Jimmie Vaughan

It's easier to be prolific when you're not writing the songs, so Texas blues veteran Vaughan (ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds) has quickly followed up last year's acclaimed (and Grammy-nominated) Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites with this equally entertaining sequel. He has eclectic musical taste, so choices here include New Orleans-style romps, R&B, horn-driven jump tunes and blues material. He even puts a convincingly bluesy twist on tunes associated with honky-tonk heroes Webb Pierce ("I Ain't Never") and Hank Williams ("I Hang My Head and Cry"). Making a return appearance is fellow Texan star Lou Ann Barton, and her strong voice is a welcome addition on three tunes, with a cover of Bobby Charles's "No Use Knocking" a highlight. Such top Austin players as George Rains and Greg Piccolo are featured, and a gutsy horn section appears on all but one cut: Jimmy Reed's "I'm A Love You." Vaughan's guitar work is typically versatile and fluent, and he saves his best vocal performance for the final cut, the powerful Huey P. Meaux ballad "The Rains Came."