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|  | This album tells the age old story of the old man and the boy. Or, more accurately, the gifted teacher and his brilliant student. The teacher knows the boy is better than he is (or ever was), but is not at all intimidated by that fact. He encourages the boy to reach his full potential and continue the blues tradition. The student has way too much respect and admiration to ever consider embarrassing his mentor, so he has to tone his playing down just a bit. The resulting balance is perfection -- Albert's thick, full Flying V leads intermixed with Stevie Ray's searing Stratocaster solos and plenty of great rhythm parts by both. If you like the electric guitar you MUST own this album. Play it LOUD and play it OFTEN!
| | | | Something happened in December 1983 in CHCH studies in Hamilton, Ontario. Blues Guitar at it's best: Powerful yet restrained, deep, potent, progressing with the session. Maybe even blues, therefore guitar, at it's best, although some may quibble with that. At times, Stevie holds back, perhaps out of respect, perhaps out of humility. However, this is not weak playing; it's the most powerful kind, because it is at the edge of explosion and control, held under check with virtuosity. Albert's playing is the kind that only decades in the company of the blues can create. Together, it is more than the sum of its parts. The CD is an interesting compilation of dialogue and music, with operatic power. Some of the dialog fades into the music, first covertly and overtly, and then remerges as the playing continues, sometimes in vocals and sometimes in strumming. Distant respect and acknowledgement becomes palpable, immediate respect, both for each other. They never played together again. This was the one and only time. They are both gone now; Stevie Ray Vaughan died in 1990, Albert King in 1992.
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| | Word has it that Albert "King" Nelson didn't know the man with whom his manager had arranged for him to play on the night of December 6, 1983.
29-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan had released the succesful (and superb) "Texas Flood" earlier that year, but the name Vaughan didn't mean anything to Albert King.
He did recognize Stevie Ray however, knowing him as "Little Stevie", a kid from Texas who had attended numerous of his concerts, occationally even sitting in with him when he (King) passed through Austin. At first, Stevie Ray Vaughan seems a little bit in awe of the legendary 60-year-old bluesman, not wanting to interfere with his playing (it is almost two minutes into "Stormy Monday" before Vaughan's guitar can be heard for the first time). But once he gets going, the concert evolves into one of the best jam sessions you'll ever hear. Backed by Albert King's world-class touring band, the two guitarists lay down tight, muscular versions of some of King's best songs, as well as a blistering six-minute rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride And Joy", and a rollicking cover of Tampa Red's "Don't Lie To Me".
There is more great guitar playing here than most artists record in a liftetime, but the jamming never gets out of hand or trails off into meaningless shredding. "In Session" never evolves (devolves?) into a mere cutting contest; instead the two musicians complement each other beautifully, somehow managing not to tread on each other's toes when soloing. Bits of dialogue between King and Stevie Ray Vaughan has been preserved on this release, and the sound is superb, crisp and clear. For fans of either guitarist, this album is more than just worth a listen, it is a record that sounds as fresh and exciting on each subsequent listen as does the first time through.
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