FORCE of NATURE
Guitar Player|September 2023
Faced with a choice between David Bowie and his own band, Stevie Ray Vaughan took a bet on the blues and unleashed a torrent 40 years ago with his debut album, Texas Flood. Double Trouble’s Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton fill in the details.
MARK MCSTEA
FORCE of NATURE

AFTER 10 YEARS of grueling one-night stands, forging a reputation as a one-of-a-kind new breed of electric bluesman, Stevie Ray Vaughan was poised to make 1983 his watershed year. Stevie's Strat sprayed blistering licks across David Bowie's Let's Dance, released that same year, punctuating the songs with a dose of Texas grit and primo blues flavorings and taking Bowie's songs to a whole new level. It was only half of the story, though, as shortly after the release of Let's Dance, he delivered his startling, game-changing debut album, Texas Flood. While Let's Dance was a fantastic showcase for Stevie to sprinkle some of his Texas hot-sauce stylings, Texas Flood was the full-blown, no-holds-barred, real deal — arguably the greatest blues-rock album made since Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Winter were in their prime. Sure, there were plenty of great discs that might loosely fit the pigeonhole of blues rock, but their emphasis was always on the rock side of the tracks. With Stevie, blues was king.

Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Guitar Player.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Guitar Player.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA GUITAR PLAYERSe alt
How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"
Guitar Player

How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"

AI Stewart reflects on his beguiling hit, some 10 years in the making.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
UAFX
Guitar Player

UAFX

Teletronix LA-2A Studio Compressor

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
LINE 6
Guitar Player

LINE 6

POD Express

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
MAN OF STEEL
Guitar Player

MAN OF STEEL

He brought the Dobro to centerstage with his dazzling talent. As he drops his first album in seven years, Jerry Douglas reflects on his gear, career and induction in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024
HIGH TIME
Guitar Player

HIGH TIME

The new MC5 album took more than 50 years to arrive. The band members have all passed on, but the celebration is just beginning.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024
58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER
Guitar Player

58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER

As Guitar Player moves full-time to its online home, we look back at some of its greatest stories in print.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2024
DRAGON TALES
Guitar Player

DRAGON TALES

In a Guitar Player exclusive, Jimmy Page sheds light on the amplifiers behind his Led Zeppelin tone and how they live again in his line of Sundragon signature amps.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024
CLOSER TO HOME
Guitar Player

CLOSER TO HOME

Rehearsal space, studio, vessel and abode Diego Garcia's boat is the home base for his new album, as well as his musical life as the seafaring Spanish guitarist Twanguero.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2024
Funk Noir
Guitar Player

Funk Noir

With The Black Album, Prince made his greatest-and most infamousmusical statement.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
Medium Cool
Guitar Player

Medium Cool

Striking the middle ground between its Thinline brethren, Gibson's ES-345TD remains a versatile, if underrated, gem.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024