Customer Reviews

Family Style

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the opening line from Stevie, "Roll, and I'll just feel something," the album is about feeling. Stevie's playing was effortless, and some even called him God's Radio, but his playing was always better when his big brother, Jimmie, was with him. Even though they weren't always in the studio together, laying down individual tracks to be mixed later, the magic is still there, and it shines when the brothers are playing together. Stevie reached the apex of his career with this album and "In Step" turning out the best music of his life, but lurking in the shadow, brother Jimmie came to his own here too. Jimmie voice makes its first appearance on an album as he sings. At times it is nearly impossible to tell which of the brothers is playing, but they each have a distinctive sound, which fit together perfectly as brothers should.

Every song on this album is spectacular. From the opening "Hard to Be" with Stevie on lead vocals and a cool theme over Jimmie's rhythm. Upbeat and fun. Next, it's Jimmie's turn to sing on "White Boots", with a slight Country flare. Who knew he had such a great voice? Stevie steps in with his distinctive sound and plays a great solo. They repeat the formula again with "Good Texan". The best song on the album is "Tick Tock". Just perfect playing from the brothers, and Jimmie's spoken intro sets the tone of the song, and Stevie sings it beautifully. A strong message in today's world. The brothers rock out with "Telephone Song" pulling out Wah-Wah solos and excellent rhythm. The album ends with the appropriately named "Brothers", an instrumental played on one guitar being passed back and forth between the two Vaughans. The brothers pass licks back and forth for five minutes. Powerful and haunting.

This is one of the greatest albums, and is a work of art. It is the album that defined when both brothers came into their own. It was one of Stevie's best performances, and it was a milestone where Jimmie reached the next plateau becoming a truly great player. There is real magic between the brothers, and "Family Style" showcases that magic. Unfortunately, Stevie passed away shortly after recording this album. After a few years, Jimmie stepped back into the recording studio for "Strange Pleasures" picking up where he left off after this album. The brothers will live on through this album.

After all those wasted years in which Stevie Ray had made music beyond the powers of most musicians but still not to his full potential, he returned to the things he loved: upbeat music and working with the brother he idolized his whole life. It's interesting that people have so many bad things to say about "Tick Tock", one of my all-time favorite Stevie Ray tunes. It seems that his fans were more interested in his macho stuff, which has its place, but weren't particulary taken with his gentler side. I don't think it's dated at all. I think in 25 years people will remember "Texas Flood" and "Tick Tock" as the bookends of his career. He didn't have to impress everybody in the world with his guitar playing anymore (though he still did, just because of his incredible ability). He could just play and sing what he liked while sitting next to the one musician whose opinion mattered to him more than anyone else's: Jimmie's. The album is a triumph. From the spoken opening of "Hard to Be" ("...roll 'n I'll just...feel something) to the last note of "Brothers" a new expansiveness to both of the brothers' musical vocabulary shines through. Of course, the tragedy of Stevie's untimely death colors our perception of this, his last album, but all in all this was the record he lived his whole life to make. This is a celebration of life, an album that never ceases to make me smile. And, at the end of the day, isn't that what all this is about?

It still hurts to listen to some music. Hurts because you know that the person that made it is gone, won't make any more music on this side of the veil, and definitely left too soon.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was just beginning to garner the widespread acclaim that he so richly deserved before his death in a helicopter crash in 1990. Family Style was his last studio release before his death, and he probably would have been pleased that on his last release that he was joined by his brother Jimmie Ray, at the time lead guitarist for the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

From Hard To Be to Baboom/Mama Said, this is just a fun, whimsical record that allows the brothers to play and have fun without taking too much too seriously, except for Tick Tock, the only serious song on the record and a very good message song.

Family Style is a great CD and a poignant reminder of talent lost to us much too soon.

as one of the last things stevie ray vaughan recorded, this album makes itself a necessity. it is fascinating to hear him stretch out into a variety styles here, sort of like jimi hendrix did on "cry of love," his last recording. but this album is also necessary because of the presence of jimmie vaughan, a great, sometimes overlooked, texas r-n-b guitar slinger. this album covers the waterfront from r-n-b to funk to blues to rock-n-roll. highlights are "white boots," a gutsy rocker; "d/fw," a blazing instrumental, "hillbillies from outer space," a nod to booker t. & the mg's; and the closing "brothers," a great blues jam. the album reveals both vaughans' respective styles, giving ample room for jimmie's finger-picking and stevie's wails. it also gives a nice look at all the different styles that have been amalgamated in the lone star state as the sounds of chicago, new orleans, and memphis have drifted to the southwest. this is a fine album. now the gripes, which are minor. i know srv landed a hit single with "tick tock," but now it already sounds dated. also, having seen both peformers live, the album subdues the fire both men have (had) in person, which is just part of a studio recording, i guess. well worth the price of admission...

