Customer Reviews

Sky Is Crying

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

That's not hyperbole. Man, I still remember it. It was 1995. I was browsing in a record store and came upon this album. I didn't know who the hell it was-- it wasn't like anything I would usually buy-- but I decided to try sometehing different. I was blown right out of my pants. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I played the tape so many times in 6 months that it started to wear out. It made me want to learn to play, even though I never thought about playing the guitar before-- it was that good, that moving.

Every song on this CD is amazing. How can you talk about good and better when you've reached this level of mastery? You can't. It's like asking which van Gogh painting is your favorite. Still, could you ever buy a van Gogh for under $20?

That being said, there is one song on this CD that is maybe the best pure electric guitar ever recorded: "Little Wing" is a masterpiece among masterpieces. It has it all: such feeling in the slow sections that you cry, such blistering guitar in the power sections that you are stunned, and such subtle mastery throughout that you can hear different nuances each time you listen to the song. Just check out when and how he uses the natural harmonics-- and how he even throws in the Wes Montgomery Jazz/octave work-- each in exactly the right place. This guy wasn't just a guitar maniac-- he was a Master, with a capital "M"-- and on top of it all, he was a wonderful, caring man.

Putting "Life by the Drop" as the last song on the compilation is almost too much for me to handle-- knowing that, when that last note finishes resonating, there will NEVER be any more...

I cry every time I see his bio on MTV-- when I think about that helicopter crash.

There is something wrong with a world in which a man like this gets only 35 years.

I cry.

I believe Jimmie Vaughan was truly inspired when he chose this collection of songs for his brother's posthumous CD. It is absolutely flooring. All the other reviews for this CD shed plenty of light on the most outstanding tracks (Little Wing, Boot Hill, etc.), except I didn't see too much mention on the title track, which I want to focus on. IT IS THE BEST SLOW BLUES SOLO EVER RECORDED! I'm not kidding--I've heard a lot of blues guitar and I play myself, but on that track he hits nuances and phrasing and TONE that just makes me explode, no matter how many times I've heard it (and I've heard it lots)! He takes the five-note pentatonic blues scale and does everything possible with it! One review complained that the song sounds too much like "May I Have A Little Talk With You"--well, geez, how many slow blues songs have been recorded over the past 100 years that sound basically the same? Thousands! Each recording has its own "stamp", and that's what you've got to hone in on in order to appreciate these on-the-surface "similiar" recordings, including the two on this CD. If you think they're too similar, then you're not listening close enough!!!

Funny how what is probably my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughan release of original material is the one that came out after he had passed away.

Basically, this is a collection of outtakes and stuff that never made it to the other studio albums. Boot Hill for example is one of the few (if not the only) examples of Stevie's slide playing, and was left off of the "In Step" album because there wasn't enough room left on it. Jimmie Vaughan put it best in the liner notes of this album when he said, "It seems like he just left...[he pauses, as though the inherent irony of the situation has just occurred to him]...this record." It just needed to be put together.

There are some awesome examples on this album of what an incredible musician Stevie Ray really was. His version of "Little Wing" contains more passionate guitar playing than a lot of guitar players put into their playing during their entire careers. That's one of my favorites, plus "Life By The Drop." If you know about Stevie's past, you'd know that song had a lot of personal meaning to him.

From me and anyone else who has ever picked up a guitar...we miss you Stevie.

To understand what this album means to me, consider the sad state of affairs the music business was in at the beginning of the 90's. While talented greats like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddie Mercury died, Vanilla Ice was on top of the music world. (On another subject, Vanilla Ice's only famous because he "borrowed" Mr. Mercury and Queen along with David Bowie, who featured SRV on his Let's Dance album.) For me Aug. 26, 1990 and Nov. 24, 1991 are the equivalent of Feb. 3, 1959 for that generation.

With that rant out of the way, I must say that Mr. Vaughan's guitar playing was mind-blowing. This album truly highlighted Stevie's diversity. Oh sure, he plays a lot of blues on this album. Boot Hill and May I Have a Talk with You can inspire one to an uncontrollable rage; the title song tops Elmore James' original version, blows away Clapton's lackluster mid 70's version, and even beats the ALbert King version that Stevie's rendition was patterend after; and Empty Arms has a bounciness that belies its "see ya later sweetheart" lyrics. But, his love for jazz, and perhaps hints of the Western swing roots from his childhood, come through on Chitlins Con Carne. His instrumental on Little Wing is breathtaking (I never really understood the words, anyway). Wham is the only 2:20 song I know of that makes you feel like you just listened to an incredible 8-minute tune. Of course, Life by the Drop is Stevie's acoustical foray, and he does it quite well, and the subject matter he sings about makes the playing even more chilling. Kudos to Jimmie Vaughan for including what should've been the 11th track on In Step.

I truly love these songs, and the stories behind these songs in the liner notes are also helpful. If you are a Stevie fan, get this compilation. The sky will never stop crying over Stevie Ray Vaughan's death, but the joy from listening to this album may inspire a tear or two. If you're not a Stevie fan, that's your right, but you'll never fully understand how much you're missing out on true greatness.

