Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble Texas Flood (2 LP)

TAS Recommended! Rated a 'Best Audiophile Label Recording' in the November 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
Featured in Michael Fremer's Heavy Rotation in the June 2007 Issue of Stereophile!
Stevie Ray Vaughan's 1983 debut album, Texas Flood, was a phenomenal success, climbing into the Top 40 and spending over half a year on the charts, which was practically unheard of for a blues recording. The record plays like a dynamite club show, filled with crowd-pleasing originals and covers, all performed with unbridled enthusiasm. Certified Gold on August 13, 1990; certified Platinum on January 22, 1992.
The impact of Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut LP "Texas Flood" at the time of its release in 1983 cannot be overestimated. By this time, the blues was nowhere near as important as it was in the 60s - "Texas Flood" fundamentally changed that, reaching the top 40 of the charts and staying there for more than half a year, unheard of for a blues LP. Vaughan became a real star, thus igniting the revival of the blues. The effects were nothing short of monumental, yet Vaughan, despite his astonishing skill on the guitar, was criticized for his undeveloped voice. Instead, according to the critics, the influences were all too obvious, be it Albert King's squashed yet powerful solo efforts or Larry Davis' emotive vocals. There's a grain of truth in these allegations, but that's exactly what made "Texas Flood" so important. Vaughn made no attempt to hide his influences, he celebrated them and punmpt fresh blood into a familiar genre.
When Vaughan and his band Double Trouble recorded this album over a period of three days in 1982, the individual tracks had already been played at countless live performances, he knew exactly how to treat his material to achieve maximum effect. The album is structured like a live performance, it starts with the two best self-written songs, "Love Struck Baby" and "Pride and Joy", then leads to two cover versions, the title track simmering on a low flame and an exciting interpretation of Howlin' Wolf's "Tell Me", and then culminates with "Dirty Pool" and "I'm Crying". To top it all off, Vaughan sets a lyrical-jazzy monument to his wife with "Lenny".
It becomes clear that Vaughan's real merit - by assuming various influences from his idols - was finding something personal and emotional. Sometimes the borrowings were obvious, sometimes only subtle, the fusion of memories of the past with the excitement and essence of the present are the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Features:

• 180g Vinyl
• Pressed at Pallas in Germany
• Double LP

Musicians:

• Stevie Ray Vaughan, guitar, vocals
• Tommy Shannon, bass
• Chris "Whipper" Layton, drums

Selections:

Side A
1. Love Struck Baby
2. Pride And Joy
3. Texas Flood
4. Tell Me
5. Testify
Side B
1. Rude Mood
2. Mary Had A Little Lamb
3. Dirty Pool
4. I'm Cryin
5. Lenny
Side C
1. SRV Speaks
2. Tin Pan Alley
Side D
3. Testify (live)
4. Mary Had A Little Lamb (live)
5. Wham! (live)