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Stevie Ray Vaughn

Lonestar: Stevie Ray Vaughn 1984-1989 DVD

Review by Gary Hill

The period of Stevie Ray Vaughn's career covered in this documentary is one of lows and highs. It found Vaughn falling into addiction and climbing out to reclaim his life. I've always thought one of the biggest tragedies of Vaughn's life was that just as he was poised to reap the benefits of getting his life back together, it was taken from him.

The documentary starts at one of the critically lowest points in Vaughn's life. He was booed off the stage at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, and this starts around that time. It works through some of his least critically acclaimed musical periods and the low point in his life personally, his descent into addiction.

Once Vaughn got through that period, he delivered the In Step album, which is considered by many to be his best album. This documentary covers all of those aspects of this tragic story in great detail. I would have to say that it's a story of the will of a man to rise back up after being beaten to near death by life. No matter what happened on that fateful day in 1990, his story to that point was a real human tale of redemption after the fall.

The reason this is a musical documentary is that a lot of focuses in detail about the music he produced during that period. Well, come on, that's the reason we all know Vaughn, right? All in all, I highly recommend this. It's an exceptional music documentary with a story that should also interest those who are less musically inclined.

 

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

 
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