Soul To Soul
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Album Summary
Soul To Soul was cut in 1985 at Dallas Sound Lab deep in the heart of Texas, and released that same year on Epic Records — and baby, when this record dropped, it was clear that Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble were not standing still. Produced by Richard Mullen alongside Vaughan and the band, this album introduced the world to a new chapter in the Double Trouble story, because for the first time, keyboardist Reese Wynans was in the fold as a full-time member. That man brought organ and piano into the mix in a way that gave the band a whole new dimension — still rooted in that deep Texas blues soil, but reaching out wider, richer, and more soulful than ever before.
Reception
- Soul To Soul climbed to number 34 on the Billboard 200, a strong showing that proved Vaughan had moved well beyond cult status and built himself a genuine mainstream audience hungry for everything he had to give.
- Critical reception was warm and respectful, with reviewers celebrating Vaughan's undiminished guitar virtuosity while taking note of the broader sonic palette that Reese Wynans brought to the sessions — though a handful of purists raised an eyebrow wondering if the fuller sound softened the raw, stripped-down bite of the earlier records.
- The RIAA certified Soul To Soul platinum, a testament to the fact that the blues-buying public had fully embraced Double Trouble as one of the defining studio and live acts of the mid-1980s.
Significance
- Soul To Soul stands as the record that locked in the classic five-piece lineup of Double Trouble, with Reese Wynans's keyboards becoming not just an addition but a cornerstone of the band's fully realized sound — this was the moment the group grew into its final, definitive form.
- The album was a vital chapter in the blues revival of the 1980s, with Stevie Ray Vaughan using this platform to carry Texas blues into arenas and living rooms across America at a time when the genre needed a champion with that kind of fire and that kind of reach.
- Instrumental performances like the bold and exploratory 'Say What!' deepened Vaughan's already towering reputation as one of the most technically commanding and emotionally honest guitarists of his generation, a man who could make a guitar speak truths that words alone could never touch.
Tracklist
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A1 Say What ! —
5:22
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A2 Lookin' Out The Window —
2:48
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A3 Look At Little Sister —
3:07
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A4 Ain't Gone 'N' Give Up On Love —
6:06
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A5 Gone Home —
3:04
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B1 Change It —
3:56
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B2 You'll Be Mine —
3:43
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B3 Empty Arms —
3:00
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B4 Come On (Part III) —
4:31
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B5 Life Without You —
4:17
Artist Details
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble came roaring out of Austin, Texas in the early 1980s like a thunderbolt straight from the Texas blues tradition, with SRV's ferocious guitar work and the ironclad rhythm section of Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton breathing fire back into an American blues scene that had gone cold for too long. Their debut album Texas Flood in 1983 hit the music world like a freight train, blending raw Texas blues with rock and soul in a way that made seasoned musicians put down their instruments in pure awe, and they went on to become one of the most electrifying live acts of their generation. Tragically lost in a helicopter crash in 1990 at just 35 years old, Stevie Ray Vaughan left behind a legacy so powerful that he is widely credited with single-handedly reviving mainstream interest in the blues, and his influence continues to echo through every guitarist who has ever dared to pick up a Stratocaster and play it like they meant it.
