In his all too brief career, Stevie Ray Vaughan, by virtue of being a true master of the guitar, achieved several things that most musicians only aspire to. First, with his stinging attack and pure tone, he is one of those guitarists that is instantly recognizable, no matter what the surroundings. His fluid method of phrasing never varied—from the jazzy “Lenny” to “Goin’ Down” (captured here live with Jeff Beck), the moment he strapped on a Fender Stratocaster, the sound was pure Stevie. His pattern of introducing a solo with a slight call and response section made the listener feel surrounded by a six-string horn section, and when he would shut his eyes and lean forward, hunched over the guitar, looking ready to topple over at any moment, well that’s when Stevie would burn. In a moment’s notice his fingers would fly over the fretboard, faster than the rest, but more literate as well. Vaughan always had something to say, and never played fast to prove himself—he never needed to. From the first cut in this box set, 1977’s “Thunderbird” with Paul Ray and the Cobras, to the last, “Leave My Girl Alone” from his final concert in 1990, his guitar and vastly underrated vocals are simply head and shoulders above the rest of the blues guitar slingers of the period.

Which brings us to his second laudable achievement. Although he would have made his mark no matter what genre he had chosen, Vaughan, not unlike a blues Gram Parsons, took a moribund music style and pumped new blood into its veins. Few listeners outside of hardcore fanatics listened to the blues in the “skinny tie new wave” 1980s—the original legends had either quit recording or died, and other than a few pockets that could contain a “scene” such as Chicago’s South Side or parts of Texas, the blues had few “up and comers”. I remember hearing “Texas Flood” off of Vaughan’s debut album in a record store and standing stock still until the song finished. To hear someone living play the blues with such emotion and intensity was like finding water in a long-dry well. I wore out copy after copy of it on tape, playing it for whoever would listen. And many did, even those people who didn’t know Howlin’ Wolf from Hound Dog Taylor. And they all loved it. It’s impossible to imagine the rebirth of the blues—from Johnny Lang to Kenny Wayne Shepard et al—without him.

Over the years Vaughan was able to play with those artists he grew up listening to, from Albert King (his “Ask Me No Questions” is included here) to Lonnie Mack, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins to Jeff Beck. In fact, probably one of the few he missed out on, his favorite artist to cover, Jimi Hendrix, well, he has the rest of eternity to make up for that lost time. Like his hero Hendrix, Vaughan was a flamboyant, destructive talent. From assorted chemicals to hats festooned with wild plumage, Stevie was larger than life. Thankfully he was able to defeat his demons a few years before he died, and the resulting music showed a greater maturity without sacrificing the manic sparking brilliance of that created during his “drug days”. He went on to record “Family Style” with his talented older brother Jimmie Vaughan (formerly of The Fabulous Thunderbirds), and while it didn’t sound like anything either of the two had done before, it did give a hint as to how the blues would be played on say....Mars.

Of the 54 cuts on this collection, 36 are previously unreleased. While little “new” music is heard, you listen to the 75th version of “Pride and Joy” for the same reason you listen to multiple versions of “Cherokee” by Charlie Parker, simply because both were geniuses who found new ways to communicate each time they picked up an instrument. Included is a DVD containing six songs from the 1989 Austin City Limits episode featuring SRV and Double Trouble. Hopefully this means the full show will be released at some point, because it shows a great guitarist being backed by a stellar band (Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon and Reese Wynans-Double Trouble).

Stevie Ray Vaughan had already created his legend when he died in 1990, with over a decade of craftsmanship and heart captured on record. While not nearly enough, it is sufficient to convert the uninitiated, and becalm the rest of us who miss so deeply the soul and passion of Stevie. It’s been a quiet 11 years.
James Mann (PopMatters Magazine)

Disc: 1

1. Thunderbird (Recorded In Austin, Texas 1977) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
2. I'm Cryin'
3. You're Gonna Miss Me Baby (Recorded During An Austin, Texas Soundcheck 1979)
4. They Call Me Guitar Hurricane (Live)
5. All Your Love I Miss Loving (Live) (Recorded At The Steamboat In Austin, Texas 1980)
6. Come On (Pt.III)
7. Letter To My Girlfriend
8. Lenny (KUT-FM Radio Performance, Austin, Texas 1981)
9. Don't Lose Your Cool (Live)
10. Crosscut Saw (Live)
11. Manic Depression (Live) (Recorded At Fitzgerald's Club, Houston, Texas 1981)
12. Texas Flood (Live)
13. Collins' Shuffle (Live) (Recorded At The Montreux International Jazz Festival 1982)
14. Pride And Joy (Taken From The Album Texas Flood 1982)
15. Love Struck Baby (First 'Austin City Limits' Television Appearance 1983)
16. Hug You, Squeeze You (Live) (Recorded At The El Mocambo, Toronto, Canada 1983)
17. Don't Stop By The Creek, Son (Taken From The Album Texas Twister 1982) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
18. Ask Me No Questions (Taken From The Album In Session 1983) - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Disc: 2

1. Scuttle Buttin'
2. Couldn't Stand The Weather (Taken From The Album Couldn't Stand The Weather 1984)
3. Empty Arms (Taken From The Album The Sky Is Crying 1984)
4. Little Wing/Third Stone From The Sun (Live) (CBS Records Convention, Honolulu, Hawaii 1984)
5. If You Have To Know (Taken From The Album Strike Like Lightning 1984) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
6. These Blues Is Killing Me (Taken From The Album I'm In The Wrong Business 1984) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
7. Boilermaker (Outtake From The Soul To Soul Sessions 1985)
8. Change It (Taken From The Album Soul To Soul 1985)
9. Shake 'N Bake (Outtake From The Soul To Soul Sessions 1985)
10. Mary Had A Little Lamb (Live) (Taken From The Album Living Alive 1985)
11. I'm Leavin' You (Commit A Crime) (Live) (MTV's 'Mardi Gras' Appearance 1987)
12. Rude Mood/Pipeline (Live) (MTV's 'Mardi Gras' Appearance 1987) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
13. The Sky Is Crying (Live)
14. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) (Recorded At Carnegie Hall, New York, New York 1984)

Disc: 3

1. Lookin' Out The Window (Live)
2. Look At Little Sister (Live)
3. Willie The Wimp (Live) (Recorded At The Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1987)
4. The House Is Rockin' (Taken From The Album In Step 1989)
5. Crossfire (Live) (Recorded At Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico 1989)
6. Wall Of Denial (Taken From The Album In Step 1989)
7. Dirty Pool (SRV Solo On Timothy White's 'Rock Lives' Radio Program 1989) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
8. Goin' Down (Live) (Recorded At Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico 1989) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
9. Rude Mood (Live) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
10. Pride And Joy (Live) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
11. Testify (Live) (SRV Solo Acoustic From MTV's 'Unplugged' 1990) - Stevie Ray Vaughan
12. Long Way From Home (Taken From The Album Family Style 1990) - The Vaughan Brothers
13. Tightrope (Live)
14. Cold Shot (Live) (Recorded In Houston, Texas 1990)
15. The Things (That) I Used To Do (Live)
16. Let Me Love You Baby (Live)
17. Leave My Girl Alone (Live) (Recorded At Alpine Valley, East Troy, Wisconsin 1990)

pass: SRV
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