Average Customer Review: ( 52 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 58 found the following review helpful:
 Highly influential and like the title says essential set! Oct 03, 2002
By J. E FELL
"boogaloojef"
Arguably the most influential guitarist of the last twenty years this set manages to capture what made Stevie Ray Vaughan such a great artist. The Texas native Vaughan managed to take his influences such as brother Jimmie, rocker Jimi Hendrix, bluesman Albert King and jazzman Kenny Burrell and weave them into something unique and exciting. Vaughan burst upon the scene with his combination of ferocity, feeling and touch. Whether playing a cover of "Voodoo Child" a funky take on Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", or the tortured blues of Elmore Jame's "The Sky Is Crying", he was always able to make the song his own. His singing could be both tender and heartfelt as in "The Things (That) I Used To Do or raucous as in "The House Is Rockin'". Sometimes he could be funky as in "Say What" or more jazzy as in "Lenny". The influence of the jazz/blues organ trios like Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff led Vaughan to add organist/keyboardist Reese Wynans to his band Double Trouble. Almost all of his essential cuts are included and the set contains more songs than "Greatest Hits Vols 1 & 2". I am especially glad overlooked cuts like Hound Dog Taylor's "Give Me Back My Wig", Buddy Guy's "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Willie The Wimp" were included. I have a couple of minor quibbles with the song selections. "Ain't Gonna Give Up On Love" is frustratingly absent as well as the slide guitar spotlight "Boot Hill", a kinetic cover of Lonnie Mack's instrumental "Wham" and an inspired cover of Howlin' Wolf's "I'm Leaving (Commit A Crime)". Everyone has their own personal favorites. It is a testiment to Vaughan's will that he was able to overcome his drug addiction and still make vital music. Like Hendrix and many of his blues and jazz idols he died before his time. However, you can still discover his legacy with this "Essential" 2 cd set.
25 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Solid Overview Of Influential Guitarist's Career Dec 30, 2003
By Steve Vrana
Arguably the greatest blues guitarist of the last quarter century, this is two-and-a-half hours of his best work. The 33 tracks are presented essentially in chronological order beginning with a 1980 live performance of Willie Dixon's "Shake for Me" and ending with the stark performance of the autobiographical "Life By the Drop" taken from 1991's posthumous release THE SKY IS CRYING. Also included are a couple of tracks ("Telephone Song" and "Long Way from Home") from FAMILY STYLE, an album he cut with his older brother Jimmie just months before his death.While there are no previoulsy unreleased tracks on this compilation, this is a solid overview of the most influential guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. If you can't afford his entire catalog, this is an excellent alternative. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
20 of 20 found the following review helpful:
4 1/2 stars. A terrific introduction to the finest blues guitarist to emerge since the 60s Jul 03, 2003
By Docendo Discimus
First of all, yes, there are more Stevie Ray Vaughan compilations out there than original studio releases. But there are only a few of them which are really any good, and this is one of them.
There are 33 tracks here, excactly one more than on the obvious alternative of "The Real Deal: Greatest Hits vol. 1" and "The Real Deal: Greatest Hits vol. 2" combined. And almost all of Stevie Ray's must-have songs are here: The swaggering "Pride And Joy", the scorching blues "Texas Flood", the melodic "Cold Shot", the rollicking boogie of "Look At Little Sister", the wonderful riff-rocker "Willie The Wimp", and several other career highlights, including the intense and touching acoustic "Life By The Drop", and a sizzling cover of Hound Dog Taylor's "Give Me Back My Wig".
The slow blues tunes "Dirty Pool" and "Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up On Love" are missing, however, and the delightful rocker "Lookin' Out The Window" is, too, and that's a minus for this one and a plus in the "Real Deal" column. (Which one did I choose? Well, I have all of the original albums, so I don't really need a compilation on top of that, but now that "The Real Deal vol. 1" has replaced the original lousy 11-track "Greatest Hits" album from 1995, I might be tempted to lean towards the "Real Deal" vol. 1 and 2 double. But it's damn close!)
I would've given a clean five stars here if those three songs that I just mentioned had been included, and I almost did anyway, because the stuff that _is_ here is excellent, absolutely stellar. You'll rarely find a 33-track compilation which maintains such an amazing level of quality all the way through, nor such a varied and yet completely cohesive collection of songs. And if you don't want to invest in the even more fabulous "SRV"-box set, you should either go for this one or the two "Real Deal" CDs right away.
32 of 37 found the following review helpful:
 Disappointing Quality - Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan Sep 23, 2007
By Alex K.
There are several reviews for other SRV best hits disc compilations on Amazon (e.g., The Real Deal I and II compilations which are two separate discs) having reviews that suggest buying The Essential SRV & DT compilation instead because it is less expensive (that's true) and apparently at one time had more tracks than The Real Deal I and II (that's no longer true, both sets have 33 tracks total). So I followed the advice of the reviews and purchased The Essential SRV & DT two disc set instead. After listening to this set, I noticed on Shake for Me (track 1) there is a dropout in the audio from time 2:03-2:06 minutes during the track. And on Pride & Joy (track 4), one of his most popular hits, there is a fluttering sound audible at many times during the track, reminding me of the sound of a grasshopper rubbing its wings during summer mating season. And on the live take of Superstition (track 8 on the second disc) the snare drum is pushed way past headroom and consequently has a distorted sound throughout the entire track which was obviously not intended by the musicians. I would say that the poor recordings of Pride & Joy, and Superstition, are enough to make me want to return this set and purchase The Real Deal I and II discs instead, even though it would cost about $10 more for those two seperate discs versus this dual disc set. The Essential SRV & DT compilation is produced under the EPIC/Legacy label, while The Real Deal I & II appear to be under the Sony label. Hopefully the Sony productions are better quality recordings. Both sets have the same number of tracks but differ in that two songs are completely different, and also The Essential SRV & DT has several more live versions of the songs in common between the two compilations. Regarding the two tracks that differ, The Essential SRV & DT compilation has the instrumental "Little Wing" and the song "Long Way from Home" which are not on the Sony compilations. The Sony compilations The Real Deal I and II have the songs "Aint gonna give up on your Love" and "Pipeline" which are not present in the Epic compilation. Hope this helpful.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan REMASTERED Feb 03, 2004
By Luke H.
I own every SRV CD I did not buy this one but a friend lended it to me. This CD sounds better than the orginal the sound quality is out of this world. This is a must have for an SRV fan who does not own that much of him. If your looking to buy a SRV Cd this one if for you. This includes all his hits like Texas Flood, Pride And Joy, The Things We Used To Do, Change It, Voodoo Chile, and some rare recordings of some live stuff. This is a must have buy this on amazon and you will love it!!!!!
See all 52 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
based on 52 reviews
