Personnel includes: Stevie Ray Vaughan (vocals, guitar); Reese Wynans (keyboards); Tommy Shannon (bass); Chris Layton (drums).

Recorded between 1980 & 1990. Includes liner notes by Andy Aledort.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Epic's THE ESSENTIAL STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN AND DOUBLE TROUBLE gathers two discs' worth of the late blues guitarist's work, including many live performances and a few tracks with the Vaughan Brothers. The collection presents Vaughan's material in roughly chronological order, from the 1980 live recording "Shake for Me" to 1989's "Life by the Drop." It also touches on most of Vaughan's definitive songs and performances, including "Tightrope," "Wall of Denial," "Couldn't Stand the Weather," and "Cold Shot," and live versions of "The Sky Is Crying," "Superstition," and "Rude Mood/Hide Away." Though this album doesn't offer anything that hasn't already been released in some form or another, it does go into slightly more depth than several of the other Stevie Ray Vaughan retrospectives by presenting both his greatest studio hits and some of his best live work. [This compilation was also released as a three-disc set.]

Like a comet streaking across the sky, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan's time here was snuffed out far too quickly. Although other posthumous compilations have honored his legacy, including a pair of GREATEST HITS collections and a number of live releases, THE ESSENTIAL serves as a lighter alternative to the heftiness of the SRV box set. Vauhan was blessed with a distinct tone and a versatility on guitar that often found him going from bending strings just short of breaking to lightly playing with the delicacy of a baby's touch, often within the same song. This two-CD set does a fine job of representing the late legend's broad range.

Always generous in crediting his myriad of influences, (Double Trouble's name was taken from an Otis Rush song), SRV ended up covering artists ranging from Buddy Guy ("Mary Had A Little Lamb"), Earl King ("Come On [Part III]"), and Hank Ballard ("Look At Little Sister") to Jimi Hendrix ("Little Wing") and close friend Doyle Bramhall ("Change It"). Live, Vaughan's might was equally impressive, and he still astounds with a segment of his breakthrough 1982 Montreux performance ("Rude Mood/Hide Away") along with in-concert versions of "Superstition" and "Voodoo Child [Slight Return]".