Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - The Sky Is Crying - Hybrid Stereo SACD

Hybrid SACD

Comprised of ten previously unreleased studio performances from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble cut between late 1984 and early 1989, The Sky Is Crying serves as the legendary guitarists unofficial fifth album as well as an homage to extraordinary musicians exceptional abilities as a musician, songwriter, and interpreter. It also contains the tremendously moving Life By the Drop, 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.

With the set never before remastered in any form, Mobile Fidelity has taken the honors seriously, remastering from the original master tapes and presenting these life-affirming songs in jaw-dropping fidelity on hybrid SACD. At times, it feels as if you are sitting in the studio control room with the band just a few feet away, as nearly every selection here was recorded live with minimal overdubs. The degree of presence, immediacy, and detail is on par with the best-sounding blues albums on LP or CD in existence.