Texas Flood

Background

Vaughan and Double Trouble had performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1982 and caught the attention of musician Jackson Browne. He offered the band three days of free use in his Los Angeles recording studio. During Thanksgiving weekend, they accepted Browne's offer and recorded a demo. It was heard by record producer John H. Hammond, who had discovered artists such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen among many others. He presented the demo to Greg Geller, head of A&R at Epic Records, and arranged a recording contract.

Recording and production

Since the first day of production largely involved setting up equipment, Texas Flood was recorded in two days, with no overdubs. In early 1983, subsequent to the band's signing with Epic, they were given an advance of $65,000 to re-master the recordings. The album was mixed and mastered in New York City. The recordings were released as Texas Flood in June 1983.

Bassist Tommy Shannon recalls of the sessions, "It really was just a big warehouse with concrete floors and some rugs thrown down. We just found a little corner, set up in a circle looking at and listening to each other and played like a live band." Vaughan used two Fender Vibroverbs and an 150-watt Dumbleland Special owned by Browne. Engineer and co-producer Richard Mullen says of his production techniques:

Touring

Vaughan and Double Trouble toured North America and Europe in June–December 1983 to support Texas Flood. On July 11, 1983, they performed at the El Mocambo in Toronto and a film was released in December 1999 by Sony named Live at the El Mocambo on DVD. A performance from Austin City Limits was also released on the video Live from Austin, Texas. On August 22, 1983, the band performed a sold-out concert at The Palace in Hollywood. The show was broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour and three tracks were included on the reissue of Texas Flood. The tour continued on through Europe and the band appeared at the Reading Festival in England. They went back to the United States and opened 17 shows for The Moody Blues.

Reception

Texas Flood was released on June 13, 1983, with two singles released from the album—"Pride and Joy" and "Love Struck Baby". "Pride and Joy" peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Texas Flood" was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Performance and "Rude Mood" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The album was mostly well received by critics. A five-star AllMusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as a "monumental impact" and said it "sparked a revitalization of the blues". Despite many positive responses, it also received some negative criticism with Rolling Stone criticizing Vaughan's originality and claiming that he didn't possess a distinctive style.

Texas Monthly gave the album a positive review, calling Vaughan "the most exciting guitarist to come out of Texas since Johnny Winter". In a less enthusiastic review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau felt that the album lacks "momentum and song form", which he cited as both the essence of rock and roll and the reason his attention wanders "after the kickoff originals 'Love Struck Baby' and 'Pride and Joy.'" The album peaked at #38 on the Billboard 200 chart immediately after its release. It went platinum in Canada and double-platinum in the United States, selling over 500,000 units.

Track listing

Side One

1. "Love Struck Baby" (Stevie Ray Vaughan) – 2:24
2. "Pride and Joy" (Vaughan) – 3:40
3. "Texas Flood" (Larry Davis, Joseph Wade Scott) – 5:21
4. "Tell Me" (Howlin' Wolf) – 2:49
5. "Testify" (instrumental) (Ronald Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley) – 3:25

Side Two

1. "Rude Mood" (instrumental) (Vaughan) – 4:40
2. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (Buddy Guy) – 2:47
3. "Dirty Pool" (Doyle Bramhall, Vaughan) – 5:02
4. "I'm Cryin'" (Vaughan) – 3:42
5. "Lenny" (instrumental) (Vaughan) – 4:58

Note: Many releases of the album erroneously attribute songwriting credits of "Testify" for Parliament members who have written an unrelated song of the same name.

1999 reissue bonus tracks

11. "SRV Speaks" – 0:37
12. "Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place in Town)" (Robert Geddins) – 7:42
13. "Testify" (live) – 3:54
14. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (live) (Buddy Guy) – 3:31
15. "Wham!" (live) (Lonnie Mack) – 4:20

Disc 1

1. "Love Struck Baby" - 2:23
2. "Pride And Joy" - 3:40
3. "Texas Flood" - 5:21
4. "Tell Me - 2:48
5. "Testify" - 3:22
6. "Rude Mood" - 4:40
7. "Mary Had A Little Lamb" - 2:47
8. "Dirty Pool" - 5:02
9. "I'm Cryin'" - 3:47
10. "Lenny" - 5:02
11. "Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place in Town)" - 7:37

Disc 2

1. "Testify" (Live) - 4:14
2. "So Excited" (Live) - 4:17
3. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (Live)" - 7:44
4. "Pride and Joy" (Live) - 4:57
5. "Texas Flood" (Live) - 10:00
6. "Love Struck Baby" (Live) - 3:08
7. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (Live) - 2:59
8. "Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place in Town)" (Live) - 8:14
9. "Little Wing/Third Stone from the Sun" (Live) - 12:28

Personnel