Customer Reviews

In Session (Hybr)

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4 star:		(2)
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This meeting of two blues masters took place in a Hamilton, Ontario Canada TV studio in late 1983, just after Vaughan had made his first splash as the guitarist on David Bowie's album Let's Dance. Stevie had idolized Albert King, and even lifted some of his licks. But on this night, the two stood side by side as blues masters, and the results were jaw-dropping. King was clearly leading this session, as all the songs (with the exception of Pride & Joy) were sung by King and were part of his usual repertoire. However, Vaughan was not simply a sideman here; his playing was electric and the interplay between the two guitarists is amazing. Blues at Sunrise, with Vaughan imitating Jimi Hendrix, Call It Stormy Monday, and Don't Lie to Me are just a few highlights.

The sound on this hybrid SACD is phenomenal. Both guitars are crisp, the vocals are clear, and the tight rhythm section is deep and warm. The SACD has a breathtaking presence that evelopes your listening area. This is another terrific George Horn mastering job.

Whether you are a fan of Vaughan, King, or just a fan of great blues guitar, this is a must own on SACD!

Word has it that Albert "King" Nelson didn't know the man with whom his manager had arranged for him to play on the night of December 6, 1983.
29-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan had released the succesful "Texas Flood" earlier that year, but the name Vaughan supposedly didn't ring a bell with Albert King.
He did recognize Stevie Ray, however, but King knew him as "Little Stevie", a kid from Texas who had attended numerous of his concerts, occationally even sitting in with him when he (King) passed through Austin.

At first, Stevie Ray Vaughan seems a little bit in awe of the legendary 60-year-old bluesman...it is almost two minutes into "Stormy Monday" before Vaughan's guitar can be heard for the first time. But once he gets going, the concert evolves into one of the one of the best jam sessions you'll ever hear.
Backed by Albert King's world-class touring band, the two guitarists lay down tight, muscular versions of some of King's best songs, as well as a blistering six-minute rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride And Joy", and a rollicking cover of Tampa Red's "Don't Lie To Me".
There is more great guitar playing here than most artists record in a liftetime, but the jamming never gets out of hand or trail off into meaningless shredding. "In Session" never evolves (devolves?) into a mere cutting contest. Instead the two musicians complement each other beautifully, somehow managing not to tread on each other's toes when soloing.

Bits of dialogue between King and Stevie Ray Vaughan has been preserved on this release, and the sound is excellent, crisp and clear. For fans of either guitarist, this album is more than just worth a listen, it is a record that sounds as fresh and exciting on each subsequent listen as does the first time through.

While Albert King never rose to the massive popularity of Stevie Ray Vaughan, as far as blues players go though, he was one of the more familiar to rock fans, thanks to his work being covered by Clapton and Hendrix ("Born Under A Bad Sign").
No modern guitarist was more influenced by King than Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose admiration and praise allowed him to share the stage in a Hamilton, Ontario TV studio right around the time of the release of Vaughan's "Texas Flood". This summit was long overdue, and is absolutely critical for Vaughan and King fans.
Mind you, there are many rehashes, repackagings and other posthumous releases of SRV, most of which are unforgivable, offering nothing new, only capitalizing on the myth and making a fortune off his memory.
"In Session", however, like "The Sky Is Crying", is one CD that does offer a fresh look at both masters.
King is still the star of this show, and his band provides the powerful backing music as the two titans trade off solo after solo, each careful to not overplay, but not hide behind their amps, either.
Vaughan sounds a lot like King, showing us the bedrock of his style. He was a little flashier, and could control feedback ala Hendrix, but when all is said and done, SRV was the best white blues player period. Brit players like Clapton and Page pale in comparison.
Prime cuts include "Pride And Joy" as handled by King's band, and it thumps and grinds mightily. "Overall Junction" is a King jam and indeed it does. Perhaps the best is "Matchbox Blues", with an absolutely wicked swing beat that allows both guitarists to soar, reaching blues nirvana over and over.
SRV fans will delight in this CD when he was probably at his greatest, and will come away King fans as well, after finding out who got this party started in the first place.

Just great considering the sittin' and pickin' style of production that is. Surround freak that I am I would have been happy with a good surround mix; granted that it would be deemed a waste by most. Six years and still in print; maybe SACD will make it. All the industry says that this or DVD-Audio is a waste of time and money...doesn't any of them see what we're paying for out of print stuff? I won't even begin on the stuff I may never be able to replace. Great SACD.

Very pleased with this SACD, sound is awesome. I agree with all other highly rated reviews, it is more than words can describe.

Albert King was always overshadowed by BB King and thus never received the credit he deserved for the way he shaped how the electric guitar is played. This is true not only in the blues but indeed in all styles of music. Modern guitar players who look back with a sense of fondness for players such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Paul Kossof, etc. would do well to consider the man who so strongly influenced their playing as well as countless others. (Including bluesmen Otis Rush and Albert Collins: already distinctive stylists in their own right.) And perhaps no other guitar player was as influenced by Albert King as the young Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan.

To say that Stevie Ray Vaughan idolized Albert King would not be inaccurate nor would saying that Stevie's style was about 80% influenced by the mammoth Mississippi bluesman. On this album, the songs are mainly from King's repertoire but in many cases Stevie had been weaned on them and practiced them in his formative years so there was not much in the way of adjustment for him here generally speaking.

It starts with "Stormy Monday" which King begins with some of his signature mournful phrasing while Vaughan utilizes a tasteful countermelody in return. Albert's comments as the song was starting off indicate that they have played the song together before and the smooth way they played off one another would seem to verify that. From there a bit of dialogue takes place where they reminisce about old times and at Albert's request, Stevie kicks off "Pride and Joy." From there they moved into "Ask Me No Questions." Unlike the previous song where it was King who had to adapt to a new song, this time it was Vaughan and he does so quite well with tasteful vibrato fills and taking the first solo at King's request. They then dialogue a bit more with Albert asking Stevie to never settle but instead to always strive to work and play better.

