Recorded live at Montreux Jazz Festival on July 16, 1985; Austin Opera House on July 17-18, 1986; Dallas Starfest on July 19, 1986. Stevie Ray Vaughan is a red-hot talent whose fiery playing and passionate delivery have seen him heralded as the future of the blues, alongside such notables as Robert Cray. For 1986's LIVE ALIVE, three albums into his career, Vaughan added pianist Reese Wynans to the Double Trouble duo of Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, fleshing out an already-potent sound. Originals like "Change It" and "Say What" find Wynan's rollicking playing gilding Vaughan's unusually funky playing, while Wynans and Vaughan play off one another in percolating covers of material by Stevie Wonder ("Superstition") and Hank Ballard ("Look At Little Sister"). As always, Vaughan pays tribute to his elders-Buddy Guy ("Mary Had A Little Lamb"), Howlin' Wolf ("I'm Leaving You [Commit A Crime]"), and Jimi Hendrix ("Voodoo Chile [Slight Return]"). Although this Hendrix version lags a bit, Vaughan's playing is exemplary on the shuffling "Cold Shot" and downright playful on "Love Struck Baby," where older brother Jimmie joins in the fun.

Tracks:
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 Chile (Slight Return)
12. Love Struck Baby
13. Change It

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Most live blues recordings have a feeling of intimacy, as if the concerts took place in some out-of-the-way venue for an audience who not only know all the lyrics, but know the performers personally as well. Live Alive, in contrast, feels like a large-scale rock concert, an epic production full of grand gestures. But really, nothing suited Stevie Ray Vaughan's style better; everything, from the overall sound to the solos, feels big. The roar of the audience, especially for favorites like "Pride and Joy," "Cold Shot," and "Texas Flood," is huge but distant, an arena sound. Overall, Live Alive leaves the impression of a series of stellar moments caught on tape, with an intensity rarely captured in the recording studio. --Genevieve Williams