Great Rock Albums of 1986: Stevie Ray Vaughan- Live Alive

If I hadn’t met a friend in Britain who was a huge Stevie Ray Vaughan fan, then his live album, “Live, Alive” would most likely have passed me by. Fortunately, it didn’t and I got to hear what Stevie was capable of live and then regretted not seeing the man in person.

Some critics at the time slated the album. A few said that Stevie’s playing was uneven down to his drug abuse issues at the time. Well, his playing all sounds pretty darn even to me. He just cooks every song. The other criticism was the fact that there are so many covers on the album. That maybe true but he was simply paying tribute to all of the great artists who influenced him. He pays tribute to Howlin’ Wolf, Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix as well as others and he does it with style. I’m sure that the artists whose songs he covers would be proud of the efforts he put into those songs.

Whether it be an original or a cover, Stevie makes each and every song his own. I enjoy his guitar solos on each and every one of them. So much so, that I’ve found it quite hard to pick a favourite. If I have to, it must be “Mary Had a Little Lamb” just because he made a nursery rhyme into a solid blues rock song and made it sound absolutely fantastic, especially with all the cool guitar soloing between the verses. “Willie the Wimp” comes a close second though.

Although Stevie Ray Vaughan deserves all the praise I’ve given him so far, one mustn’t forget the rest of his Double Trouble band. Reese Wynan’s piano solo on “Pride and Joy” is particularly noteworthy. Full marks must also be given to his rhythm section. They keep up with him throughout the entire album.

Track Listing:

1. Say What!
2. Ain’t Gone ‘n’ Give Up On Love
3. Pride and Joy
4. Mary Had a Little Lamb
5. Superstition
6. I’m Leaving You (Commit a Crime)
7. Cold Shot
8. Willie the Wimp
9. Look at Little Sister
10. Texas Flood
11. Voodoo Child
12. Love Struck Baby
13. Change It
14. Life Without You

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan- guitar and vocals

Tommy Shannon- bass

Chris ‘Whipper’ Layton- drums

Reese Wynans- keyboards

I’m glad this album didn’t pass me by in 1986. Otherwise, I would have missed some great blues guitar rock compliments of one Stevie Ray Vaughan. After all, this is a great album to chill out with a beer or three to.

Next post: Stevie Nicks- Rock a Little

It seems all online outlets state that Rock and Roll Children is currently out of stock as the free download site.