Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is It Really That Bad?, December 26, 2007
Judging from the spate of negative reviews posted here, you would think that Solos, Sessions and Encores is the biggest piece of musical garbage to be released since Justin Timberlake's latest CD. But if you read closely, what you'll find is that most reviewers are just mad that the record company is squeezing yet more profit from the storied legacy of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Listen closely to the CD then ask yourself "Is it really that bad?".
I own just a half-dozen or so SRV CDs, so in no way could you call me a completeist. I saw him play in San Antonio before the release of Texas Flood brought him national then international fame, so I am not at all a newcomer to his sound. I followed him religiously for a while but then after his untimely death I kind of lost track of what was issued in his name. I was attracted to this when I saw it on sale partially because of the price, and partially because of who he appears with. Also, I did not yet own any of the songs except Marcia Ball's Soulful Dress. It took me only a couple listens to decide that this was money well spent.
If this recording was made by anyone but SRV, I have a feeling that the ratings would be skewed in a more positive direction. There is some great music here including five out of the six songs that the record company claims are previously unreleased. If you like the blues, you should enjoy this regardless of your feelings about the profit motive. My favorites are: The Sky Is Crying, On the Run, Albert's Shuffle, Change It, a live Texas Flood, and a magnificent Pipeline. About the only ones I don't care for are the silly Oreo Cookie Blues (which is not one of the better Lonnie Mack compositions) and the awful disco of Let's Dance, which served to remind me why I was never into David Bowie. SRV joins such luminaries as Paul Butterfield, Albert and BB King, Jeff Beck, Albert Collins, surf music legend Dick Dale, and some excellent but lesser-known blues musicians to deliver almost 70 minutes of mostly very listenable music.
My complaints? The cheap booklet, though informative, was miscut so I am missing some information. Then there is the inclusion of that Bowie tune, so out of place on a blues album even if SRV did play in the song.
Nearly two decades after SRV's death, none of us should be expecting anything new to appear in his name. When a "new" SRV recording does appear, of course its because the record company is trying to make a buck. That's what they are in business for. From the sales ranking, it appears that despite the negativity that the record company in question is going to make money on this too. If you are a blues lover, you should find that if you focus on the music itself and not the motivations of its release that this is worth owning.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not As Bad As The Ratings Show, December 13, 2007
I was shocked to see how few stars this product has received. I purchased it myself through amazon a little while back before there were the reviews, and when I came back to see what people had reviewed, I was amazed that the average review was 2 stars. While this certainly is not the best collection of Stevie Ray Vaughan material, it certainly is not as bad as the reviews make it out to be.
I also have to disagree with many people who say it's bad because it's the record companies cashing in... while this maybe be more or less true, it's still a decent collection of some hard to find (and great) material. I've read that many people said they already had half these songs... Not every music fan has the entire Stevie Ray Vaughan catalog... hell, I have all of his studio albums and some unofficial bootlegs, and I still only had about 3 or 4 songs out of the whole album already in my collection. For those of us that are fans of his music, you will enjoy this album. Especially if you want to hear how he interracts with other guitarists and musicians.
My personal favorite cuts would be The Sky Is Crying (With Albert King, B.B. King & Paul Butterfield), Goin' Down (with Jeff Beck), Oreo Cookie Blues [Live] (With Lonnie Mack) and Albert's Shuffle (with Albert Collins). It really is a good collection from Stevie's shortlived career, with material as early as 1978, to material as late in his career as 1988.
All in all, a good collection. There are a few tracks that don't really showcase Stevie's playing, that probably could have been better replaced (Let's Dance), but I think the point of this album was to showcase the versatility of the great Stevie Ray Vaughan. If you already have everything ever done by Stevie, you can skip this, since you've probably already come across the good tracks on this album. If you've got some SRV material but would like to hear a few of the other artists Stevie's performed with, get this album. It's not as bad as all the reviews make it out to be. I'd say probably 3.5/4 stars. I've heard better Stevie compilations, but this is still something that any blues fan should have.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just enjoy it, February 10, 2008
What is wrong with some of these people? I don't think Stevie Ray is coming out of his grave to put out any new material. Enjoy it for what it is, material from the vault that most people haven't heard. Hendrix stuff has been coming out almost 40 years after his death. Zappa has almost 200 hours of material stashed away. The record companies suck, it's true, but this is for the hardcore fan. Stop bitching. I don't normally post but some of you guys are ridiculous.
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