STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN: Couldn't stand the weather

"Before you go 'ho-hum, this has been re-issued before', let me tell you that what you may have thought you heard, is nothing compared to what is on these two, that's right, two records. Tony Hickmott of PPR has mined the Epic vaults and has found for us previously unreleased material. Ray Staff at Alchemy has, once again, delivered a brilliant sounding all analogue release. This is the finest sounding Stevie Ray Vaughan album you will ever hear!…It's shockingly good sonically and certainly does cement my feelings about just how good Vaughan really was. This was his second album for Epic and it certainly solidified his place in electric blues history. Not to be missed. Sheer magic." Recording = 8.5/10; Music = 9.5/10 – Richard Foster, Hi-Fi+, Issue 42

This is classic Stevie Ray Vaughan, now lovingly remastered from the analog tapes by cutting engineer Ray Staff in his Alchemy Mastering Soho studio.

With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush and Hubert Sumlin and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s. For about seven years, Stevie Ray Vaughan was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. His tragic death in 1990 only emphasized his influence in blues and American rock & roll.

From 1978 and for the next few years, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played the Austin area, becoming one of the most popular bands in Texas. In 1982, the band played the Montreux Festival and their performance caught the attention of David Bowie and Jackson Browne. After Double Trouble's performance, Bowie asked Vaughan to play on his forthcoming album, while Browne offered the group free recording time at his Los Angeles studio, Downtown. Both offers were accepted. Stevie Ray laid down the lead guitar tracks for what became Bowie's Let's Dance album in 1982. Shortly afterward, John Hammond Sr. landed Vaughan and Double Trouble a record contract with Epic, and the band recorded its debut album, Texas Flood, in less than a week at Downtown. Bowie offered Vaughan the lead guitarist role for his 1983 stadium tour, but he turned him down, preferring to play with Double Trouble. Vaughan and Double Trouble set off on a successful tour and quickly recorded their second album, Couldn't Stand The Weather, which was released in May of 1984. The album was more successful than its predecessor, reaching number 31 on the charts; by the end of 1985, the album went gold. From the blistering licks of "Scuttle Buttin'" to the bitchin' blues of "Tin Pan Alley" and the cover classic that is "Voodoo Chile," SRV really delivers on this 1984 recording.