become the one you compair all the others to. ENJOY!

On Couldn't Stand The Weather, Stevie Ray Vaughan began to separate himself from every other modern bluesman with his distinct playing style.

On this record, you can hear a number of influences both individual and stylistic. The obvious Hendrix influence in a scorching version of "Voodoo Chile," Guitar Slim/Albert King/Albert Collins on "The Things That I Used To Do," and jazzy influenced "Tin Pan Alley" and "Stang's Swang." These, plus "Cold Shot" and the title cut elevated Vaughan to a different level than most of his contemporaries.

This is a fantastic blues/jazz album.

A fun album from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, though probably not quite his best. But it is probably his most straight forward effort, with a lot of medium paced, rockin' blues. Not too heavy. Not to hard. Just cool.

"Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up on Love" is an exception to this, with its wailing guitar work that makes it an album highlight. And "Life Without You" is a great track to close out the album...soulful, with some great melodies and a nice guitar fade out.

Not his best album...but a good listen, nonetheless!

Album sounds great, so high marks for the remastering.

I can't imagine a fan of rock n' roll or the blues who doesn't like "Little Wing." Whether it's the original or covered in tribute, the song just speaks to people, and so it's nice to see it included here, as part of a pair of Hendrix covers. This, alone, is probably the best addition to any of these SRV remasters.

This album absolutely swings with great tunes top to bottom. The production is super - it sounds like the band is in your room. The added sideman fleshes out Vaughan's band nicely. The boogie piano fills are quite tasty. I dare you to keep still when listening to "Look At Little Sister"! In fact all the cuts will have you movin' and groovin' to the swingin' beat and driving guitar work.
I really can't understand the few negative reviews of "Soul To Soul". I guess people can have different opinions. Thankfully, you can listen to song samples to get an idea of whether you might appreciate what I consider to be a must-have SRV album.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was rising in prominence as of the great modern bluesman when he released Soul To Soul. This record cemented his reputation, and put to rest any thoughts that he might have been a faddish musician whose influence and impact would wane after a few years.

Some of his most popular, most treasured cuts are on this record. His theme song "Say What," "Look At Little Sister," "Change It," and "I Ain't Gonne Give Up On Love" are now part of the modern blues firmament. This release doesn't have the jazz riffs of Couldn't Stand The Weather, but it more than stands up on its own.

Okay, some of this is awesome: the ballads Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up on Love and Life Without You are the best; Change It is a great blues-rocker, and his guitar livens up even weaker material like Say What! and Come On, pt. 3. Still, this is a thin album overall. Lookin' Out the Window; Look at Little Sister; You'll Be Mine and Empty Arms are among Stevie's worst. Stick to the first two records instead, plus maybe In Step.

With each new album you are able to hear subtle improvements and changes in Stevie Ray's style. Even though he uses the same songs he's sung in previous albums, they are refined and continue to be a joy to listen to.

I've actually owned this CD for a number of years, and it's a favorite I come back to again and again. This is the true sleeper hit for the SRV fan that might be familiar with his studio albums and some videos. This is what you give them when they are ready for the "next step" of delving into the mastery that is Stevie Ray Vaughan. I saw a review that said it was "too raw." Ha ha, doesn't that immediately sell you?! This recording is from Austin in 1980, a full three years before Texas Flood, but you wouldn't know it from how blistering a young Vaughan is. It's all there In the Beginning. What an awesome pun. Anyway, I enjoy this album also for the airy sort of summery live quality it has. It really comes off as a fantastic recording from right in the room, without the polish of the studio. I'm a huge SRV fan, and I have a great deal of fondness for this album. It might just be my favorite.

A strong live effort from a still young and less-than-famous Stevie Ray Vaughan, In the Beginning hints at greatness to come. Much of the album focuses on SRV's harder rockin' blues side, but it's on the soulful, slow blues of "Tin Pan Alley," underneath Vaughan's incredible guitar work, that his abilities really shine. For me, these slower blues numbers that really allow a player to pour out emotion into the music, and to take it slowly or play faster over the slow beat, are the ones where talent really shines. It's really an incredible rendition, and alone makes this album one worth owning.

Of course, it's not all about "Tin Pan Alley," and a rockin' performance of "Love Struck Baby" is also memorable.

