Stevie Ray Vaughan The Sky Is Crying on Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity: Posthumous Collection Comprised of Previously Unreleased Songs Recorded From 1984 Through 1989

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes for Audiophile Sound: Vaughan’s “Unofficial” Fifth Studio Record Breathes with Conviction, Integrity, Diversity

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 guitarist’s unofficial “fifth” album as well as an homage to extraordinary musician’s exceptional abilities as a musician, songwriter, and interpreter. It also contains the 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.   

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition hybrid SACD presents these life-affirming songs with full-range, detailed, defined sound. 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. Everything from Vaughan’s syncopated rhythms to his hot-wired guitar licks sounds apiece, vibrant, and just as it should. 

When Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in August 1990, his brother, Jimmie, set to work on finding finished material that his younger sibling left in the vaults. To his surprise, there weren’t many completed leftovers—save for the tracks on this set, which lent to the opinion that, in some way, Vaughan intended The Sky Is Crying to be an actual record. Nearly every song here had long found its way into the group’s live sets, including the supremely soulful title track, bathed in Reese Wynan’s warm organ accompaniment. It would be a standout on most albums but this effort is filled with one highlight after another. 

Consider “Boot Hill,” a rarity in that Vaughan plays the slide guitar—the very first time he’s captured on record doing so. The song was left off of In Step due to its darker content. Or the insightful cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing,” which seamlessly moves from tender to tough and back again; listen and you will hear Vaughan’s amp humming in the background. Vaughan’s formative influences get channeled on a slow-burn version of Howlin’ Wolf’s “May I Have a Talk With You,” during which the Texan incorporates the lyrics of several blues standards into the narrative.