Friday, November 23, 2012

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood 30th Anniversary reissue coming



Legacy Recordings have set a January 29, 2013 release date for an expanded two-disc 30th anniversary edition of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's “Texas Flood.”

Disc One includes the original album in its entirety, along with the bonus track "Tin Pan Alley" (aka "Roughest Place in Town").

Disc Two will premiere a previously unavailable hour's long set of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble live at Ripley's Music Hall in Philadelphia. Recorded on October 20, 1983 for a WMMR broadcast, the extraordinary Ripley's performance finds the band coming straight out of the gun already at an undeniable peak of their formidable powers.

The 30th Anniversary Edition includes extensive liner notes by music historian Ashley Kahn (A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album; Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece). In his notes, Kahn writes, "The story of Texas Flood—more than any other recording by the guitarist—is the story of Stevie Ray. The album stands closest to his personal roots, roots that grew from a loamy mix of deep Southern blues, Texas R&B, and white-boy rock 'n' roll. It echoes his earliest triumphs as a guitarist, and serves as the triumphant finish-line to a ten-year run of hustling and scuffling that began in 1973, when the Dallas-born, 18-year old left home for the Austin music scene."

The original "Texas Flood" album was produced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton and engineer Richard Mullen. The Legacy Edition of Texas Flood is produced by Gregg Geller (who, as head of Epic's A&R 1983, signed Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble to the label).

A live sensation on the Austin, Texas club circuit since the late 1970s, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Stevie Ray (guitar, vocals), Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris "Whipper" Layton (drums) - turned in a particularly memorable show at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1982, catching the ears of David Bowie (who enlisted Stevie Ray for his Let's Dance album) and Jackson Browne (who offered the band free use of his Los Angeles recording studio). Accepting the offer, Stevie Ray and Double Trouble recorded several tracks over a whirlwind three days (with day one mainly devoted to setting up equipment) with the resultant tracks grabbing the attention of legendary record producer John Hammond, who'd discovered and signed Bob Dylan, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Benny Goodman, Aretha Franklin and many others. Hammond brought Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble to Epic Records, which released the remastered tracks as “Texas Flood” in 1983.

Originally released on Epic Records on June 13, 1983, “Texas Flood” introduced audiences to a soul-filled sound that existed outside both the mainstream and underground tastes of its era. The album opened the gates of a fiery blues resurgence with Stevie Ray Vaughan signature compositions like "Pride and Joy" and "Love Struck Baby" flowing naturally alongside covers of deep blues and R&B standards by Howlin' Wolf, the Isley Brothers, Buddy Guy and Larry Davis.

Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble - Texas Flood
(2 CD 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition)

Disc One - Texas Flood

Love Struck Baby
Pride and Joy
Texas Flood
Tell Me
Testify
Rude Mood
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Dirty Pool
I'm Cryin'
Lenny

Bonus track:
Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place In Town)

Disc Two - Live at Ripley's Music Hall, Philadelphia, October 20, 1983

Testify
So Excited
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Pride and Joy
Texas Flood
Love Struck Baby
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place In Town)
Little Wing/Third Stone From The Sun


Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble



See also:

Remembering Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan: The Final Performance
SRV classic reissue