Stevie Ray Vaughan In Step CD

This 1999 reissue contains five bonus tracks not on the original release.

Digitally remastered by Vic Anesini (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York).

The irony of 1989's IN STEP lay in the fact that after rebounding from a terrible drug problem, Stevie Ray Vaughan had his new lease on life cut short by a helicopter crash the following year. The record itself features some of Vaughan's most inspired playing and Double Trouble has rarely sounded better. Songs such as "Crossfire," "Wall Of Denial" and "Tightrope" alluded to Vaughan's personal problems with just the right amount of optimism and scathing guitar thrown in for good measure. Blues influences abound whether it's a rollicking cover of Willie Dixon's "Let Me Love You Baby," a smoldering reading of Buddy Guy's "Leave My Girl Alone" or an upbeat take on Howlin' Wolf's "Love Me Darlin'."

For all his skill as an interpreter of other people's songs, Stevie Ray Vaughan's originals are just as solid. Of particular note here are the instrumentals "Travis Walk" and "Riviera Paradise." Paced by Chris Layton's militaristic time-keeping, the former finds Vaughan trading solos with Reese Wynan's pounding piano. The latter is a number that dates back to 1980 and shimmers with the same kind of gentle aura found in some of Carlos Santana's more introspective playing.

Stevie Ray Vaughan had always been a phenomenal guitarist, but prior to In Step, his songwriting was hit or miss. Even when he wrote a classic modern blues song, it was firmly within the genre's conventions; only on Soul to Soul's exquisite soul-blues "Life Without You" did he attempt to stretch the boundaries of the form. As it turns out, that was the keynote for In Step, an album where Vaughan found his own songwriting voice, blending blues, soul, and rock in unique ways, and writing with startling emotional honesty. Yes, there are a few covers, all well-chosen, but the heart of the album rests in the songs he co-wrote with Doyle Bramhall, the man who penned the Soul to Soul highlight "Change It." Bramhall proved to be an ideal collaborator for Vaughan; tunes like the terse "Tightrope" and the dense "Wall of Denial" feel so intensely personal, it's hard to believe that they weren't the product of just one man. Yet the lighter numbers -- the dynamite boogie "The House Is Rockin'" and the breakneck blues of "Scratch-n-Sniff" -- are just as effective as songs. Of course, Vaughan didn't need words to make effective music: "Travis Walk" is a blistering instrumental, complete with intricate fingerpicking reminiscent of the great country guitarist Merle Travis, while the shimmering "Riviera Paradise" is every bit as lyrical and lovely as his previous charmer, "Lenny." The magnificent thing about In Step is how it's fully realized, presenting every facet of Vaughan's musical personality, yet it still soars with a sense of discovery. It's a bittersweet triumph, given Vaughan's tragic death a little over a year after its release, yet it's a triumph all the same. [This Japanese release includes bonus material.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Japanese digitally remastered re-issue of the 1989 release. Includes 5 bonus tracks: "The House Is Rockin (Live)", "Let Me love You Baby (Live)", "Texas Flood (Live)", & "Life Without You (Live)".

This Japanese edition includes five bonus tracks.

Recorded at Kiva Studios, Memphis, Tennessee; Sound Castle and Summa Studios, Los Angeles, California. Live tracks recorded in Denver, Colorado on November 29, 1989. Originally released on Epic (45024). Includes liner notes by Bill Milkowski.

Personnel: Stevie Ray Vaughan (vocals, guitar); Reese Wynans (keyboards); Tommy Shannon (bass); Chris Layton (drums, percussion).

Texacali Horns: Joe Sublett, Darrell Leonard.

Producers: Jim Gaines, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Double Trouble.

Reissue producer: Bob Irwin.Entertainment Weekly (4/2/99, p.95) - "The late Texas guitarist was a fiercely distinctive blues-rock phenom whose sensitivity and imagination justified his rapid rise to prominence..."