Rolling Stone Album Guide
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Here is what David McGee writes in the Rolling Stone Album
Guide, (1992),
New York, Random House, p. 736:
Among the generation of blues guitarists who came of age in
the early ‘80s, only Robert Cray approaches Stevie Ray
Vaughan’s skill and influence, with Vaughan’s brother
Jimmie probably sneaking in there as well on the strength of his
powerful work with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. To be sure, though,
Vaughan kicked the latest blues revival into high gear with his
first two albums, Texas Flood and Couldn’t Stand
the Weather, which came out of nowhere to become bestsellers
in the midst of a rock world being consumed by techno-pop.
Texas Flood pays its debts to traditional Texas
blues and R&B, sounding a tad muddy, the better to experience
the slice-and-dice solos Vaughan delivers. Stylistically, Vaughan
was a true eclectic whose hard-driving, steely sound achieved
individuality while incorporating quotes from Herbert Sumlin,
Buddy Guy, T-Bone Walker, Lonnie Mack, Albert Collins, B.B. King
and Jimi Hendrix. That’s a broad palette, but it also shows
how Vaughan built on the best influences to express the emotional
extremes of his songs.
Couldn't Stand the Weather finds Vaughan
broadening out a bit beyond R&B to include a stirring
rendition of Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” and a
Charlie Christian-Kenny Burrell flavor on the jazz-tinged
“Stang’s Swang.”
Soul to Soul represents Vaughan’s and Double
Trouble’s great leap forward. First the addition of
keyboardist Reese Wynans expands the sound, adding textural
possibilities. Wynans makes his presence felt most dramatically
on a version of Hank Ballard’s “Look at Little
Sister.” Vaughan shows more facility with melody in his song
writing, producing his first outstanding ballad in “Life
Without Love.” Vaughan had a tender side that he could
express effectively with either a delicate vocal or pained guitar
solo.
Live Alive sums up the first part of Vaughan’s
career in a rousing live set recorded at the Montreux Jazz
Festival and in Austin and Dallas. Of note is Jimmie
Vaughan’s special guest appearance on four tracks cut in
Austin.
In Step, Vaughan’s last studio album, collects
more well-turned Vaughan originals, along with a tasty selection
of Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon covers.
Vaughan’s “Crossfire” is one of his peak solo
turns in a pure, gut-wrenching style.
The lovingly assembled posthumous album, The Sky Is
Crying, contains ten studio performances recorded between
1984 and 1989, with only one track, “Empty Arms,”
having appeared on a previous Vaughan album (Soul to Soul),
and that in a different version. Whether by design or accident
the tunes offer a good overview of Vaughan’s stylistic
range. Most pronounced are the nods to Albert King, but there are
also touches of Kenny Burrell (whose “Chitlins Con
Carne” is covered), Hubert Sumlin, Lonnie Mack
(“Wham”, a Mack classic) and of course Hendrix
(“Little Wing”) . A somber note closes the album,
“Life by the Drop”, Vaughan’s first recorded
acoustic solo. It’s a moment you don’t want to end. But
it does.
| Album |
Rating |
| Texas Flood |
*** |
| Couldn't Stand the Weather |
*** |
| Soul to Soul |
**** |
| Live Alive |
**** |
| In Step |
*** |
| The Sky Is Crying |
**** |