Stevie Ray Vaughan Discussion

[TTrahan]

What's everyone's favorite year or batch of years for Stevie Ray? Whether it be his guitar tone that year, the album that came out that year, or maybe the concert you saw that year?

My personal favorite year/s is the 1982-1984 era. Being concerned with tone as much as I am the song itself, makes me pick those particular years. I think his tone was the best then, with the 1987-1988 years being a close second.

I also like the die-hard blues guy SRV was in the early years, playing those redundant blues tunes, but making them sound so original and powerful. No one can play "Tell Me" like SRV, and make a classic rock fan instantly love the blues shuffle like SRV could. I know SRV played blues later on, but it was more blues/rock if you know what I mean.

Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand the Weather are my favorite SRV studio albums, Carnegie Hall is my favorite SRV live album, El Mocambo is my favorite concert/video, and Live at the Rome Inn 1982 is my favorite bootleg Cd that I own, all span from 1982 to 1984.

I love every year of SRV, but the one's I mentioned are my "benchmark" for playing, tone, emotion, and style.

What are your favorite SRV years? Or are ALL of them your favorite SRV years?

Cheers,

Troy

[voodoo364]

I think the tone on Texas Flood is incredible. Big Tone. Couldn't Stand the Weather is cool too. I actually like the rawness of the "Early Years" steamboat show. I really don't care for "Instep".

[FenderVoodoo]

I was first introduced to Stevie's music in 86-87, so of course, when I think back, those years had a big impact on me & I was just learning to play guitar. A few mos. later, I saw SRV & DT live (87) & several more times after that. I think that the tone I love the most was in the earlier years like you guys mentioned (Pre-Texas Flood, Tx. Flood & CSTW).

FenderVoodoo
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[UncleSalty]

Tone-wise, I'm a big fan of early SRV, particularly '84, the Couldn't Stand The Weather sessions and the Live At Carnegie Hall album. I also like the freshness and exuberance that comes through on the recordings from that period.

As a musician, though, I think Stevie's finest hour was in the period after he cleaned himself up, even if his tone wasn't quite there. Early Stevie is a force of nature, throwing everything at you in an effort to impress and often to cover his limitations, particularly as a vocalist. Late SRV is a little more refined, if no less powerful, and he's not afraid to put the focus on his voice. Early Stevie could never have recorded Life By The Drop.

In purely guitar terms, I love the way his later solos really complement the songs, rather than being their raison d'etre. Songs like Couldn't Stand The Weather & even Life Without You are built around their wonderful, grand standing solos. Crossfire & Tightrope are good songs with great guitar moments embedded in them. The solo on The House Is Rockin' is nothing special but, in that context, it's the perfect thing to play. I'm always impressed by players who have the confidence to hold back and play what's right rather than everything they can.

Unfortunately, we'll never know but I like to think that In Step was a transitional record for Stevie and that his next one would have combined all that experience into a blockbuster package - if not his Exile On Main Street, at least his Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs.

[TTrahan]

Salty,

I hear you. SRV definitely evolved in such a short period of time. He went through a makeover of some sorts in about 6 years.

It took Clapton years to kind of go through his 'different' phases.

[voodoo364]

I would agree Salty..maybe InStep was a transitional album?

[UncleSalty]

I think he felt a lot of pressure when he was making it. It was the first time he'd done a record sober and, as he hadn't released a studio record for about 3 years, it was kind of a comeback, too. Playing-wise, he sounds much more relaxed on Family Style, partly because Jimmie's sharing the load I'm sure, even if it's nowhere near his best work. He sounds like he's having fun for the first time since Couldn't Stand The Weather.