Even if only the tortured blues wailer 'Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up on Love' entered his acknowledged canon, he throws in some delightful soul-funk touches on 'Say What!,' the instrumental wah-wah workout that kicks off the album, and the Curtis Mayfield-inspired closer, 'Life Without You,' captures Vaughan at his best as a composer and performer. Most of this is done through covers - notably Hank Ballard's 'Look at Little Sister,' the exquisitely jazzy 'Gone Home,' and Doyle Bramhall's impassioned soul-blues 'Change It' - but Vaughan's songwriting occasionally follows suit, as well. It's still a modern blues album, yet it has a wider sonic palette, finding Vaughan fusing a variety of blues, rock, and R&B styles.
By adding two members to Double Trouble - keyboardist Reese Wynans and saxophonist Joe Sublett - Stevie Ray Vaughan indicated he wanted to add soul and R&B inflections to his basic blues sound, and Soul to Soul does exactly that.