Great SRV!

I first heard of SRV in the winter of 1982. There was a terrible movie on cable called "Cat People"; the only noteworthy thing about it was a David Bowie song called "Putting Out Fire With Gasoline" with some incredibly incendiery guitar playing. Came to find out a young Texas blues guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan played guitar on Bowie's entire "Let's Dance" album. Soon Vaughan and his band Double Trouble had some product out, the "Texas Flood" album, and a new hit single, "Pride and Joy." My friends and me caught him live at Bill Graham's nightclub, The Stone in San Francisco around May of '83. I stood on a chair against the wall behind my table and watched his hands all night. He did "Love Struck Baby," "Pride and Joy," "Mary Had A Little Lamb," "Texas Flood," "Testify," "Wham!" and on and on. But when he played "Manic Depression" and segued into "Third Stone From the Sun," my jaw must have hit the floor and stayed there. We knew he had that Johnny Winter southern gunslinger thing down but we had no idea he played Hendrix or that he played Hendrix so well. I saw Stevie play many times after that but nothing ever matched the energy and connection of that first time. His material got better and more varied and his band grew more professional over the years but nothing compares with that first time around on a national tour with a new record blasting out of everybody's radio (and for me "discovering" somebody new that was that good). So anyway, onto the cd review:
Years before I had ever heard of Stevie RAY Vaughan, there were people living in and around Austin, Texas who could experience Little Stevie Vaughan nearly every night, burning down local blues clubs with his rhythmm section, Double Trouble. This cd is taken from a recording made on one of those nights, a midnight show recorded on two-track, and simulcast on Austin radio station KLBJ-FM. Vaughan and DT rip through nine frezied tracks in about 45 minutes here, three SRV originals and six covers of old blues and r&b numbers. They open with a rousing rendition of Freddie King's "In the Open," Stevie growls his way through Eddie Jones' "Guitar Hurricane," and plays incredible harmonics during Otis Rush's "All Your Love I Miss Loving." Stevie burns the house down during an eight minute "Tin Pan Alley" that puts the version on "Coudn't Stand the Weather" to shame. Then they roar through "Love Struck Baby," Howlin' Wolf's "Tell Me," a very funky version of Willie Dixon's "Shake For Me," and "Live Another Day," which was called "I'm Crying" on the "Texas Flood" release. All these songs are so much better than the cleaned up versions recorded in the studio a couple years later for national release. Both the guitar and vocal are so much rawer and more spontaneous, maybe because of the excitement of playing live in front of the awestruck audience, or maybe because by the time they got to the studio they had been playing the songs so long they were going through the motions. And Stevie's playing is great too, because in this power trio format that Double Trouble had until 1985, Stevie has to fill up the sound with his guitar. In the studio he can use overdubs (hello Jimmy Page), but live he has to play rhythm and lead, and he and Hendrix were the two best at embellishing hot lead licks while still keeping his chord pattern. As far as whether you should buy this cd, well, it depends. If you don't have any other SRV discs and you're mostly pop-rock oriented, forget about it. Buy the Essential set and you'll have most of his radio hits and a few good live blues tracks. But if you just want to hear a hot guitar player killing his audience with the best r&b a white man has ever played, this is the one to get. I just wish there was more.

If you like rockin blues this is for you! Stevie pulls out all the stops and just plain wails for the entire album. Tin Pan Alley is the standout track, which although is slower than the rest, rocks with seering vocals and a blistering extended guitar solo where Stevie truly shines. The stripped down sound jumps out at you and makes you realize what a raw talent Stevie truly was. The passion and energy on this live disc is unbelievable and lacking on a lot of blues albums. Buy it and prepare to be dazzled.

I'm a huge SRV fan and enjoy Stevie's early more pure blues work more then his later more rock influenced music (which is still great). I was excited that a live album from his early period was put out, but became disappointed after repeated listings. My disappointment stems more from the band then from Stevie. This is the Layton\Shannon Double strouble we have come to love as Double Trouble. This album features Jackie on base it is just no comparison. Steve could be Stevie because DT was so GOOD. To understand how great and tight Doubel Trouble is just listen to Texas Flood. This is for hard core SRV fans only. Better live albums can be found in Live at Carniage Hall and Live at Montreux are much much better.