when_i_go_deaf | Albums In The Day: The Records Of My Life

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather (1984)

I've know the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan the majority of my formative years, thanks to my Dad. SRV just seemed to have a direct channel to a stratum of reality, of cosmic energy that few people ever seem to experience. Some could make the case that Stevie had been possessed by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix, but that would be a bit of a disservice to Vaughan. Hendrix was a true wild child who gorged himself to the point of killing himself, where as Stevie pushed himself nearly to that same brink, only to stop before he went over. SRV managed to reign in his demons, harness the energy that fed his music and his unearthly guitar playing. Before Stevie started his mid-80's collapse, he had produced Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand The Weather, which were albums composed primarily of originals with some choice covers intermixed. Texas Flood was originally a demo session that was just mixed and released, which is why the production on that album is much rawer than any of Vaughan's later material. Weather benefited from Flood's success, allowing Vaughan and his band Double Trouble to stretch out a bit more. What resulted is a fantastic guitar blues album, highlighted by the title track, a cover of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile", "Things That I Used To Do", "Cold Shot", and the blues standard "Tin Pan Alley". Vaughan will always be missed, and hopefully the world will not always be able to remember such a vibrant force that was taken from us far too soon.

Give It A Try:
"Couldn't Stand The Weather"
"Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)"
"The Things (That) I Used To Do"
"Cold Shot"
"Honey Bee"