I am just now getting interested in the music (beyond the hits) of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Which versions of his catalog do you recommend? The Collection version of Texas Flood has a lot of extra stuff on it, but the Legacy version of Weather has a ton more stuff than the Collection version. Guidance, please.
I can't help you much on versions - I rarely buy the same album twice - but Couldn't Stand the Weather and In Step are my faves.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
"Live at Carnegie Hall" is really good! As for studio albums, I think his swan song, "In Step" was his best, but I'm sure you'll get some conflicting opinions on that. The two disc set "Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan" is a nice overview of his legacy.
Be sure not to miss out on some of the others who were making blues at the time. I strongly recommend Johnny Winter's work pre-1993. Johnny brought so much more to the table and blows away SRV, IMO. (Not looking for a debate, though.)
In Step was the best studio album, partly because he was finally clean n' sober and the lyrics got a lot more personal. I do not have any of the new versions but the box set SRV was damn good. Sony has been really lax on releasing live material since his death. Just a few releases and the usual greatest hits packages. There are so many great incendiary boots out there.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I recommend all his studio albums and the posthumos "The Sky is Crying."
but which versions of his studio albums is what I want to know. do I get the regular releases or those with the extra material on 'em? I will definitely be checking dime and TTD for bootlegs.Originally Posted by Vic2012
like, unless someone warns me that I should avoid it for some reason, I'll likely get this Legacy edition of Weather: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couldn%...nd_the_Weather
The currently available remasters are fantastic. Each one has bonus tracks and a short interview excerpt. In Step, in particular, has an 12 minute version of Life Without You:
while Soul To Soul has a similarly lengthy rendition of Little Wing/Third Stone From The Sun:
Another thing you should look for, I don't know if it's been issued officially on DVD, is the Live In Tokyo video from the Couldn't Stand The Weather tour. That one has a great encore featuring this:
I'm willing. you mean studio releases or live?
was just looking at JW's wiki entry. what'd he do between 1992 and 2004?
So far I haven't seen anything on the sound quality of the new version of Texas Flood. I'd like to know if the thing is brickwalled or if someone did a decent job.
Edit: I checked the Hoffman forum and found something. The sound should be the same as the 1999 reissues, nothing brickwalled or tweaked.
Last edited by Jerjo; 02-06-2013 at 02:04 PM.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Johnny ran into health and management problems in the mid'90s. He was an unbelievable mess and has cleaned himself up. However, he lost a few steps along the way. The live '97 disc shows that Johnny lost something and I wouldn't recommend it for a live release. "I'm a Bluesman" was his first release in a long time and is really bad. He was a wreck at the time and it really suffers. Ignore the Grammy nomination. His latest is better, but doesn't compare to the glory days.
If you're looking for music that is contemporary to SRV, there's plenty there. They're all great, but the cream of the 80s-90s work is "Let Me In," "Where's Your Brother," "Guitar Slinger" and "Third Degree," in no particular order. You'll hear a bit more diversity than just straight blues. But ALL of Johnny's work is great. And his slide work is unrivaled, IMO. (Sorry, Duane.)
And there is a connection here. Tommy Shannon, SRV's bas player was Johnny's first.
This is with the mighty Jeff Ganz on bass and Tom Compton on drums.
Family style is great. I kinda prefer Jimmy.
I just wanna say that one day I was waiting for the light to change to cross the street, and SRV was standing next to me, doing the same thing. It was cool. I saw him go into the back door of a recording studio - this was in midtown Manhattan. Soon after that I heard he was in NYC recording something - I forget what. I don't think this was long before he died.
Johnny Winter is amazing. I saw two excellent shows of his at Lost Horizon in Syracuse back in the 80s. This song kicks my ass every single time I hear it - the solos are among my favorites ever, and his vocals are awesome:
That's funny. I haven't been impressed by grammy awards in many years. Knowing my taste, if a record gets a grammy nomination, chances are pretty good that it's too mainstream for me.
Was he dressed flamboyantly or just wearing ordinary duds?
Yeah, "Rain" is from WInter of '88. That album takes some well-deserved heat for it's 80s-style production, which hurts about half of it. Still great stuff, though.
Johnny's Grammy nomination for "I'm a Bluesman" was pretty much out of respect, or a laziness on the part of the nominating committee. It's really bad. His nomination for "Let Me In" was very well-deserved, though, he didn't win one. (That album SMOKES!) He has won for his work with Muddy Waters.
I don't remember the date, but i have a bootleg of JW playing guitar on 3 songs at a Janis Joplin gig.
Family Style is pretty good. I love the funk and blues tracks. Even the country stuff is good.
How long has JW been performing sitting down?
I seem to remember a sort of floppy, leather hat but I'm really not sure. Not very flamboyantly, I don't think. I recognized him from his face alone, which I remember sort of surprised me because I wasn't actually that into his music. Definitely an excellent player, but his songs didn't do that much for me from what I'd heard.
That's the case with a lot of guitar heroes, I think. My favorite work of Clapton's is the live boots of him with Roger Waters. I love Bonamassa's work with Black Country Communion, but I tried one of his solo albums and it did nothing for me.
