Mind's Ear

Out There, though dedicated to another fallen friend -- former T-Birds bassist Keith Ferguson, whose heroin habits finally killed him in May 1997 -- is a far more exhilarated album than Strange Pleasure. A song like "The Ironic Twist" epitomizes the raw stank that envelops the entire disc. It's a celebration, handclaps and horns and greasy beats -- the sort of track no one makes anymore.

"Out There is just a lot more raw than Strange Pleasure," Vaughan explains. "It's more me. It's more, uh, what would be an intelligent term for 'playing shit on the deal'? It's dirtier, it's rawer. The last album was kind of a spiritual thing in a lot of ways. I was thinking about what all happened, and I was overwhelmed with stuff. That's what came out. And now I'm overwhelmed with other stuff. It seems like no matter what you do, you can't control all this stuff. It's just like somebody told me once, you should sing about what you know about, so that's all I'm doing."

Jimmie Vaughan performs Friday, August 14, at Aerial Theater at Bayou Place, 520 Texas Avenue. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $22.50$27. Chris Whitley opens. For info, call 629-3700.