Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - In Step (1989), hybrid SACD, Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2077

 

I've never paid $50 for a CD, or in this case SACD, until now, so this addition to the collection will require a lot of justification. Unfortunately, I didn't acquire my first SACD player until late last year, by which time this limited-edition release had already sold out. As with most Mobile Fidelity releases, whether SACD or vinyl, the price began to climb due to scarcity. I already owned a standard CD release of this album, which is perhaps my favorite of SRV (though I have yet to hear Soul to Soul), so when I saw a used copy come up for sale on Dusty Groove, I pondered. I would never have paid $50 straight up for this or any other SACD, but after checking prices elsewhere and seeing that they were higher, and then selling Dusty Groove a stack of CDs I had already upgraded to audiophile vinyl or SACD, or simply didn't want any more (like the best of Shelley Fabares), I had enough store credit to afford this title. Figuring that I probably would never find this release any cheaper, I used the store credit to add this to a collection that already includes three other SRV Mofi SACDs (Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand the Weather, and The Sky Is Crying) all of which I was able to purchase at list price. The other SRV SACDs sound leagues better than their standard CD counterparts, and this one is definitely a step or two up, though I don't know if it is as big an improvement as the others. Still, as mentioned above, this is a favorite of mine, Vaughan's last studio record before his tragic early death, with a playlist that has quite a bit of variety--rockers like "The House Is Rockin'" and "Scratch-n-Sniff," traditional blues on "Leave My Girl Alone" and "Love Me Darlin'," and sharp instrumentals like the smoky jazz of "Riviera Paradise" and the virtuoso Lonnie Mack-style picking of "Travis Walk." So I still feel it was worth the somewhat exorbitant cost since it wasn't really money out of pocket.

The only question remaining is, Is this the ultimate version of this album? Perhaps not, since the one included in the Analogue Productions Texas Hurrican box set was remastered by Ryan K. Smith and at least one reviewer on the Acoustic Sounds web site says the AP version beats the Mofi. But that box set sells for $280 for only 6 discs, more than $45 a pop. And though I paid more than that for this one title, I paid far less for the rest. Besides, $280 is a big chunk of change for me to part with in one fell swoop. So I still feel satisfied with this acquisition. Of course, if I win the lottery, that could change.

Do I Really Need This record?  SRV's music is legendary, and as stated before, this is probably my favorite album of his, so I really needed an upgrade from the mediocre audio of the standard CD I already owned. On top of that, my wife really digs his music, so that made the hefty price feel a little less painful.