At first I listened to this album as a Stevie fan, which is probably why I didn't like it. After experiencing a lot more blues, I listened to it again and liked it a lot more. There are some essential SRV songs on this album. Tick Tock, Telephone Song, Hard to Be, Long Way From Home, and the instrumental DFW are highlights. 3 of those 5 just happen to feature Stevie as a writer. Most of the songs Jimmie wrote aren't quite my bag of tea. I'm more into Blues Rock and they seem more country than Bluesey, but you might like them. Other than the songs, there are alot of weird sounds and voices which were kind of hard for me to look past at first they're supposed to be funny or something? The album would probably have gotten 4 stars if not for the track Hillbillies in Outer Space. See if you can listen to Tick Tock without thinking of John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change. There are a couple tracks where they just jam and it's pretty cool the first couple times. Overall it's a very unique album with a blend of a few very different styles of Blues. Check it out especially if you're a big fan of either Vaughan.

FAMILY STYLE by JIMMIE and STEVIE RAY VAUGHN is a true gem of music that was tragically the last studio album that SRV ever did. I think that might be a fact as to why many people might have got it in the first place, but I have always been a fan of SRV and I was looking forward to this album back in the day. Over a decade has passed and this is still an album that I truly enjoy and sometimes I am left wanting for more. The songs on the album all have a different feel to them, and in my opinion showcase all the different influences that helped to shape the brothers guitar playing. HARD TO BE, LONG WAY FROM HOME, TELEPHONE SONG and TICK TOCK are the songs that SRV has the lead vocals on, and those songs are truly great. SRV not only could play some mean licks on the guitar, but his voice was something that was always overlooked. WHITE BOOTS and GOOD TEXAN are songs with JIMMIE doing vocals and they have a more good time party going on to them that are also good songs. The other 4 songs on this album are all instrumentals that we get to hear the brothers do what they do best, play some killer guitar. I highly recommend this album for all those music fans out there looking for something that will truly move them.

I got this CD as a present from my sister when it first came out, and to this day, I can't stop playing it. With tunes like the rocking "DFW", the melodic "Tick Tock", the hard-driving, blues-influenced "Brothers", and the fun-to-listen-to "Good Texan" & "Boom Bapaboom", Family Style has a little bit of everything. Although Stevie's voice is usually only in the background, it is his talent of improvisational guitar-playing that I love to hear. Jimmy's voice, on-the-other-hand, becomes a soothing rhythm, backing-up his brother's hard-edge style of playing. I became a fan of Stevie & Jimmie just by playing this CD; and now I won't stop until I get all their music in my collection.

Family Style is perhaps Stevie Ray Vaughan's last record before his tragic death in 1990. I love Family Style for so many reason's mainly due to Stevie Ray Vaughan who was expanding his guitar vocabulary further than he had the previous year. Jimmie Vaughan was also at the peek of his career both of the brothers were a good mix between texas blues. I think for the most part the musicians were all different it added a new flavor to Stevie Ray's style. My very favorite song is Long Way From Home, and Brothers. Family Style would reach 7 on the charts becoming Stevie Ray Vaughan's most succesful album. I personally think this is a must have album for any die hard fans of the guitar. Buy this!

I have been a Huge SRV fan since my dad first played this when i was a young pup. Stevie had a way with 6 strings that about 95% of musicians don't have. This album is almost like Stevie knew what was around the bend in Wisconsin. From the beginning "Roll and I'll Just Feel Something" to the end where him and Jimmie are jammin on brothers this album is solid gold. Hard to Be has always been my favorite track but Telephone Song is a very close second. Every song has its own way of being a rock gem and you don't need to be a SRV fan to like this album, although by the end i feel you will be trying to get your hands on any other SRV material that you can.

The songs in this collection are light country, rock. This CD showes a lighter side to Steve Ray's music. I got intrested in this CD because Tick Tock was featured at the end of Steve Ray Vaughan's Live At Auston DVD. The last 3 tracks are what most people would say are traditional Steve Ray's style.