mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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texas flood couldn't stand the weather
Texas Flood Released: 1983 Rating: 8/10 Track listing: 1. Love Struck Baby/ 2. Pride And Joy/ 3. Texas Flood/ 4. Tell Me/ 5. Testify/ 6. Rude Mood/ 7. Mary Had A Little Lamb / 8. Dirty Pool/ 9. I’m Cryin’/ 10. Lenny Released in the early 80’s when the blues was considered merely a fossil belonging to the museums, Dallas-hailing Stevie Ray Vaughan caught the record buyers’ attention. His fine playing shines through all of these songs, no matter if it is slow, fast, jazzy, funky or something in between. Obviously inspired by other blues guitarists such as Albert King, Buddy Guy but foremost Jimi Hendrix, whose style Vaughan copies so successfully that an unexperienced listener might even mistake him for the legendary master. One big difference, though, is that Vaughan is less willing to experiment and be spontaneous, which makes everything sound much cleaner than Hendrix’s sometimes dirty and even chaotic playing, a fact that might be appreciated by people whom generally like Jimi’s style but think he’s over the top once or twice too often. Most of my favorite guitarists manage to build up their solos, starting slowly to bring some drama and towards the end letting the dogs of hell run wild. Stevie Ray doesn’t quite do that, just as Hendrix, he starts out at maximum speed from the start. However, not only being a splendid technician, but also a very emotional aware player he manages to build up tension and variety within the solos as he goes on. One could ask why we need an album like Texas Flood in these days, as blues has regained it’s respect and attention. Well, maybe because that never would have happened if it wasn’t for this album. It clearly was needed in the 80’s, and if its purpose is unclear today, we should never forget the impact it had back then. It meant something and was nearly revolutionary. It also deserves it as the music is really good and also shows that blues isn’t only about being lonely and miserable drinking whiskey on your own. It could be a lot of fun too, which is demonstrated over and over on Texas Flood. “Love Struck Baby”, “Pride And Joy”, “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Tell Me” all proves that, while numbers such as the title track, “Dirty Pool” and the jazzy, nearly fusion-sounding, instrumental ballad “Lenny” makes you want to close your eyes and lay back enjoying each and every note that comes out from that guitar. Also a big round of applause to the two guys backing him up, Double Trouble, Tommy Shannon on bass and Chris Layton on drums, who follows Stevie with confident ease no matter where he leads them.
[Note: As with all of Stevie Ray’s albums, Texas Flood has been reissued with a bunch of bonus tracks, ranging from good to mind blowing.]
Couldn’t Stand The Weather
Second time around and Stevie Ray Vaughan proves that the debut was far from a lucky move. Couldn’t Stand The Weather is generally considered good, but not very impressive as it repeats the formula of its predecessor. That is a false observation. Yes, the instrumental “Scuttle Buttin’” and “The Things (That) I Used To Do” could easily have fitted on Texas Flood, but from start to finish it is obvious that something has happened. The rhythms are far from complex, but much more diverse compared to the debut and, while all songs here are clearly rooted in the traditional blues, some minor changes have been made in his approach. The title track doesn’t follow the traditional blues pattern, seemingly designed to fit the radio shows. It works well as the original blues feeling is kept, even though it wouldn’t look like a blues song if you had a quick look at the sheet music. “Stang’s Swang” doesn’t sound jazz inspired, it is jazz. A genre Vaughan just flirted with a little on Texas Flood, but here he takes the full step.
Vaughan clearly didn’t take the notes about the Hendrix-impersonation as criticism for a lack of originality, but as something positive. He covers Hendrix’s “Voodo Chile (Slight Return)” with confidence and authority, but maybe its eight minutes are a bit too long for its own good. Impressive guitar playing, though, as usual. Yet Stevie is at his absolute best when he plays traditional blues. The highlight of the album for me is the slow ballad “Tin Pan Alley (AKA The Roughest Place In Town)”. It is the album’s longest track with its nine minutes, but it is nine minutes of passion and emotion. Vaughan’s guitar playing is masterful and tasteful, with a sound that is just right and his vocal performance is among the best he ever did. If you’re a fan of slow blues, this album should be considered essential for that song alone.
Also note that the band had expanded, if only briefly, and features Stevie Ray’s older brother Jimmie Vaughan of The Fabulous Thunderbirds (who was successful and respected on his own, long before Stevie had his breakthrough) on second guitar among others. Anyway, Couldn't Stand The Weather is more diverse than Texas Flood and I can't see any particular reason why you should avoid it if you enjoy his other albums, as it stands its ground to this day.
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