ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 5, 1983
By Steve Newton
Supposedly, David Bowie kicked Stevie Ray Vaughan out of his touring band because the guitarist insisted that the Thin White Duke let him play some of his own tunes in concert.
If you ask me, it’s a good thing Bowie objected, because Vaughan is such a fine player, and his tunes are so classy, that no doubt he would have stolen much of Bowie’s limelight.
Texas Flood is by far my most-played album these days. It’s one of those rare records where every song is a winner. Let’s Dance may be hot, but Texas Flood fairly sizzles with the cool-cat rockabilly of “Love Struck Baby” and the low-down Texas blues of “Dirty Pool” and the title track.
On the instrumentals “Testify” and “Rude Mood”, Vaughan really gets a chance to show his licks, fusing the raw power of Hendrix with the delicacy of Trower and putting his own touch to it as well.
I could go on and on, expounding the virtues of every song on Texas Flood. But let me just say that, if you’re a fanatic of electric blues guitar, you’ve got to have this record. It’s as simple as that.
To hear the full audio of the two interviews I did with Stevie Ray after this review was published subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can also eavesdrop on over 350 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with such blues greats as Buddy Guy, Roy Buchanan, Albert King, Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Otis Rush, and B.B. King.