SOUL TO SOUL
This 1985 release, Vaughan's third, marks a fittingly impressive close to his classic period. Reese Wynans' keyboards give Vaughan's sound added depth and pushes the music in a more polished direction, one with stronger elements of jazz and soul. Vaughan's serrated guitar work is stunning as usual, boasting expressive bends, passionate flurries, and pained wails. As on the first two albums, Vaughan opens with a furious instrumental, the groovy "Say What!" "Lookin' Out the Window" has an R&B; style and the superb "Gone Home" settles into a mellow jazz mood. The uptempo "Look at Little Sister" and the super-slow "Ain't Gone 'N' Give Up on Love" display Vaughan's mastery of straightforward Texas blues. Vaughan also works up Earl King's "Come On" and shows sensitivity on the ballad "Life Without You."-- Marc Greilsamer