The Sky Is Crying

by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughan

Overview

The posthumously assembled ten-track outtakes collection The Sky Is Crying actually proves to be one of Stevie Ray Vaughan's most consistent albums, rivaling In Step as the best outside of the Greatest Hits collection. These songs were recorded in sessions spanning from 1984's Couldn't Stand the Weather to 1989's In Step and were left off of the LPs for whatever reason (or, in the case of Soul to Soul's "Empty Arms," a different version was used). What makes the record work is its eclectic diversity -- Vaughan plays slide guitar on "Boot Hill" and acoustic on "Life by the Drop"; he smokes on the slow blues of "May I Have a Talk With You" and the title track just as much as on the up-tempo Lonnie Mack cover, "Wham"; and he shows the jazzy side of his playing on Hendrix's "Little Wing" and Kenny Burrell's "Chitlins Con Carne." But it's not just musical diversity that makes the record work, it's also Vaughan's emotional range. From the morbidly dark "Boot Hill" to the lilting "Little Wing" to the exuberant tributes to his influences -- Lonnie Mack on "Wham" and Albert King on "The Sky Is Crying" -- Vaughan makes the material resonate, and in light of his death, "The Sky Is Crying" and the touching survivor-story ballad "Life by the Drop" are two of the most moving moments in Vaughan's oeuvre. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	10/16/2015
Label:	Music On Vinyl
UPC:	8718469535675
Rank:	20115

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble   Primary Artist
Stevie Ray Vaughan   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Reese Wynans   Keyboards
Tommy Shannon   Guitar (Bass)
Chris Layton   Drums

Technical Credits

Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Kenny Burrell   Composer
Chester Burnett   Composer
Clarence Lewis   Composer
Barbara Logan   Composer
Doyle Bramhall   Composer
Elmore James   Composer
Unknown   Composer
Jeff Powell   Assistant Engineer
Rob Eaton   Assistant Engineer
Lonnie Mack   Composer
Ron Cote   Assistant Engineer
Howlin' Wolf   Composer
Jimmie Vaughan   Producer,Compilation Producer
Richard Mullen   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Jimi Hendrix   Composer
Tommy Shannon   Producer
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble   Producer
Stevie Ray Vaughan   Composer,Producer,Performer
Chris Layton   Producer
Dan Forte   Liner Notes
Willie Dixon   Composer
Mark Proct   Production Coordination
Stephanie Chernikowski   Photography
Evan Rush   Assistant Engineer
Jim Capfer   Producer
Alan Messer   Photography
Danny Jones   Assistant Engineer
E. James   Composer
M. Levy   Composer
Mark Burdett   Art Direction
Arnold Levine   Art Direction
Mark Rutledge   Production Coordination
B. Logan   Composer
William Snyder   Photography
J. Hendrix   Composer
Chester "Howlin' Wolf" Burnett   Composer
Bob Eaton   Assistant Engineer
Jim Gaines   Engineer,Producer