The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

Performer: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Full performer name: Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble. Personnel includes: Stevie Ray Vaughan (vocals, guitar); Tommy Shannon (bass); Chris Layton (drums). Producers include: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Richard Mullen, Double Trouble, Jim Capfer, Nile Rodgers. Compilation producer: Bob Irwin. Includes liner notes by Scott Jordan. Digitally remastered by Vic Anesini (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). Stevie Ray Vaughan was one of a kind. Even his peers knew so. So many times, people like Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy have spoken publicly about Stevie Ray's gift, and it was a gift. His guitar leads would jet off into the stratosphere, return, reload, and blast off again, time after time. The Real Deal is exactly what it says it is. This is a 16-song set that doesn't let up, not one time. Throughout classic Stevie Ray tracks, like the full-speed-ahead instrumental "Scuttle Buttin'," "Love Struck Baby," and "Look at Little Sister," Stevie and the Double Trouble band consistently stand and deliver. Live tracks include the funky Stevie Wonder-penned "Superstition," Vaughan favorite "Willie the Wimp," "Shake for Me," and the blues fire of "Leave My Girl Alone." It's Stevie Ray unleashed, live and without a net. One of the biggest crowd-pleasers is included here, Stevie's retelling of the Jimi Hendrix standard "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)." Awesome. "Lenny" shows off Stevie's jazz influence with subtle phrasing that evokes memories of "Little Wing" or the coda on "Layla." No more perfect closer could have been chosen for this set than the solo acoustic number "Life by the Drop." It's a touching tale of two old friends who become estranged and then rekindle their old friendship. With The Real Deal, we are all in that same boat. Rekindling a friendship that never really died, but may have been forgotten by some for a while. The friendship we all have with the heart and soul of Stevie Ray Vaughan, his music. ~ Michael B. Smith During the seven years he recorded (1983-1990), Stevie Ray Vaughan's mixture of blues, jazz and soul influences revitalized modern blues at a time when its popularity was sagging considerably. Be it shuffles ("Empty Arms"), Grant Green-flavored instrumentals ("Riviera Paradise") or wah-wah driven funk played with his equally gifted sibling Jimmie ("Telephone Song"), Vaughan's musical range makes calling him "a blues guitarist" the equivalent of calling Mt. Everest a small hill. Vaughan was always quick to acknowledge his influences by way of his covering their material. When he wasn't paying homage to blues giants like Howlin' Wolf ("Shake For Me") and Buddy Guy ("Leave My Girl Alone"), Vaughan wandered farther afield in tipping his hat to less obvious heroes like Dick Dale ("Pipeline"), Stevie Wonder ("Superstition") and legend Hank Ballard ("Look At Little Sister"). Like his hero Jimi Hendrix (who Vaughan acknowledges with a devastating cover of "Voodoo Chile [Slight Return]"), the fleet-fingered Texan was as fluid playing rhythm ("Wall Of Denial," "Love Struck Baby") as he was tearing into a fat-toned solo ("Scuttle Buttin'").

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