Call it three for the price of one. Far from engaging in a guitar-playing shootout, Albert Collins, Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland work together incredibly well, achieving a kind of musical synergy that is rarely heard. Copeland and Cray handle most of the vocal duties, and Cray's smooth, soul-tinged voice (positively shiver-eliciting on "The Dream", as is Collins's lead guitar work) complements Copeland's growl perfectly. Collins doesn't get to sing as much, but he more than makes up for it with his harmonica on the slow blues "Bring Your Fine Self Home". And of course, all three turn in stellar guitar work, trading solos and rhythm parts with the greatest of ease; Cray was a relative newcomer at the time of this recording, but he more than holds his own. One would be hard pressed to find a better blues collaboration anywhere. -Genevieve Williams.

The series of Stevie Ray Vaughan concert albums that began with Live Alive (1986) and continued after the guitarist's 1990 death is far from the catalogue-bloating cash-in you'd expect from the record company of a platinum seller cut down at a career peak. Instead, each disc gives a distinctly different view of the Texas blues-rocker's stage strengths. Where Live Alive captured Vaughan and his band Double Trouble in full arena roar and In the Beginning recorded a looser early club gig, Live at Carnegie Hall finds the outfit broadening its range with guest shots from Dr. John and the Roomful of Blues horn section. Rather than overpowering Vaughan's signature tautness, the bigger band makes for an entertaining switch-in effect allowing a fresh look at his R&B roots. -Rickey Wright The series of Stevie Ray Vaughan concert albums that began with Live Alive (1986) and continued after the guitarist's 1990 death is far from the catalog-bloating cash-in you'd expect from the record company of a platinum seller cut down at a career peak. Instead, each disc gives a distinctly different view of the Texas blues-rocker's stage strengths. Where Live Alive captured Vaughan and his band Double Trouble in full arena roar and In the Beginning recorded a looser early club gig, Live at Carnegie Hall finds the outfit broadening its range with guest shots from Dr. John and the Roomful of Blues horn section. Rather than overpowering Vaughan's signature tautness, the bigger band makes for an entertaining switch-in effect allowing a fresh look at his R&B roots. [+]