He's been sitting for a few years. He was a wreck until about five years ago. It's a very long story. His long-time manager, Teddy Slatus, was keeping him drugged (methodone and vodka) and the guy was near-death. (In fact, after reading the horror stories, I saw him in '98 to see for myself. I thought the guy could be dead the next day; he was that bad.) But, his guitar tech Paul Nelson, talked Johnny into firing Slatus (who eventually died tumbling down a staircase in a drunken stupor) and took over management duties. Unbeknownst to Johnny, Paul slowly decreased Johnny's medication until he announced to Johnny that he was clean. Johnny never knew it. He has, apparently, kept himself clean since and has returned to some form. I've seen him a couple times since, and the improvement is dramatic. He now plays at about 75% what he used to and his singing, which has suffered the most, isn't much like it used to be. But, at least now, he's an entertaining act instead of a pathetic showing of a person clinging to life. He went several years playing the same set list (uncharacteristic of Johnny) and has been changing things around lately, which is a good sign.
He actually used to play with SRV whenever he was in town, even though SRV denied knowing him, for some stupid reason.
There's a GREAT biography of Johnny, called "Raising Cain." It's a very frank story that Johnny participated in 100% It's all there. His drug use, sexcapades, affair with Janis, the Slatus mess, everything. A really great read.
Here's a review I wrote:
One of the Great Biographies of any Musician.
It took 25 years of Mary Lou Sullivan’s persistence and passion to shed light on the true story of legendary blues musician Johnny Winter. In the face of a manipulative manager who felt the truth was better left hidden, the impediment of Winter’s failing health, and his own fluctuating enthusiasm for her effort, Sullivan faced a task wrought with obstacles, seemingly endless travels, and relentless research.
And boy did it pay off!
But, how does one get the understated Johnny Winter to open up for an interview, much less a biography? Well, not easily, since the living legend is infamous for his one-word answers and lack of both focus and patience. Yet, somehow, Sullivan not only got the understated Winter to open up for comprehensive interviews, she was welcomed into his home to share his extensive recollections with explicit candor.
Sullivan’s “Raisin’ Can: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter” is nothing short of a triumphant depiction of Winter’s roller-coaster life from his Texas childhood as a legally blind albino shunned by his schoolmates, a local up-and-coming guitarist searching for his own identity, an accomplished blues musician bucking the industry definition of “success,” all the way to finding true contentment as a touring elder statesman of the blues.
Winter provides unabashed honesty about his relationships with heavy-hitting contemporaries like Joplin and Hendrix (and their failures to overcome their own excesses), the ups and downs of his own addiction and recovery, his cavalier infidelities, the subversive agendas and eventual betrayals by his own management, and much more. However, in contrast to the dark side of this tumultuous journey, Winter brings great clarity to his family life, his influences and band mates, his celebrated work with the great Muddy Waters and other blues elites, as well as his own appreciation for those who stuck with him, including his beloved wife, Susan.
Understanding that the Johnny Winter story needs no window-dressing, Sullivan leans heavily on exhaustive research, interviews with past and present colleagues, and Winter’s own amazingly sharp memory. With such an absorbing story, she rightly doesn’t let her personal style or “storytelling” cloud the riveting commentary; she simply navigates the reader through the twists and turns of a life that needs no embellishment. It’s naked for all to see, and Johnny wouldn’t have it any other way.
Johnny Winter fans, like myself, have waited far too long to get a genuine life chronicle of what many of us consider to be the greatest blues guitarist ever (though Johnny would surely disagree) and true national treasure. Far too often, we’ve had to rely on rumors, second-hand stories with hidden agendas or sensationalist fabrications geared only to make headlines. With great thanks to Sullivan’s perseverance and Winter’s blunt forthrightness, we have one of the great biographies of any musician.
For more information about Mary Lou Sullivan, or to order a copy of the book, please visit www.johnnywinterbook.com.
I'd tell to stick with the first two...
But i bought the Legacy of Weather for the bonus stuff a few years back, and I've never played it a second time...
Though i find the early Santana Legacy versions absolutely essential... MyMMV on Legacy
Well, Johnny (and brother Edgar), even without his huge drug abuse problems is defying all odds... Albinos' life expectancy is around 60 y.o.
Not to mention that their light-sensitive eyes can be a problem on-stage (view and equilibrium coordination)... So sitting down might also help out his stability
Last edited by Trane; 02-07-2013 at 09:39 AM.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
That's a myth.
He sits mainly because he broke his hip, which I neglected to point out.
Ok, I checked Wiki, and they don't talk about this shorter life issue (I took this "wisdom" from my grandmother, who had two cases in her brother's maiden family, so my bad)...
I suppose that modern medecine can now control (and remedy) the multiple plights and syndromes (look it up, there are a few of them I'd never suspected) of albinism enough that the albinos can now have almost normal lives..
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
I've seen him twice and was underwhelmed each time. I'm all for simple playing (after all, it's all about the notes you don't play), but I just don't see much there.
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