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In the vast world of debut albums, "Texas Flood" is one that impresses me the most. Vaughan's guitar in "Texas Flood" is recorded such that it stands between my ears and the rest of the band. Contrast this with "In Step." Here Vaughan and the band are presented as equal units. Whether he was the world's best guitarist is purely subjective, so bickering over whether he was better than anyone else is wasting everyone's time, which seems to be a popular male pasttime when it comes to music. There is real dimension here. If you love Stevie Ray Vaughan, love him; if you don't, then don't.As much as I like "Texas Flood," it is not my favorite Vaughan album. Stevie Ray Vaughan had been around the block a few times before recording it, which is obvious from his mastery of the material and his own instrument. There are precious few breaks from this, so the album itself is limited in terms of variation, emotional ambiquity and tenderness - all of which are vital to the blues.
My favorite is "In Step," which Vaughan recorded about six years later. My very subjective reason is as follows. This is evident from the first track, "The House is Rockin'" in which Vaughan allows his guitar to step back so the bass and percussion can move forward and then recede, move forward and then recede. To my ears this give-and-take makes "In Step" a more confident, more expressive album than "Texas Flood" on nearly every track.By Jesus, however, what a great debut "Texas Flood" is.
What's shocking about this album is that it was recorded in only a mere three days and what's even more shocking is that it took Stevie Ray Vaughan almost ten years before he landed a record deal. From the upbeat, "Love Struck Baby", to the concluding, "Lenny", this album is a non stop ride of well structured blues songs with wailing guitar solo's make this album a must have. Released in 1983 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's debut album is by far there best and has remained a classic album to this day. Texas Flood, was respectivley named by Stevie Ray Vaughan to honor Larry Davis a relatively unknown blues guitarist from Austin Texas wrote the original version of, "Texas Flood", back in 1960, Stevie Ray Vaughan's version contains a slow beginning beat but then launches into a wailing blues guitar solo that keeps you listening every time. Some key tracks on "Texas Flood" are, "Pride and Joy", "Texas Flood", "Mary Had A Little Lamb", "Tell Me", and more.
Recommended highly by a friend, but unless you like country I don't recommend that you spend your money on this.
I have not received the CD in the mail, and have had no correspondence with the seller.
Stevie Ray sings and plays from the heart. Great first cd for anyone. Imagine what kind of jams he would be pulling down today.
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