Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

Live at Montreux 1982 and 1985
Epic/Legacy
www.epicrecords.com/srv

Stevie Ray Vaughan fans never seem to tire of the endless releases of out-takes and live performances of the late, great guitar ace. Small wonder, considering that unlike many of today's blues rockers, Vaughan's music positively dripped authenticity — the man lived the pain.

This two-disc set captures Vaughan in all of his string-bending glory, from his soulful jam on “Texas Flood” to his fiery take on Hendrix's “Voodoo Child.” Vaughan's vocals, dialed direct from his nasal passages, always left a bit to be desired; then again, no one came to hear him sing.

In light of the postmortem lionizing of Vaughan, hearing the reaction of the audience in 1982 is fascinating; pauses between the songs reveal a steady stream of booing and heckling from the crowd. Yet Vaughan, unflappable and righteous, plays like an itinerant gypsy who pays the storm no mind.
▪ Rating (out of 5): 4

The Psychedelic Furs

Beautiful Chaos: Greatest Hits Live
Columbia/Egg/Legacy
www.legacyrecordings.com

Molly Ringwald, where are you now?

Having your band eternally linked with an '80s teen star must have its advantages; after all, what better moment to stage a comeback than a time when pop culture is awash in fuzzy nostalgia for the most vacuous of decades?

Nostalgia aside, Beautiful Chaos finds the Psychedelic Furs turning out not a perfunctory greatest-hits package but a performance charged with shimmering guitars and postpunk disaffection. Perhaps the only drawback is Richard Butler's voice; although it retains its characteristic raspiness, the singer often strains to the point of being painful. On the chorus for “Heaven,” Butler sounds as though he might keel over at any moment, transforming an '80s pop gem into an exquisite car wreck of a moment — kind of like Andrew McCarthy's post-Pretty in Pink career.
▪ Rating (out of 5): 3

To hear audio clips from these CDs, please go to www.onstagemag.com and click on
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