Great Expectations ?
I don't understand all the negative reviews. The album title and description say it all. The sound is good, the performances are good. Six of the songs are previously unreleased, half of the others I had never heard before. I compare this to the Duane Allman anthologies, you hear him as a backing musician on some tunes. Hearing Albert Collins and Bonnie Rait on songs with Stevie sure sounds good to me. Buy it and enjoy.

Oh No! Not the recording companies!
Oh My God! I just read the other reviews for this CD, and found out that the RECORDING COMPANIES ISSUED IT ONLY TO MAKE MONEY!!! Not the recording companies! I guess I better go buy a different CD. Wait...what if the recording companies are just making money off of that too??!! NOOOOO!

By the way, this CD kicks butt, if that actually counts for anything.

Some of SRV's Best LIVE Solo Sweat
For those who have panned this CD, I just have to quote the great Artie Shaw. --> "Go away!"

What a treat to hear the SRV's hot licks on the LIVE, "Albert's Shuffle" with Albert Collins.

"Goin' Down" with Jeff Beck. It's a challenge to tell who is who, but 'Becky' is playing his butt off, to stay up with the kid from Texas.

"Change It" is such an under rated jazzy, little rocker. Melodic vocal -Stevie just has such a soulful voice and on this live version which he sings perhaps better than the original studio track.

All the songs have something special. I would advise, to get away from the typical speakers, get some decent headphones and really listen to
what is going on...

Fantastic. A Solid Five Stars.
An excellent Live album that hasn't been fiddled with in post production.
Get those headphones and find a quiet corner to listen and enjoy.

Entertaining if taken in context...
When you buy this disc you have to understand what you're getting. This is a collection of odds & ends that Stevie collaborated on with other artists. Often times he is relegated to a supporting role. As such, you may not hear much from him except for the occasional solo or riff. This isn't a Stevie Ray Vaughan record, it's a "duets" record at best.

As a historical document, and to round out your SRV collection, it's O.K. If you are curious to see how Stevie's talents were integrated with other artists, this disc shows successful AND unsuccessful attempts to do this. Jimmie Vaughan's presence on "Change It" sounds superfluous. Bonnie Raitt's performance was completely out of sync on "Texas Flood". But Stevie's work on "Let's Dance" was great. His duet with Jeff Beck on "Goin' Down" was also great. "Pipeline" with Dick Dale is a real rocker. So this is a mixed bag.

Another interesting insight that can be gleened from listening to this disc is an understanding of who Stevie's friends, influences and idols really were. He loved the music of Lonnie Mack, Albert Collins, B.B. King, Johnny Copeland, etc. So I guess you could say that this disc can assist a fan in rounding out their collection and in gaining a more intimate knowledge of the artist. I would rank it as "moderately entertaining". It warrants a listen, but perhaps repeated listening is unnecessary.

SIDENOTE: I wouldn't get angry with the record company for putting this out because, frankly, there are a number of die-hard SRV fans that are interested in ALL facets of his career, even marginal efforts like this one. Clearly he was just having fun and not sweating too much over many of the performances. His death left a big void for a number of people, and folks are just trying to fill it however possible. Unfortunately, there just isn't much left to hear at this point because Stevie was taken from us in his prime.

stevie at his best
WAITED A LONG TIME FOR SOMETHING I HADNT HEARD BEFORE AND SOME OF THE NUMBERS WERE NEW TO ME. MIND YOU IT WOULDNT MATTER WHAT HE PLAYED IT WAS ALWAYS GREAT. SO SAD THAT THERE WONT BE ANY MORE. REST IN PEACE STEVIE RAY