Stevie Ray Vaughan - 'The Fire Meets the Fury: The Radio Broadcasts 1999" CD Review ~ BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog

Monday, November 26, 2012

Stevie Ray Vaughan - 'The Fire Meets the Fury: The Radio Broadcasts 1999" CD Review

Let's start with the obvious questions - this disc was not recorded in 1999 but in 1989, on the final dates of Stevie Ray's tour with Jeff Beck. This disc is also not a 'bootleg' but a copyright gap CD where (if I understand the UK laws correctly) artist permission is not needed to reproduced radio broadcasts that are more than twenty years old. As such, the disc is readily available through Amazon.co.uk and third-party sellers have this disc available for an affordable price on Amazon.com.

This disc was originally broadcast on King Biscuit Flower Hour and was bootlegged shortly after the broadcast under the title Last Farewell. The track list and locations are:

1)The House Is Rockin'
2)Tightrope
3)Look At Little Sister
4)Texas Flood
5)Leave My Girl Alone
6)Wall Of Denial
- Live at Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 28, 1989
(Note: There is a 7-track limited edition vinyl version of this show that recently surfaced and is available for sale at the major UK retailers. The additional track is "Let Me Love You Baby".

7)Superstition
8)Cold Shot
9)Life Without You
10)Crossfire
11)Voodoo Chile
- Live at McNichols Arena, Denver, Colorado, November 29, 1989

While there don't appear to be any videos online from these particular shows, below is a live version of "Life Without You" that was recorded a few nights earlier.



As the music on this disc was originally broadcast on FM radio, the sound quality is perfect. Audio purists may want to note though that a 1989 radio broadcast can't quite compare to today's uber-digital multi-track recordings.

Fans of Stevie Ray are sure to appreciate this recording as I don't think there are any other commercially available recording from this tour and Stevie Ray sounds great. This tour showcased a revitalized and re-energized SRV who had recently shaken off drug and alcohol addictions and he talks a bit about how he is glad to still be standing during the 12+ minute version of "Life Without You". The other lengthy jam on this disc is a 11+ minute version of "Voodoo Chile", which closes the disc.

Links:
Stevie Ray Vaughan