242. TEXAS FLOOD by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

I previously covered Stevie Ray Vaughan when I discussed a record he made with his brother Jimmie here as well as the live album he recorded with Albert King here. However, up to this point I neglected to pay homage to SRV and his band Double Trouble. That ends today. This seminal 1983 debut album is said to have revitalized blues as a viable musical genre and to put Texas blues back on the map.

While there was no comparison to seeing Vaughan play live (I was lucky enough to see him and Double Trouble open up for The Who way back in 1989) the Texas Flood album is the next best thing - it was recorded live in the studio (in fact in Jackson Browne's studio in Los Angeles) over the course of just 2 to 3 days.

What I'd like to recommend you listen to includes two SRV originals and two covers - start out with the Buddy Guy classic 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' followed by 'Love Struck Baby' and 'Pride and Joy.' Round things out with the absolutely phenomenal cover of Larry Davis' 'Texas Flood' (side note - Davis' original was recorded in 1958 in my hometown of Houston, Texas) which can only be topped by the live version from Toronto's El Mocambo: