Let’s see. A white guy playing blues in 1983. How out of touch can one be?
Truth is, Stevie Ray was a breath of fresh air, and in his too-brief tenure released some of the best blues and rock of the last 25 years, putting Aerosmith and the Black Crowes to shame. SRV was truly original, and his debut album still stands as his best effort.
Naturally, SRV had his blues influences, such as B.B. King, and his rock influence in Hendrix, but he used these two to forge a distinctive sound of his own. Indeed, this album spent almost two years in the Top 40, even during a time when rock was an underground thing again and acts like Michael Jackson and Madonna ruled the charts. It struck a nerve, which good blues does.
“Love Struck Baby” and “Pride and Joy” kick off this album in dramatic fashion, introducing SRV to an unsuspecting world, before settling into the slower blues of the title track. Naturally, plenty of soloing abounds both here and in the other tracks, yet it never gets in the way of the words or the mood. It helps that Double Trouble can create a killer rhythm section to complement Vaughan’s playing.
Howlin’ Wolf gets updated here on “Tell Me,” which uses the familiar 12-bar blues set to a walking riff in each bar. “Testify” and “Rude Mood” are whip-smart, lightning-fast instrumental workouts, the latter driven by drumming just as compelling at SRV’s guitar. “Dirty Pool” is a little less exciting, while “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is fine at first but the novelty eventually wears off.
“I’m Cryin'” is a rewrite of “Pride and Joy” — the only time Vaughan ever plagiarized himself — but it’s saved by the awesome “Lenny,” an upbeat jazzy instrumental tribute to Vaughan’s wife. It’s a slow burner, made better by the restraint of the guitar, and in this Vaughan proves that he is not only a master of the blues but a master of emotion as well.
Texas Flood is SRV’s watershed album; for the uninitiated, it’s the best place to start, and for the veterans it’s a reminder of why SRV is so valued and why his star should never have fallen so quickly.
