Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open - 116

HIT LIST REVIEWS

SRV BEHIND
THE SCENES

T

he life of blues-rock
icon Stevie Ray
Vaughan was under a
microscope even before his
tragic death in a helicopter
accident in 1990. Four
years prior, a breakdown put him in a
hospital while on tour
in Germany, then in
drug and alcohol rehab
facilities in London
and Atlanta, and few
celebrities were as
open as Vaughan
about his addictions
and recovery.
Fans knew of
his wife, Lenny, for
whom he named a "Little
Wing"-like instrumental
on his 1983 debut, Texas
Flood, and of their divorce
in '88. They also knew of
the schoolgirl-turned-model
he met while on tour in
New Zealand - the woman
Stevie lived with from early
'87 until his death. The Russian-born beauty's name
was Janna Lapidus; now
Leblanc, the 48-year-old is
married with two children.
The book Leblanc
published doesn't talk much
about Vaughan's music;

that's not its purpose. It's
about Stevie Ray the man,
and it shows glimpses
of, and into, sides of him
rarely seen by fans. And
while there isn't a lot of

Janna Lapidus
Leblanc

Four Years In Pictures:
Offstage With Stevie Ray
Vaughan, 1986-1990
text, the abundance of
pictures in the book's 90
pages speaks volumes.
We see Vaughan in rehab
and visiting both his and
Leblanc's relatives. The
couple celebrates birthdays
and even takes tennis
lessons. He's without his
trademark gaucho hat as
much as with. His loving,
handwritten messages

grace Polaroids, yet Leblanc
manages to avoid what
could easily have become
maudlin or exploitative.
But the exercise is clearly cathartic. Editorializing is
hemmed-in, but Leblanc's
foreword paints an unflattering portrait of Jimmie
Vaughan. Perhaps the most
controversial aspect following the guitarist's death
was the Vaughan estate's
exclusion of the woman
Stevie Ray boarded an early
helicopter to telephone that
night. And while explaining her desire to restore
her own voice and "share
a more personal insight,"
there's a tone of resentment in that one page.
In an interview, she
stated, "The compelling
feeling that guided me
and led me in writing
my book - including the
foreword - has offered
some delayed healing
of sorts, by not only
restoring my voice,
but also by honoring a
part of Stevie's life. A
part of his life he lived
with dignity, grace,
honesty, respect,
striving for health, and
to do the right thing.
"In the years
since his passing,
to have that part of
his life ignored, displaced,
or undermined, as it has
been, would be missing
an important part of who
and how he was. I hoped
to offer some clarity in a
cohesive and concise way
to tell our story through
pictures and narrative,
to shed light on any
hearsay or speculation."
Of all the books written
about Vaughan since his
death, this is the most
intimate and revealing
illustration of his personality. - Dan Forte

VINTAGE GUITAR

116

September 2017

Shooter
Jennings, Ryan
Bingham, and
Various Artists

Outlaw: Celebrating
The Music Of
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings, who died in 2002, would
have turned 80 in 2017. He and compadre
Willie Nelson still personify country's
early-'70s Outlaw movement, focused on
gaining creative control of their records after
years of letting Nashville producers call the
shots brought only middling success. Given
a chance to record their way, they finally
found the mass fame they knew they'd had
all along and created enduring music with
appeal that spanned generations.
That's a point well made on this CD/DVD
package of a July 2015 tribute concert: 22
Waylon standards performed by surviving
contemporaries and new generations who've
carried his banner into the 21st Century.
The songs run the gamut of Waylon's
career, sung by veterans including his widow
Jessi Colter, Kris Kristofferson, Willie,
Bobby Bare and Robert Earl Keen, with
son Shooter Jennings, Sturgill Simpson,
Ryan Bingham, Toby Keith, Alison Krauss,
Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton (toting a
Jazzmaster), Eric Church, Jamey Johnson,
and Lee Ann Womack representing those
carrying on the tradition.
The sidemen, drawing on the raw sound
of Waylon's band the Waylors, include guitarists Buddy Miller and Patrick Buchanan,
Don Was on bass, veteran Waylon pedal
steeler Robby Turner, and original Waylors
drummer Richie Albright. - Rich Kienzle

Bill Frisell and
Thomas Morgan
Small Town

Dominic Miller
Silent Light

Bill Frisell is a living jazz icon, famed
for his ethereal tone
and snaking postbop lines. Here,
he partners with
Thomas Morgan for
a live set - just guitar
and standup bass
- cut at the Village
Vanguard in New York. It's intimate and
beautiful, as you'd expect from ECM. "It
Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open
