Stevie Ray Vaughan – The Sky Is Crying (LP, Analogue Production)

200gm vinyl LP pressing. Comprised of ten previously unreleased studio performances Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble cut between late 1984 and early 1989 The Sky Is Crying serves as the legendary guitarist s unofficial quot;fifthquot; album as well as an homage to extraordinary musician s exceptional abilities as a musician songwriter and interpreter. It also contains the tremendously moving quot;Life By the Drop quot; the first-ever recorded take of Vaughan playing acoustic guitar. Few if any posthumous collections are more complete satisfying and revealing as this 1990 set. When Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in August 1990 his brother Jimmie set to work on finding finished material that his younger sibling left in the vaults. To his surprise there weren t many completed leftovers save for the tracks on this set which lent to the opinion that in some way Vaughan intended The Sky Is Crying to be an actual record. Nearly every song here had long found it s way into the group s live sets including the supremely soulful title track bathed in Reese Wynan s warm organ accompaniment. It would be a standout on most albums but this effort is filled with such nonpareil matter.