I had to take some blues. There was a lot of coin tossing going on in the decision (Started out with a truckload of choices). It got down to BB King’s ‘Live In Cook County Jail” and this one, ‘Texas Flood’.
What a debut! Rockin blues
Right off the bat, some wicked licks, great vocals to boot. The whole vibe got my attention. I guess it was the rocker in me that took it. Vaughn had the goods. The first cut had me the second cut and I knew I was onto something special. My ear and my whole skeletal structure was doing the shimmy.
This is the whole package to me. Out of this world guitar, cool vocals and lyrics that fit. Plus it rocks. This music is a good kick in the ass. Old meets new take. Stevie and DT slow it down even more for the 3rd take. No going through the motions here. He puts everything into both the singing and playing. No holding back. He goes to town on this one. What a great blues.
There is something special going on in this record. Fuck trends, lets play the music we want and that moves us. That’s what SVR and the boys did. He rips it up and lays it down all over the record. I love guitar especially in the hands of someone like Steve. If you got flash, use it. Not only is his playing out of this world, he’s playing music that I dig. So I win.
I’ll leave his technical prowess to you players. Sounds to CB that he more than knows how “to play that thang”. Even on a little ditty like ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ he makes it his own. Not just the guitar but the vocals as well. He’s not all fire and brimstone. He lays down some very tasty jazz and slow blues on a few cuts.
I like all Vaughn’s work. It all sounds good to me. But this debut came out of the pits ready to go. He burns it up. This stuff never gets old for CB. I think I’ll go play some ‘Dirty Pool’
slicethelife 
He wasn’t flashy and he didn’t have a “Star” complex. His guitar playing is in a league with Jimi Hendrix , Duane Allman, and Clapton. I saw him in the 80s on Austin City Limits and was blown away by his playing. One of the most aggressive players I’ve ever seen but never missed his mark.
Love the review CB!
All those guys have something special going on. Stevie always makes it sound fresh to me. It’s like I dont want to miss a note. hanging on, waiting on what’s coming next. He adds a lot of rock to his work. Maybe it’s a Texas thing.
He made things “swing” for sure…that Texas swing and it rocked.
I liked how he would pull things out of mid air and take it in a different direction.
You would pick up on the tech stuff Max. I like the “swing” thing. Exactly. Man do I miss that guy.
The loss of SRV was one of the biggest in rock history. He had a lot more to give. Great album and review.
No kidding. But he left some fantastic music.
Great choice CB. SRV was surely one of the greatest blues guitarists ever.
Like you with your last choice, I had to take a certain genre with me.
If you like modern blues, you probably can’t do a lot better than Stevie. And this is his best known, and I would assume, best example! Not the exact type of music I would listen to endlessly but his talent is real, and I bet he was something to see live. Being out in the Great White North, you could probably appreciate this – I never paid much attention at all to Colin James on radio in the 80s, but went with a gal to see him at a big bar in town. Playing live, he was one of the best performers I’ve seen and I didn’t tire of his set at all. Vaughan was probably like that too. Fine pick!
He still plays regular out West. Solid music and performer.
Listening to this it’s clear he plays with his heart and his soul. Always like the all-in player. Very talented technically also! Nice write-up that gets to the essence of your choice, CB. Great, soulful addition to the draft picks.
Yeah, he’s all in on the cut Hans posted. He’s all in all the time. No pretending with SRV
What can you say about him. A pure master of his craft. A tragic loss way too soon. I have this one of vinyl and love it. Great choice.
It would have been interesting to see where he took his music. I would guess he wouldnt have strayed to far from his roots.
This one over BB King. That’s high praise from the start. I’m enjoying your sample. SRV is a name and style I’ve always been aware of, but I’ve never made it a point to really get to know his music. I enjoyed your write up. You truly understand what you are hearing.
RSR he is a pretty special musician in my music pile. There would be a big hole if I lost his music.So many other great blues albums I could have took. It really was a coin toss. My friend hotfox63 just did a take on a great Muddy Waters record. His music just grabbed me at the start and hasnt let go.Thanks for the comment. The BB album is a good one. The intro at the start is classic.
Excellent choice, IMHO. I’ve really come to dig SRV. He just had an awesome sound and was a hell of a guitar player. I agree this is a great debut album. My introduction to SRV was “Couldn’t Stand the Weather,” which I think I like even better than “Texas Flood.”
He went on a run of top notch records, ‘Weather being one of them.