Stevie Ray often had a problem when he recorded. On The "In Step" album, for example, he had 14 completed songs and room enough for only 10. So, the magnificent slide work of "Boot Hill" was left off that release. It happens to be the only available example of his slide work. Most outtake albums are usually fillers and alternate takes meant for the diehards. "The Sky is Crying" is Stevie in full glory, from the beautiful homage to Albert King in the title track to the re-shaped "Little Wing." He wisely dropped the vocal in that cut and gave his best guitar workout. A little Jimi, a little Jazzy, some blues and all brillance. Turn it up loud enough and you and hear the amp tubes burning, Wow. There are other highlights, too. the fun of "Close To You" as SRV bows to Muddy and Willie Dixon. "Chitlins Con Carne" shows Stevie's jazz playing and its influence on "Riviera Paradise." "Life By The Drop" is heart rending as it shows a man who took his life back from drugs and alcohol. The acoustic pre-"Unplugged" guitar is pure emotion as though Stevie were in the room with you. Okay, so it's not exactly an album because it's a collection of material that had not been previously relesased. But, it shows that Stevie Ray Vaughn had plenty of talent left to spare. It's a reminder of his gift and how proundly he is missed. Each time I hear Stevie, I count my blessings.

I first became aware of Stevie's music when the single "The Sky is Cryin" was released, not long after his death. I remember being sooo impressed, I immediately went out and bought this album. I was blown away. I came to realize that I had heard some of his stuff (Pride & Joy, Cold Shot) But this album exposed me to his brillance. His cover of "Little Wing" is just so soulful, I hope no one hates for me for saying I'd rather listen to Stevie's version then the Hendrix one. The tile track has some some of greatest guitar work ever, in my humble opinion. It saddens me when I listen to "Life by the Drop" because even thought it's lyrics make it so clear that Stevie had faced and conquered his demons, he didn't live long enough to bask in the glory of it. A truly wonderful track from a truly magnificent album, DON'T pass it by.

This collection of outtakes from Stevie Ray Vaughan's previous album sessions, released the year after his tragic death, is actually as solid and enjoyable as most of his "real" albums.

It is bluesier than "In Step", recalling his first album, "Texas Flood", and it features an alternative take on the delightful, swinging "Empty Arms" (from "Soul To Soul") and nine previously unreleased songs, including fine renditions of Howlin' Wolf's menacing "May I Have A Talk With You" and Elmore James' immortal "The Sky Is Crying".

Stevie Ray Vaughan's too rarely heard slide playing smoulders on the morbid "Boot Hill" (an alternative version of Elmore James' "Look On Yonder Wall"), which is also highlighted by Reese Wynans' wonderful piano playing.
And Vaughan's guitar playing on this album includes some of the best performances of his career - just listen to that purely instrumental version of "Little Wing", and Lonnie Mack's "Wham" as well.

"The Sky Is Crying" also features Willie Dixon's "Close To You", a supremely jazzy "Chitlins Con Carne", the SRV orginal "So Excited" (also an instrumental), and finally one of Vaughan's best-ever performances, an acoustic solo rendition of Doyle Bramhall's wonderful survivor story "Life By The Drop". Sublime "live" vocal on that one, one of the best things Stevie Ray Vaughan ever committed to tape.

All these years later, this is still a difficult disc to listen to. Read the liner notes, which include comments by Stevie's brother Jimmy, Double Trouble bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton - as well as Stevie himself. In sum, these comments and other historical tidbits provided by Dan Forte make for a poignent backdrop to these excellent outtakes. The tunes work just fine as an album, pointing towards Stevie's own inspirations, including Elmore James, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters and Lonnie Mack.

Two tracks in particular bring out strong blues pangs - Little Wing and Life By The Drop. The music stands out in stark relief and is captured with such clarity and dynamic range that Stevie seems to be suspended lifelike in the three dimensional space in front of the listener. Like Hendrix, many focus on Stevie's guitar playing and seemingly miss the salt-of-the-earth vocals that glue the songs together. Absolutely priceless.

"The Sky is Crying" is, arguably, Vaughan's finest album. Devoid of filler, each of its 10 tracks are essential to his catalog. The original version of "Empty Arms" outshines the re-worked version of the song contained on "Soul to Soul", while the title track modernizes the 12/8 blues paradigm like no other performance over the last 20 years. "Life by the Drop" and "Boot Hill" offer rare glimpses at SRV's complete mastery of his instrument -- showing off, respectively, Vaughan's acoustic and slide guitar talents. It is his exhilirating version of Jimi Hendrix's ballad "Little Wing", however, that defines this album. In it can be heard every one of Vaughan's musical influences (ranging from traditional blues, rock, funk, and jazz) -- influences rendered passe by SRV's gloriously transcendental channeling of emotion, improvisation, and precision. In a word, brilliant.

This is really good. You should buy it.