At that point, Albert kicks off "Blues at Sunrise" and anyone who doubts that a fifteen minute blues song with a shuffle beat can be kept interesting for fifteen minutes needs to hear these two play off of each other as they do here.

From there, it moves (after some dialogue) into the instrumental "Overall Junction" which has a strident pacing to it. Vaughan starts it off and gets his bits in certainly -based on much of what he plays his familiarity with the original tune (as recorded by King in 1966) is evident to this listener. And King shows on the song for those who would question it that he can move around the fretboard nimbly...a feature he usually saved for instrumentals but not always. They then move pretty quickly into "Matchbox Blues" a longtime King concert staple. Stevie's playing in the song is a homage to Albert and he certainly could authentically approach the latter's style better than arguably anyone else. There is then another dialogual interlude prior to the last song "Don't Lie to Me", a song Stevie would recognize as "I Get Evil." Again the dueling is entertaining when Vaughan goes into the lower registers and Albert encourages him further in the process. That concludes the album but not this review.

The essence of blues playing requires soul and you cannot manufacture it by wanking speed riffs on a fretboard. (I note that here for those who think "better blues playing" means faster playing: that is not necessarily so.) Albert King was a master of the blues and Stevie Ray Vaughan was his most loyal disciple. Indeed, I believe Stevie is the only one who could so flagrantly use King's own signature riffs in his playing without the master himself taking offense. And when you consider that Albert did not take such things lightly --because he developed a unique style and by his reckoning owned it-that is no mean achievement.

Clearly on this album King had in mind to some extent a passing of the torch to Vaughan at one point in the recording because he plainly says so after they finished playing "Blues at Sunrise." Stevie laughs and says he does not believe it but the sentiments sounds convincing enough even if King was to continue playing live after Vaughan's passing in 1990 at the tender age of 35. (The former retired and made comebacks in the same fashion as Frank Sinatra: at least in King's case, he retained his form all the way to the end with minimal if any diminishment.) As far as Vaughan's death goes, King would recount in a 1991 interview published before his own passing that Stevie's loss hurt him deeply and if you listen to the way they interact musically and otherwise on this album, it makes sense. What started out as a young boy and his idol grew into a situation where they were contemporaries and there was a genuine affection between them. Albert seemed to view Stevie as his son in the blues and no father wants to see his son go before him. May they both rest in peace and may this recording stand as a testament to them.

Albert King and SRV appeared on the Canadian TV show 'In Session' and the result was incredible. The music itself is really good, with two great musicians playing the tunes they loved. But it's the dialogue between Albert and SRV that puts this over the top.

Albert's story about Stevie sitting in with him about 10 years earlier when he was just a skinny kid in Austin was amazing. And while SRV was coming into his own at the time of the session, he was still paying a lot of respect to Albert. There was this aspect of passing the baton from one generation of blues players to another about this session.

Finally if the combination of 'Who Is Stevie' and 'Pride & Joy' doesn't have you smilin' and hummin' along - then you just don't like the blues.

You can't go wrong with this CD. In addition to the good music the recording is also pretty realistic. I keep wondering what it would have been like to be in the studio when this session was recorded...

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King (R.I.P to both), what else is there to say? Albert King, one of the original three "Kings" of the blues along with up and coming new master, at the time, Stevie Ray Vaughan. This album will turn even the biggest blues skeptic into a blues loving nut. Listen to the music created by these two while the master, Albert King, listens to now matured "little Stevie" Ray Vaughan during a live recording session taped in Canada back in 1983. Albert at times is astounded at what Stevie does with his guitar to the point that he pretty much just sits back and watches/listens in amazement. At one point during the recording you can listen to Albert passing the blues baton to Stevie saying "I'm about to give this thing up and turn it over to you". In effect saying I'm ready to retire, you got it now, take the blues to the next step and show em all whats its about.

If you love screaming hot guitar solos and appreciate the blues, you have to add this to your library. If your not a blues fan and want to know what it's about, this is the one to get. It'll turn you on to some awesome blues jams and classics from Albert's Born under a bad sign to T Bone Walkers classic Stormy Monday (One of my personal favorites) and many in between.

Sit back turn up the volume and jam out to this one folks, you will not be disappointed. Oh BTW get the DVD and you can actually see them during this jam session. A great buy indeed.

While listening to this SACD I felt like I was in a live private jam session with King and Vaughan. In between songs Albert is talking to Stevie and you can hear the hum from their amps.

When you take two of the greatest and most influential guitarists ever and put them together for a jam session, you can't go wrong. Stevie Ray Vaughn has been heavily influenced by Albert King (and also his older brother Jimmie Vaughn, Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy) and when you hear him play along with him you can hear how much he was influenced by him. Hell, Stevie Ray has actually coped dozens of King's licks and used them in his songs. His playing is very similar and the two are a perfect match. Neither one of the two sits back too let the other take the spotlight, both of them jam and crank it out never holding back. The talks in between songs are also interesting to listen too and the interaction between the two is cool. Track Rating-
1. Stormy Monday 10/10
2. Pride and Joy 10/10
3. Ask Me No Questions 10/10 (Not the lynyrd skynyrd song, the b.b. king one)
4. Blues At Sunrise 10/10 (BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM, 15 minutes long, incredible)
5. Overall Junction 8.5/10
6. Matchbox Blues 9.5/10
7. Don't Lie to Me 10/10

This is an essential album in your S.R.V., Albert King, blues or music collection.