Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Texas Flood

From the moment your stylus saddles into the opening grooves of the Chuck Berry-tinged “Love Struck Baby,” to the final strains of the Hendrix-dipped slow blues “Lenny,” prepare to be electrified by MoFi’s latest release in its One-Step vinyl series. First released in 1983, Texas Flood was the debut recording of guitar-slinger extraordinaire Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band of cookin’ soulmates, Double Trouble. Recorded live in the studio over three days, the album mixes traditional rockers with slow blues and instrumentals, all with the energy and swagger of young players proudly strutting their considerable stuff. The sound is a revelation. Feel the sweet, gritty, Stratocaster sting of SRV’s piercing lead attacks, laced with the richly layered harmonic distortion of his jazz-inflected chord structures; Tommy Shannon’s meaty bass lines; and the punch of Chris Layton’s drum kit. The newly unleashed dynamics allow the music to breathe fire, along with a highly focused instrumental placement, and impressive sense of the studio’s air. While the record oozes with SRV’s influences—Hendrix, Albert King, Larry Davis—Vaughan had his own inimitable style. With Texas Flood he announced he was ready to take on the world.