The Sky Is Crying was released after SRV's fatal helicopter crash that took his life. It is comprised of unreleased tracks throughout his career. He covers Lonnie Mack's "Wham!" and Jimi Hendrix' famous "Little Wing". Both excellent covers, and other originals on this album. Stevie Ray Vaughan modeled his guitar playing after one of his favorite guitar players, Jimi Hendrix. Especially if you play guitar, you easily see the resemblence between the two. SRV also became very known after his cover of Hendrix' famous "Voodoo Child". SRV rose to stardom, and then tragically sunk due to his fatal death in 1990. Stevie will be remembered for time to come, and is one of the most respected guitarists of all time.
The Band:
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Lead guitar/vocals
Reese Wynans - keyboard
Chris Layton - drummer
Song Reviews:
Boot Hill - Starts up with Vaughan on slide, followed by a boogie blues feel, with keys in the back. Vaughans raspy vocals add a little something to every one of his songs. Vaughan does one of his many beautiful solos and goes back to the boogie feel. Normal ending to a song, with some lead licks and a finale.
4.5/5
The Sky Is Crying - Slow, but beautiful beginning with excellent lead work by Vaughan. Vaughan sustains many notes, and gives a sad feeling to the song. The song is structured by SRV singing then plays a lead lick, then goes back to singing. One of my top 3 songs on this album. The guitar in this song makes it fantastic.
5/5
Empty Arms - Fast paced song with a boogie feel. SRV takes standard blues and expands it and makes it something else. Another great song put out by Vaughan, your generic SRV song. Still good though.
4/5
Little Wing - An excellent cover of Hendrix' version on "Axis: Bold As Love". Although there are no vocals on this version, it is still amazing. Vaughan adds a lot more to the song then Hendrix usually had also. Vaughan really comes out and shines in this song. The guitar in this song, is amazing. Definately a song to check out if you haven't. Possibly, my favorite on the album.
5/5
Wham! - Another cover by Lonnie Mack, but that doesn't make it bad. Very up-beat intro with some Hendrix like chords. There is no vocals, just guitar. It isn't really that long, and before you know it, it's over with. Still a great track.
4/5
May I Have A Talk With You - Another song where Vaughan trades off guitar with vocals. Some excellent guitar work in this song. One of the best solos is in this song. He bends with such emotion, you can see him when you're listening to it.
4.5/5
Close To You - This song starts off with an intro that reminds you of "Pride and Joy", not to mention the vocals are a lot alike. This song also has a very boogie feel. He incorporates the 12 bar blues into it also.
3.5/5
Chitlins Con Carne - This song, funny enough is a reference to food. It translates in Spanish to "Chitlins With Meat". Very fast defined guitar work in this song. Another great instrumental on this album.
4/5
So Excited - Another upbeat song which sound a lot like the rest of his songs. Yet, another instrumental, this song isn't bad. He puts in a few tricks of the trade now and then and makes this song a good one.
4/5
Life By The Drop - SRV goes acoustic. Yes, he can play acoustic. Very well, at that. His vocals are a little different on this song too. An excellent finale that sends a message to everybody.
4/5
Overall, this album is great. It's a shame SRV had to die, but some things are meant to happen. He shows excellent lead work and even goes acoustic on this album. If you don't have it, you're missing out. His cover of Little Wing is enough to convince me to definately check it out. If you haven't already, get "Texas Flood" aswell.
