Album Review: “Texas Flood” by Stevie Ray Vaughan

Blues-rock was never the same when the enigmatic Stevie Ray Vaughan/Double Trouble combo released their debut album, Double Trouble. Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton shares, “We were just making tape. We hoped that maybe we were making a demo that would actually be listened to by a real record company.” They got their break with a fantastic performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival of 1982, where they got the attention of David Bowie, who would then proceed to hire SRV for his 1983 album, Let’s Dance, while singer-songwriter Jackson Browne offered Double Trouble an all-access pass of his recording studio in Los Angeles.

Vaughan’s opulent songwriting was showcased on tracks like “Pride And Joy” and “Love Struck”, setting the mood for a powerful and scathing catalog, which has been unrivaled to date. Blues legend Howlin’ Wolf has his material covered as well, with “Tell Me” being dished out in a simmering rendition by the rock act, while “Dirty Pool” and “I’m Crying” highlight the compilation with stratospheric grit. “Rude Mude” was a pocket rocket of an instrumental, and the heartfelt tribute to his wife “Lenny” saw SRV fulfilling the blues vision of the band.

The amazing feat of completing the album in a span of two days is nothing short of spectacular. Only a few have managed to pull off what Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble did: which saw them slaying their debut with a classic blues revival of the 80’s, reinvigorating the “dying” genre amidst pop and dance music. In producer John Hammond’s words, “Stevie’s got a fantastic technique and has natural taste. That’s a very difficult thing to find. He’s brought back a style that had died, and he brought it back at exactly the right time. The young ears haven’t heard anything with this kind of sound.”