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Solos, Sessions & Encores features a magnificent sampling of Vaughan’s work throughout the years and offers a generous list of impressive guests including Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Dick Dale, and Bonnie Raitt.
It opens with “The Sky is Crying” featuring two of the “Three Kings of Blues Guitar,” Albert King and B.B. King along with Paul Butterfield on harmonica. This track is deep and soulful with a synergistic mix of Vaughan’s wailing guitar and B.B. King’s rich baritone vocals. “Soulful Dress” is spirited and danceable featuring the powerful vocal stylings of Marcia Ball and a magnificent solo by Stevie Ray. In “Don’t Stop By the Creek, Son” Vaughan is joined by “Ice Man” Albert Collins. This one kicks with a great beat and a load of energy. “Miami Strut” is a deliciously smooth sparring jam between Vaughan’s guitar and A.C. Reed’s brilliant saxophone stylings. “Na Na Ne Na Nay,” featuring Billy Carter, is as playful as it sounds. An exceptional rendition of the classic “Goin’ Down” was recorded live in Hawaii in 1984 with the legendary Jeff Beck. Also recorded live, the lighthearted “Oreo Cookie Blues,” featuring Lonnie Mack, is a slow, sweet, smoky jam. In the upbeat “Change It” Stevie Ray is joined by his brother, Jimmy. The flawless chemistry here makes this one of my favorite tracks. “You Can Have My Husband” is one of those in-your-face tunes featuring the brazen, fiery vocals of Lou Ann Barton. “Pipeline” with Dick Dale is deliciously melodic and sultry with plenty of Dale’s signature reverb. The mood shifts with the final track, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” but the transition is smoother than you might imagine. It somehow manages to work so beautifully that it will leave you wanting more.
This is a damn fine collection and, with the cast of musical guests included here, it’s guaranteed to impress a wide variety of listeners.
