Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn: In Session (Reissue)

I recently wrote about Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Records, and their excellent vinyl (and CD) reissues. I have become a huge fan of their releases, especially the attention to detail and sonic quality of their pressings.

On December 6th, 1983, a 29 year old Stevie Ray Vaughn joined blues legend Albert King for a live television broadcast from CHCH-TV studios in Hamilton, Ontario.

Legend has it that King didn’t want to do the show because he did not know who Stevie Ray Vaughn was, but agreed after being reminded that Vaughn had sat in with him at his show at Antone’s in Austin, Texas.

The original album of this material was released by Stax, but Craft Recordings has recently released this session on CD, as well as on a beautiful sounding 3-LP 180 gram vinyl set. This vinyl release has a three panel gatefold with extensive liner notes from Bill Belmont, Lee Hildebrandt, Dan Forte, and Samuel Charters.

The music is a great snapshot of a moment in time with two blues legends. The playing is great, and the feeling intimate, with story telling and chatter in between several of the tracks. The set features mostly King live set staples, but does have a couple Vaughn features with “Pride and Joy” and “Texas Flood”.

The band backing King and Vaughn features Tony Llorens on piano and organ, Gus Thorton on bass, and Micheal Llorens on drums. Original sessions produced by Ian Anderson and engineered by Doug McClement. Additional production by Bill Belmont with remixing by Stephen Hart. Mastered by George Horn.