Life Without You



Life Without You - "Soul To Soul" studio sessions, Dallas
[Blue Knight Records, BKR 017,18,19,20] (4CD) (1993)

"Soul To Soul" studio sessions
Incorrectly labeled as having been recorded in New York, 1985
Most tracks suffer from low-level background noise and some include fade out/in of instruments/vocals, otherwise sound quality varies from
Good to excellent

CD 1: (73:29, 12 tracks)

01) Tell Me Where We're Going (8:28) (instrumental jam)
02) Life Without You (8:02) (take 2, instrumental)
03) Lightnin' Sky Hopkins (5:45) "Give Me Back My Wig"
04) Hangnails And Boogers / Lightnin' Sky Hopkins (3:53) (acapella/"Slip Sliding Slim")
05) Hug You Squeeze You (2:16) (take 1)
06) May I Have A Talk With You (8:12) (take 1)
07) I'm Leaving You (Commit A Crime) (6:34)
08) Blues (2:56)
09) Guitar Solo (1:36)
10) Say What (7:18) (take 2)
11) Jazzy Thing (9:00) "Boiler Maker"
12) Chitlins Con Carne (9:27)

CD 2: (75:35, 17 tracks)

01) Gone Home (4:02) (SRV plays acoustic guitar)
02) Hey Motherfucker (1:46) (SRV/soundbooth dialogue)
03) Hug You Squeeze You (4:03) (take 2)
04) Say What (4:20) (take 6)
05) Say What (6:36) (take 11)
06) Hangnails And Boogers (5:21) (acapella)
07) Hangnails And Boogers (3:43) (acapella)
08) Life Without You (6:50) (take 3, instrumental)
09) Jam1 (2:03) (instrumental jam)
10) The Sky Is Crying (4:38)
11) Boot Hill (3:29) (take 1)
12) Boot Hill (3:14) (take 2, vocal fades out)
13) Empty Arms (3:23)
14) You Don't Wanna Hear Me Sing That Shit (2:09) (SRV/soundbooth dialogue)
15) Life Without You (6:02) (take 12, instrumental)
16) Bass Theme ala Nosferatu (1:04) (bass/keyboards?)
17) Guitar Licks (2:50)

CD 3: (71:43, 14 tracks)

01) Look At Little Sister (3:10) "Boot Hill", instrumental
02) Testify (2:56) (slow version)
03) May I Have A Talk With You (5:56) (take 3 and 4)
04) Shuffle Thing (2:35) (instrumental)
05) Come On (Part III) (6:48) (take 2)
06) Empty Arms (4:03) (take 36)
07) May I Have A Talk With You (4:03) (take 6)
08) Maudie (6:15) (Doyle Bramhall, lead vocal)
09) Instrumental Medley (6:02)
10) Another Shuffle Thing (3:08) (instrumental)
11) Rude Mood (2:04) (variation of "Scuttle Buttin'")
12) Rude Mood (1:31) "Testify"
13) Life Without You (15:05) (take 17, instrumental)
14) Jam (8:05) (instrumental jam)

CD 4: (76:23, 17 tracks)
Tracks 15-17 are from "Rockline" radio tribute show following Stevie's death. these were originally performed by Stevie in the studio where "Rockline" was broadcast. "Rude Mood" performance date unknown. "Pride and Joy" is from.

01) Testify / Third Stone From The Sun (6:11) (doesn't sound like "Testify")
02) Shuffle (8:22)
03) Life Without You (5:32) (take 27, instrumental)
04) Life Without You (5:45) (take 31, instrumental)
05) You've Got Me Floating (0:53)
06) Little Wing (1:04) (take 1)
07) Little Wing (2:04) (take 2)
08) Little Wing (6:30) (take 3)
09) Third Stone From The Sun (3:32) (take 1)
10) Third Stone From The Sun 6:08 (take 2)
11) Say What (0:43) (take 14, with organ)
12) Come On (Part III) (4:52) (take 4, no audible vocal)
13) Jam1 (1:16)
14) Empty Arms (1:32) (take 40, withbelching intro)
15) Rude Mood (2:55) (Stevie unaccompanied on guitar)
16) Pride And Joy (3:51) (unaccompanied guitar/vocal)
17) Untitled Blues Jam (5:11) (with Chris Layton keeping time on phone book)

Notes and Comments:
Important information about how this CD set relates to the actual Soul to Soul recording sessions and the other boot CDs that comprise parts of those sessions has been provided by Steve Toney, a member of the Texas Flood mailing group.

The discs are very special. The set is titled "Life Without You - The Soul to Soul Sessions" Vol. 1-4 [Blue Knight Records, BKR 017,18,19,20]. "LWY-TStSS" is 59 tracks of superb, unreleased studio recordings [New York, 1985].This set is probably not for the casual SRV listener. However, if you ever want to take a "time trip" and hear what it was like to be in the studio with Stevie, Tommy, Chris and Richard [sound engineer], then these discs are the ticket.

Quality comparable to a studio release or an ‘official’ live album. Has good mixing, no tape hiss, good production.

Soul To Soul sessions boots. It’s 3 CDs of just about everything that was recorded for that album, so (obviously) everything is from the studio. They recorded all of their rehearsals, so there’s a lot of messing around with different songs, talking, etc. The version "I’m Leaving You" is complete as far as I can remember. They mess around with "Give Me Back My Wig" for a long time, but it sounds like Stevie didn’t know the words and they never get a complete take. After one of the failed attempts he says he’s gonna have to call Johnny Winter and ask him for the words.

It’s interesting to listen to everything that’s on these boots. It’s fun to hear someone like Stevie Ray mess up -- he IS human! There are some great (and funny) chokes. There’s also a lot of brilliant playing (to be expected). Some of the stuff that’s on "The Sky Is Crying" is from these sessions. The original take of "The Sky Is Crying" is there -- the vocals must have been overdubbed later, but the guitar parts are from this take. "Chitlins Con Carne" is also from these sessions, only it was cut and edited for "The Sky Is Crying." There’s some cool stuff that was cut out. Stevie also messes around with "Riviera Paradise," before it was known as "Riviera Paradise." There are also a bunch of jams on "Boot Hill," even though the version on "The Sky Is Crying" is from the In Step sessions. Cool stuff.

On the CDs "Life Without You" (soul II soul sessions) Vol.4 are 3 tracks from the radio show Rockline. That is great stuff also, especially the "untitled blues jam."

Most tracks suffer from low-level background noise and some include fade out/in of instruments/vocals, otherwise sound quality varies from good to excellent.

I can’t get past the first track without believing that Jimi’s spirit really DID inhabit Stevie. Awesome.

excellent quality

I have these four CDs as well and agree totally. They are very very good quality. Well worth it to have. If you see any of ’em pick them up.

Four INCREDIBLE jam packed disks of Soul to Soul studio outakes!!!

taken from the studio tapes of the Soul to Soul sessions in New York. They have several alternate takes of songs from the album as well as Stevie noodling around on the guitar (a real treat) and various other gems (Hangnails ’n’ Boogers- you’ve just got to hear it yourself, I can’t explain that one and do it justice).

Excellent quality, "distilled" version of the Soul to Soul sessions

Some great alternate takes and mixes of Boot Hill.

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