I read someone say once that if you really want a composite of what Stevie Ray Vaughan was all about, musically, all you need is this DVD. I totally agree. I have a half dozen SRV discs or tapes but nothing tops this.
You get two concerts, one on each disc. The first is the "controversial" 1982 concert at Montreux (in Switzerland) and the other is the 1985 return trip to Montreux. The first was "controverial" in the reception Vaughan and his band received during and immediately after the performing: booing! It is shocking to hear. I've never heard an artist booed on a disc put out for public release, but it's in here. (There were a lot of cheers, too.) Of course, the booing and catcalls were totally unwarranted. The band was excellent and Stevie was tremendous, but the crowd was expecting what they had heard all day: quiet, acoustic blues guitar. When SRV turned up the amps and did his thing, some of them didn't like it. Nonetheless, I liked it and chances are you will, too, if you are a fan of his, or simply blues/rock. What I liked best were a couple of his long, slow numbers, such as "Dirty Pool."
On that disc is a documentary, with band members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, discussing that '82 concert and what happened afterward. Jackson Browne also gives his take on his participation in helping out SRV and the band. It's pretty interesting.
By 1985, the crowd knew all about SRV and gave him a great reception and he put on the best show, perhaps, I have ever seen him (and the band) do - just electrifying. In fact, there are four straight numbers - Tiny Pan Alley (a.k.a. Roughest Place In Town, Look At Little Sister, Voodoo Chile and Texas Flood - that are done so well that I had tears in my eyes. That is THE best version Vaughan has ever done on the Jimi Hendrix number (Voodoo Chile) and you have to just see and hear this to believe it. SRV pulls out all the stops, doing things with a guitar I've never seen before.
Trust me on this one: this is the Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble DVD to get, above all others.
You get two concerts, one on each disc. The first is the "controversial" 1982 concert at Montreux (in Switzerland) and the other is the 1985 return trip to Montreux. The first was "controverial" in the reception Vaughan and his band received during and immediately after the performing: booing! It is shocking to hear. I've never heard an artist booed on a disc put out for public release, but it's in here. (There were a lot of cheers, too.) Of course, the booing and catcalls were totally unwarranted. The band was excellent and Stevie was tremendous, but the crowd was expecting what they had heard all day: quiet, acoustic blues guitar. When SRV turned up the amps and did his thing, some of them didn't like it. Nonetheless, I liked it and chances are you will, too, if you are a fan of his, or simply blues/rock. What I liked best were a couple of his long, slow numbers, such as "Dirty Pool."
On that disc is a documentary, with band members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, discussing that '82 concert and what happened afterward. Jackson Browne also gives his take on his participation in helping out SRV and the band. It's pretty interesting.
By 1985, the crowd knew all about SRV and gave him a great reception and he put on the best show, perhaps, I have ever seen him (and the band) do - just electrifying. In fact, there are four straight numbers - Tiny Pan Alley (a.k.a. Roughest Place In Town, Look At Little Sister, Voodoo Chile and Texas Flood - that are done so well that I had tears in my eyes. That is THE best version Vaughan has ever done on the Jimi Hendrix number (Voodoo Chile) and you have to just see and hear this to believe it. SRV pulls out all the stops, doing things with a guitar I've never seen before.
Trust me on this one: this is the Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble DVD to get, above all others.
