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CD reviews

Live at Carnegie Hall

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live at Carnegie Hall Audio CD

A fair review of the Stevie Ray Vaughan "Live at Carnegie Hall" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Stevie Ray Vaughan reviews here, or go back to the Stevie Ray Vaughan tabs.

Band: Stevie Ray Vaughan
Title: Live at Carnegie Hall
Rating:

Release Date: 1997-07-29
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Intro - John Hammond, Jr. 2: Scuttle Buttin' 3: Testify 4: Love Struck Baby 5: Honey Bee 6: Cold Shot 7: Letter to My Girlfriend 8: Dirty Pool 9: Pride and Joy 10: Things That I Used to Do 11: C.O.D. 12: Iced Over 13: Lenny 14: Rude Mood

They call him Guitar Hurricane
What a beautiful birthday ("my best birthday ever. . forever") : Mum and Dad listening to Stevie Ray and Jimmie Lee at the Temple of Music. On stage Dr John,the horn section of Roomful of Blues,the Double Trouble plus another drummer,Angela Strehli : what a great blues ensemble. Brief and sometimes unhappy the life of this great guitarist and singer (because Stevie Ray was also a great singer),but his joy of playing is still here.
The peak of this great album is in my opinion "The things that I used to do" (Guitar Slim) : great solos,very different in structure and mood from Jimmy ("bad boy !" laughs Stevie Ray) to Stevie,the horns,the melancholy of the words.
Thank you for this gift,and so long Stevie.

NEW 2009 REMASTERED JAPAN VERSION NOW AVAILABLE

The Japan mini-sleeve HAS been newly remastered, but does NOT contain additional tracks. A new 2009 Japan-only mini-sleeve remaster is now available, but be aware that the Amazon text has two errors: "Features the same remastering from the 1999 issued pressing" and "Extra Tracks" are both incorrect. The mastering on the Japan disc is a definite improvement over the old domestic CD.

In addition, the Japan "Live At Carnegie Hall" is part of an 9 title, all mini-sleeve SRV release, where some of the albums are the same '99 remasters, but three, including "Carnegie", "In The Beginning", and "Live Alive" (a 2CD expanded set), have all been newly remastered.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs. .

Mixed Bag
On the front side, Stevie's guitar is fantastic, his vocals excellent, and Double Trouble is tight. I call this album a mixed bag because the first half is awesome and the second half is pretty bad. It is the kind of music that makes this listener want to get out of his seat and jump around. It's really that good.

Unfortunately, the back side is not nearly as good. Stevie is joined by a horn section, an organ, and a second guitar (played by his big brother, Jimmy). The horns and organ are really loud and even though Stevie can easily fill up much larger venues with his amazing axe, he manages to get drowned out by the other instruments. There are some good moments, as when Angela Strehli kicks in with some great vocals, but overall it fails to deliver. And the encore is a waste of time as Stevie seems to forget the way that his beautiful song, Lenny, goes and totally messes it up. The audience gets kind of impatient and rowdy and Stevie, as if not knowing what else to do, breaks into a sloppy version of Rude Mood before giving up. It is a truly weak ending to an album that starts very strong.

Also, folks should understand that this is Stevie the Blues Man and not expect much rock. No Voodoo Child, here. .

What a birthday party that must have been
He seems to be in a much better frame of mind than on Live Alive (not nearly as wasted), and it definately shows in his playing. This disc, recorded the day after SRV's birthday live at Carnegie Hall, is probably my favorite Stevie Ray album (I own them all). The only quibbles I have with this CD is that it doesn't contain Voodoo Child and The Sky is Crying, both of which were part of the show and are thankfully to be found on disc 2 of the SRV box set. And the acoustics of Carnegie Hall are more suited to classical music, so the sound is a tad murky, but not to the point of being a nuisance. A great disc by my favorite guitarist ever, may he rest in peace.

LIVE ! FROM NEW YORK, IT'S STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & DOUBLE TROUBLE !
There are also guest appearances by John Hammond, Jimmie Vaughan, Dr. Live At Carnegie Hall was recorded on October 4, 1984 (one day after Stevie's thirtieth birthday). John, vocalist Angela Strehli (who sings an enthusiastic lead vocal on C. O. D. ) and the Roomful Of Blues horn section.

The performance is an intimate blues celebration. At the end of the night, Stevie says, "Thank you very much for making this my best birthday ever. . . forever!".

The sound and production are clean and crisp; the performances are inspired (that's an understatement on some of the songs!). This is a fantastic version of Cold Shot, and Lenny is simply AMAZING. Things That I Used To Do and Dirty Pool are both jaw-dropping; Stevie at his blues-guitar best.

Pride And Joy and Iced Over both sound as good as ever and the horn section adds to the sound instead of hampering it, and it gives the songs new life.

More than just good blues, Live At Carnegie Hall is a warm and intimate documentary of a special night in the life of Sevie Ray Vaughan, his friends and family.

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You can see a complete list of all Stevie Ray Vaughan discography, or go back to the Stevie Ray Vaughan tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.