In Step [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Stevie Ray Vaughan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000ICN9
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,121 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > Texas Blues
  • #47 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Guitar Gods
  • #51 in Music > Blues > Modern Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, although it's not his best, June 27, 2003

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Step (Audio CD)

"In Step" is often cited by critics as Stevie Ray Vaughan's best studio album. And his playing on this album is actually a bit more economical, maybe even a bit more mannered, than on his earlier releases...whether or not that's a good thing is a matter of taste, I suppose.

The production is a bit more slick than usual as well, the tone of Vaughan's guitar is cleaner, and a keyboard player and occational horns have been added to the mix, but that's not to say that Stevie Ray Vaughan had gotten soft on his final solo album before his tragic death in 1990 - he just turned a little bit more towards rock rather than blues.

"In Step" opens with a blistering rocker, "The House Is Rockin'", followed by the bluesy "Crossfire", which features a superb solo by Vaughan.
"Tightrope" ventures into hard rock territory, but Stevie Ray's cover of Willie Dixon's "Let Me Love You Baby" is genuine blues-rock, and it is followed by a good reading of Buddy Guy's slow, tortured blues "Leave My Girl Alone". Vaughan didn't quite have the pipes to match the intensity of Guy's original, but he does a fine job with what he has, and the guitar playing is superb as usual.

"Travis Walk" is a funky, up-tempo instrumental with some great drumming by Chris Layton (who, incidentally, used to play drums for Buddy Guy and Lightnin' Hopkins). "Wall Of Denial" is pretty well known, but it is perhaps one of the lesser tracks on this album, with some fine guitar playing but not much in the way of either hooks or a real "groove" to grab a hold of the listener.

"Scratch n' Sniff", however, is a fine up-tempo rock song with some excellent boogie piano fills by keyboardist Reese Wynans, and a great solo by Vaughan.

Stevie Ray Vaughan can't quite pull off Howlin' Wolf's "Love Me Darlin' (May I Have A Talk With You)", but if you aren't familiar with the original, this version will actually sound pretty great, I guess. And finally, the original "In Step" album winds down with the excellent nine-minute instrumental "Rivera Paradise", a slow, moody piece.

The five excellent bonus tracks begin with a short interview snippet. The remaining four songs are all live performances: "The House Is Rockin'" and "Let Me Love You Baby" from "In Step", "Texas Flood" from Vaughan's 1983 debut album of the same name, and "Life Without You" from "Soul To Soul".
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a terrific live performer, and it's pure joy to listen to the raw, fiery live versions of the two songs from this album, which to me work better than the originals.

Highly recommended, as are all Vaughan's studio albums (although I don't agree with those who call it his best).
You should also check out Stevie Ray Vaughan's excellent live albums.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Slice of Heaven, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In Step (Audio CD)

I had heard the name Stevie Ray Vaughan a lot, and I believe I had heard one or two songs on the radio, but for some odd reason, I never really heard his music until a little while after his passing. Then, in 1991, I got a job with a blues band in Dallas playing piano and organ. Stevie's from Oak Cliff - a section of Dallas. I love playing blues, because when the band members listen to each other, things fall together. It has a lot of similarities to jazz that way. So, it tuned out that many of the songs started by the guitarist (who had known Stevie and was excellent in his own right), were SRV songs. A joy to play. During breaks, customers would play the jukebox, and that was the time I wanted to unwind in. It seems like every break, someone's quarter went to selecting this long, absolutely beautiful, slow 6/8 instrumental. I could literally feel stress evaporating from my body. I found myself going into a meditative state, just smiling and feeling total relaxation. It wasn't like any new age massage music, though... it had grit. I later found out that it was Riviera Paradise by Stevie Ray. Wow! A twelve minute cure for what ails you... with all the grit & beauty; the bittersweet quality of life itself.

I love all of Stevie's upbeat rockers with his satisfyingly fluid guitar work that flows like a river with a mission. This particular album, which expresses many things he had learned while struggling with the addictions of show biz fast lane life, is perfection. There's an understanding of life well lived that oozes through the most down to earth blues feelings you can find. And when Riviera Paradise comes on, it literally transports you to a place of receptiveness... where you can accept yourself, both strengths and weaknesses, and allow the better life that's available for anyone that will let it in.

It's so unfortunate for us that Stevie Ray was taken so suddenly; so soon. But it's clear from this album that he was intact and ready for anything. And when you take in his entire catalog of recorded music, you experience a man on a journey, who, no matter what he was going through, was always able to speak volumes through his guitar, and who's wonderfully unique voice (which I think sometimes is overshadowed by the guitar virtuosity) has the perfect man-on-the-street way of letting us all relate. If you like blues at all, this is an absolute must. Also, if you're not a blues fan, try starting with Riviera Paradise. Several times I have played that cut for people who have said they wouldn't be interested in SRV. I haven't told them what or who it was... just let it play. It's ALWAYS met with ooohs and ahhhs. "Who is that?" "What CD is that on?" They then have to hear more from the creator of that slice of heaven.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars life without stevie, December 7, 1999

By 

Mikey C. - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Step (Audio CD)

everytime i hear the live recording on life without you i get all choked up. stevie played every note from some other source, he had a superhuman quality to channel emotion into a piece of wood and strings to produce the most incredible music ever played... the blues. stevie was the modern ambassador of the blues, and he brought it home to me, especially through this album. thanks Stevie.