On January 29, Sony Legacy will release a deluxe, 30th-anniversary edition of Texas Flood, the debut album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
One of the main selling points of the new, two-CD edition is the bonus disc, which features an October 20, 1983, show recorded at Ripley’s Music Hall in Philadelphia. The show has never been released.
Texas Flood was originally released June 13, 1983, and has gone on to sell more than 2 million copies in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry Association of America. It featured several signature SRV tunes, including "Pride and Joy," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," the title track and "Love Struck Baby," not to mention the instrumentals "Lenny," "Rude Mood" and "Testify." The expanded version of the disc features one bonus track, “Tin Pan Alley” (aka “Roughest Place in Town)".
The reissue includes extensive liner notes by music historian Ashley Kahn. In his notes, he 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."
Here's the complete track list for the 30th anniversary edition of Texas Flood:
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”
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In the meantime, here's a sampling of the Ripley’s Music Hall show from October 20, 1983. (NOTE: This video and its audio have nothing at all to do with Legacy or the new album; it just happens to be available on YouTube):
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
