Texas Flood

Vaughan and Double Trouble had performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1982 and caught the attention of musician Jackson Browne. He offered the band three days of free use in his Los Angeles recording studio. During Thanksgiving weekend, they accepted Browne's offer and recorded a demo.[1] It was heard by record producer John H. Hammond, who had discovered artists such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen among many others.[2] He presented the demo to Greg Geller, head of A&R at Epic Records, and arranged a recording contract.[3][4]

Since the first day of production largely involved setting up equipment, Texas Flood was recorded in two days,[5] with no overdubs.[6] In early 1983, subsequent to the band's signing with Epic, they were given an advance of $65,000 to re-master the recordings.[3] The album was mixed and mastered in New York City.[3] The recordings were released as Texas Flood in June 1983.

Bassist Tommy Shannon recalls of the sessions, "It really was just a big warehouse with concrete floors and some rugs thrown down. We just found a little corner, set up in a circle looking at and listening to each other and played like a live band."[5] Vaughan used two Fender Vibroverbs and a 150-watt Dumbleland Special owned by Browne. Engineer and co-producer Richard Mullen says of his production techniques:

Just one mic on everything. I used two Shure SM57s on his guitar amps—one on a Fender Vibroverb with a 15-inch Altec Lansing speaker, and one on a Dumble 4x12" bottom (with Electro-Voice speakers) connected to a Dumble head. Stevie played through two Vibroverbs, but I only miked one of the speakers in one of them. I positioned the mics about three or four inches off the cabinet at about a 45 degree angle to the cone. The only effect he used was an Ibanez Tube Screamer.

— Richard Mullen, [7]

Vaughan and Double Trouble toured North America and Europe in June–December 1983 to support Texas Flood. On July 15, 1983, they performed at the Rooftop Skyroom Bar in Buffalo, NY, then July 20 the El Mocambo in Toronto and a film was released in December 1999 by Sony named Live at the El Mocambo on DVD. A performance from Austin City Limits was also released on the video Live from Austin, Texas. On August 22, 1983, the band performed a sold-out concert at The Palace in Hollywood.[8] The show was broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour and three tracks were included on the reissue of Texas Flood.[9] The tour continued on through Europe and the band appeared at the Reading Festival in England.[10] They went back to the United States and opened 17 shows for The Moody Blues.[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[13]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[14]
MusicHound Blues	3.5/5[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[17]
The Village Voice	B[18]
Classic Rock	[19]

Texas Flood was released on June 13, 1983, with two singles released from the album—"Pride and Joy" and "Love Struck Baby". "Pride and Joy" peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Texas Flood" was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Performance and "Rude Mood" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The album was mostly well received by critics. A five-star AllMusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as a "monumental impact" and said it "sparked a revitalization of the blues". Despite many positive responses, it also received some negative notices with Rolling Stone criticizing Vaughan for a lack of originality and claiming that he didn't possess a distinctive style.

Texas Monthly gave the album a positive review, calling Vaughan "the most exciting guitarist to come out of Texas since Johnny Winter".[20] In a less enthusiastic review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau felt that the album lacked "momentum and song form", which he averred to be the essence of rock and roll. It was the lack of these characteristics that was, he said, the reason his attention wandered "after the kickoff originals 'Love Struck Baby' and 'Pride and Joy.'"[18] The album peaked at #38 on the Billboard 200 chart immediately after its release. It went platinum in Canada and double-platinum in the United States, selling over 2,000,000 units.

On Dec. 21st, 2020 it was announced that the album was a 2021 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame in recognition of its historical significance.[21]

Double Trouble

• Stevie Ray Vaughan – guitar, vocals
• Tommy Shannon – bass
• Chris Layton – drums

Production

• Produced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Richard Mullen, Tommy Shannon, and Chris Layton
• Executive producer – John H. Hammond
• Production assistant – Mikie Harris
• Engineered by Richard Mullen, assisted by James Geddes; Vocals on "I'm Cryin'" recorded by Lincoln Clapp
• Mixed by Lincoln Clapp, assisted by Don Wershba and Harry Spiridakis
• Mastered by Ken Robertson
• Cover art by Brad Holland
• Tray card photo by Don Hunstein
• Art direction by John Berg and Allen Weinberg

1999 reissue

• Executive producer – Tony Martell
• Produced by Bob Irwin
• Mastered by Vic Anesini
• Track 12 mixed by Danny Kadar
• Dialogue edited by Darcy Proper
• Research assistance by George Deahl, Al Quaglieri, Matthew Kelly, and Jon Naatjes
• Art direction by Josh Cheuse
• Editorial direction by Andy Schwartz
• Liner notes by Michael Ventura

• Texas Flood at Discogs