SRV [Box]

Performer: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Artist: Albert King; Johnny Copeland; A.C. Reed; Lonnie Mack; Jeff Beck; Jimmie Vaughan; Terry Bozzio; Denny Freeman
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: SRV includes 70-page full color booklet and a DVD video disc with unaired/unissued performances from a 1989 television episode of "Austin City Limits." Personnel: Stevie Ray Vaughan (vocals, electric & double-neck guitars); Johnny Copeland, Albert King (vocals, guitar); A.C. Reed (vocals, saxophone); Denny Freeman, Joel Perry, Marvin Jackson, Jeff Beck (guitar); Jimmy Vaughan (double-neck electric guitar); Joe Sublett (saxophone); Stan Szelest (piano, organ); Ken Vangel, Tony Llorens, Richard Hilton (piano); Reese Wynans (keyboards); Alex Napier, Jackie Newhouse, Brian Miller, Gus Thornton, Tommy Shannon, Tim Drummond, Freddie Dixon (bass); Rodney Craig, Casey Jones (drums, background vocals); Chris Layton, Jimmy Wormworth, Michael Llorens, Dennis O'Neal, Terry Bozzio (drums); Paul Ray, Angela Strehli, Miranda Louise, Vicki Hardy (background vocals). Producers include: Gary Heil, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Wayne Bell, Richard Mullen, Dan Doyle. Recorded between 1977 & 1990. Includes liner notes by Anne Richards, Margaret Moser, Alan Paul, Andy Aledort, Jack Chase. If you're gonna put out a box set that really offers something to the devoted fans of an artist -- who are, after all, probably bound to have much or all of the artist's other records already if they're interesting in buying a box set to begin with -- this four-CD package is the way to do it. It's not so much a best-of or career retrospective as a very generous pile of career-spanning material that will genuinely add a new dimension to the Stevie Ray Vaughan listener's library, as fully two-thirds of the 54 tracks were previously unreleased. In addition, of the songs that have been previously available, five of those are cuts on which Vaughan was a sideman or partner (for Johnny Copeland, Albert King, Lonnie Mack, A.C. Reed, and as part of the Vaughan Brothers), so the Vaughan collector might have missed those in the past. Each of the first three discs clock in at more than 75 minutes, progressing from 1977 to 1990 and emphasizing live material, from soundchecks and radio programs to arena-headlining gigs and three solo acoustic tunes (one of which was previously on The Unplugged Collection, Vol. 1) from a 1990 MTV Unplugged episode. As music, though, it's uneven. The earliest and leanest cuts are a valuable supplement to Vaughan's discography, since he didn't have much opportunity to record until the early '80s. Yet sometimes these are too-long shuffles and boogies; his songwriting and singing is not nearly as impressive as his instrumental technique; and his occasional attempts to replicate Jimi Hendrix are inessential. A few familiar popular studio cuts like "Pride and Joy" and "Wall of Denial" are here, presumably to entertain the more casual Vaughan fans who need an extra push to spring for the box. More rabid Vaughan followers will likely be so overwhelmed by the quantity of unreleased items that they're unlikely to quibble about the presence of tracks they already own. The fourth disc is a DVD with five never-aired and never-issued performances from an episode of the television program Austin City Limits, recorded on October 10, 1989; the 72-page booklet of essays, appreciative quotes from several dozen peers, and more are other bonuses. ~ Richie Unterberger

Entertainment Weekly (12/1/00, p.95) - "...[He] remains as electrifying as ever....Wonderful...strewn with chestnuts as well as welcome rarities..." - Rating: A- CMJ (11/20/00, p.17) - "...Box sets don't burn any brighter than this." Dirty Linen (4-5/01, p.61) - "...Captures the his entire career...from his stint in Paul Ray and the cobras to selections recorded live a day before his death....It becomes crystal clear that Vaughan truly was the heir apparent...to Jimi Hendrix..."

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