Label: Epic Records.
Release Date: June 13, 1983.
Recording Time: 38 minutes.
Recording Date: November 22–24, 1982.
Recording Info: Down Town Studio (Los Angeles, CA).
Release Info: Studio & Live.
Styles: Blues-Rock, Contemporary Blues, Electric Blues, Electric Texas Blues, Modern Electric Blues, Modern Electric Texas Blues, Regional Blues, Texas Blues.
Releases: 1986 (Epic), 1990 (Epic), 1998 (Sony Music Distribution), 1999 (Epic/Legacy), 1999 (BMG/Sony Music/Sony Music Entertainment), 2000 (Legacy/Epic), 2004 (Sony Music Distribution), 2005 (Sony Music Distribution), 2006 (Epic/Sony), 2007 (Sony BMG), 2009 (CBS Records), 2010 (Sundazed), 2011 (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab), 2012 (Music on Vinyl), 2013 (Epic/Legacy), 2016 (Acoustic Sounds).
Principally recorded at Down Town Studio, Los Angeles, California and Riverside Sound, Austin, Texas. Live tracks recorded at The Palace, Hollywood, California on September 23, 1983. Originally released on Epic (38734). Includes liner notes by Michael Ventura.
It's hard to overestimate the impact Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut, Texas Flood, had upon its release in 1983. At that point, blues was no longer hip, the way it was in the '60s. Texas Flood changed all that, climbing into the Top 40 and spending over half a year on the charts, which was practically unheard of for a blues recording. Vaughan became a genuine star and, in doing so, sparked a revitalization of the blues. This was a monumental impact, but his critics claimed that, no matter how prodigious Vaughan's instrumental talents were, he didn't forge a distinctive voice; instead, he wore his influences on his sleeve, whether it was Albert King's pinched yet muscular soloing or Larry Davis' emotive singing. There's a certain element of truth in that, but that was sort of the point of Texas Flood. Vaughan didn't hide his influences; he celebrated them, pumping fresh blood into a familiar genre. When Vaughan and Double Trouble cut the album over the course of three days in 1982, he had already played his set lists countless times; he knew how to turn this material inside out or goose it up for maximum impact. The album is paced like a club show, kicking off with Vaughan's two best self-penned songs, "Love Struck Baby" and "Pride and Joy," then settling into a pair of covers, the slow-burning title track and an exciting reading of Howlin' Wolf's "Tell Me," before building to the climax of "Dirty Pool" and "I'm Crying." Vaughan caps the entire thing with "Lenny," a lyrical, jazzy tribute to his wife. It becomes clear that Vaughan's true achievement was finding something personal and emotional by fusing different elements of his idols. Sometimes the borrowing was overt, and other times subtle, but it all blended together into a style that recalled the past while seizing the excitement and essence of the present.
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Quite possibly the only electric blues/rock guitarist to come near rivalling Jimi Hendrix, Vaughan, who, like Hendrix, died tragically, was so good he was ridiculous. He was lacking in really good material, and his own compositions were mainly guitar workouts, such as "Rude Mood," although he shows great feeling on the instrumental "Lenny." He is much more comfortable singing non-originals, and on this album he covers Buddy Guy's "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and Howlin Wolf's "Tell Me," but the listener is still waiting for the bit where the guitar solo comes in. Poor Double Trouble barely get a look in.
Billboard Peaks: Billboard Albums 1983 - Peak 38, 64; Billboard Singles 1983 - Peak 20.
Personnel: Stevie Ray Vaughan – guitar, vocals; Tommy Shannon – bass; Chris Layton – drums.
Audio Mixers: Danny Kadar, Don Wershba, Harry Spiridakis, Lincoln Clapp.
Producers: Richard Mullen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Double Trouble.
Liner Note Author: Michael Ventura.
Photographer: Don Hunstein.
Credits: Vic Anesini - engineer, mastering; John Berg - art direction, artwork; Doyle Bramhall - composer; Josh Cheuse - art direction, artwork; Lincoln Clapp - engineer, mix down, mixing, mixing engineer; George Clinton - composer; L.C. Davis - composer; Larry Davis - composer; George Deahl - research assistant; Andy Denemark - producer; James Geddes - assistant, assistant engineer, engineer; Robert Geddins - composer; Buddy Guy - composer; John F. Hammond - executive producer; John Hammond, Jr. - executive producer; John Hammond, Sr. - executive producer, producer; Mike Harris - production assistant; Mikie Harris - production assistant; Brad Holland - cover art; Howlin' Wolf - composer; Don Hunstein - photography, tray photo; Bob Irwin - reissue producer; Danny Kadar - mixing; Matthew Kelly - research assistant; Chris Layton - drums; Lonnie Mack - composer; Tony Martell - executive producer; Richard Mullen - engineer, producer; John Naatjes - research assistant; Norm Pattiz - executive producer; Darcy Proper - dialogue editor; Al Quaglieri - research assistant; Ken Robertson - mastering; Andy Schwartz - editorial director; Joseph Scott - composer; Tommy Shannon - bass; Harry Spiridakis - assistant, mixing, mixing assistant; D. Taylor - composer; Daron Taylor - composer; Johnnie Taylor - composer; Stevie Ray Vaughan - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, producer, vocals; Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - performer, primary artist, producer; Michael Ventura - liner notes; Allen Weinberg - art direction, artwork; Don Wershba - assistant, mixing, mixing assistant; Tim White - producer; Timothy White - producer.
Tracks: 1) Love Struck Baby; 2) Pride and Joy; 3) Texas Flood; 4) Tell Me; 5) Testify; 6) Rude Mood; 7) Mary Had a Little Lamb; 8) Dirty Pool; 9) I'm Cryin'; 10) Lenny.
1999 Reissue Bonus Tracks: 11) SRV Speaks; 12) Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place in Town); 13) Testify" (live); 14) Mary Had a Little Lamb" (live); 15) Wham!" (live).
2013 Reissue, Disc 1: 1) Love Struck Baby; 2) Pride And Joy; 3) Texas Flood; 4) Tell Me; 5) Testify; 6) Rude Mood; 7) Mary Had A Little Lamb; 8) Dirty Pool; 9) I'm Cryin'; 10) Lenny; 11) Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place in Town).
2013 Reissue, Disc 2: 1) Testify (Live); 2) So Excited (Live); 3) Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (Live); 4) Pride And Joy (Live); 5) Texas Flood (Live); 6) Love Struck Baby (Live); 7) Mary Had A Little Lamb (Live); 8) Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place in Town) (Live); 9) Little Wing/Third Stone from the Sun (Live).
Recording information: Down Town Studio, Los Angeles, CA (11/22/1982-10/??/1989); Media Sound, Copenhagen, Denmark (11/22/1982-10/??/1989); Riverside Sound Studios, Austin, TX (11/22/1982-10/??/1989); Riverside Sound, Austin, TX (11/22/1982-10/??/1989); Sound On Sound Studios, NY (11/22/1982-10/??/1989); The Palace, Hollywood, CA (11/22/1982-10/??/1989).