Customer Reviews

Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire

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I received Caught in the Crossfire as a gift, and I must admit I was skeptical at first. The ominous black cover featuring SRV's silouette seemed to serve as a warning of its content. I feared that the book would only undermine what every fan, indeed everyone who has ever heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan, already knows. That he was, for so long "caught" in a world of reckless drug abuse and alcoholism, but somehow managed to make it to the top. What I found was a biography, mostly matter-of-fact, which left no stone unturned in its research. Every friend, colleague, artist; famous or infamous, who impacted Stevie's career and tragically short life finds their way onto the pages of this work. The bibliography of interviews, while not necessarily reading as a "who's who" in the world of blues, includes individuals who were closest to the guitar legend throughout his life. Paramount of these is his own brother Jimmy. Though not mentioned in the list of exclusive interviews conducted for the book, Jimmy Lee Vaughan's influential guidance in the life of his younger brother is well documented by Patosky. As SRV's hero and kin, we learn where much of Stevie's love for blues music and guitar is rooted. Stevie's mentors in music, from blues legends Albert King and Albert Collins, to Jimi Hendrix and Bonnie Rait are uniquely enveloped in the carnival of ups and downs, triumphs and tragedys of his life. Though at times it tries to unnecessarily re-enact moments in an almost movie script-like format, Caught in the Crossfire is without question the most in depth biography to date of the life of one of the greatest guitar players of our time. It is very well written, and a must for any fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan's music.

I'm a guitar player and a huge fan of music and the blues specifically. Although I never had a lot of SRV's records, his playing blew me away, as it did most folks. Many years after his death I thought I'd read this and I absolutely couldn't put it down. Patoski transports you back to SRV's beginnings - his family, his famous brother, the bars and dives he played while paying his dues. I've never had a better overview of the Texas music scene spanning over 20 years. But most of all, this book made me love the man. Stevie overcame great obstacles. He conquered his addictions and became a living example of a survivor, only to die tragically in a helicopter crash. It truly broke my heart after reading this book and learning the details of his life. Not only for music fans, but also for anyone wanting to read about recovery and redemption. This story would make a great movie.....but it would be a tear-jerker.

Very detailed. The author conducted what must have been hundreds of interviews with friends, acquaintances and family. He consulted as many newspaper and magazine articles and no doubt walked the streets of Austin and Oak Cliff. The result is a detailed description of his subject and the environment. Yet it's not a forest for the trees situation. The details do not drown out the overall story. Sometimes excessive details can make a book boring or hard to follow. Not in this case.

The author begins the story with the Vaughan's migration to Texas from Kentucky. He also describes the evolution of Dallas as a music town starting as early as Blind Lemon Jefferson. Stevie's years as a school boy in Dallas, his years playing small clubs in Austin, and his nonpublic life are described in as much detail perhaps more indepthly than his life as a famous blues superstar.

SRV lived his entire life the same way he played guitar: pedal to the metal. Drugs, girls, partying, jamming were all done fast and hard until he passed out from exhaustion. After 18 hours or more of sleep, it would start all over again.

After decades of life pedal to the metal it is amazing that he survivied. But he didn't just survive. He cleaned himself up and became a better person. It seems like he was a nice person. He spent a lot of effort helping other musicians especially underappreciated blues musicians. He insisted that his Double Trouble bandmates received the same salary as he even though clearly SRV was the only reason people came to see Double Trouble.

The book also explores the mystery of the 1982 Montreaux Jazz Festival performance where the band was booed. Besides a couple of freaked out hippies dancing in front, the rest of the crowd (probably arthouse goons) sat and watched the performance in contempt and booed enthusiastically in between songs. The book offers an explanation, but perhaps in some minds the crowd's behavior at that event will remain an enigma.

Summary: good book, well written. If you like SRV, then you won't regret having gotten this book.

This is a better than average biography. It's well written and the story flows nicely. It depicts the life of Stevie the child (lonely, insecure, shy; and extremely talented though highly intoxicated), straight through to Stevie the man (loving, outgoing, helpful; extremely talented still, though very sober). All too often people pass away at a time in life when all of the demons inside of them have been put to rest. God must see that as a successful ending and a good time to be brought home. SRV's blues guitar style and spirited persona will live on with us forever. This book was an excellent read.

The life story of Stevie Ray is one of the most interesting I have had the opportunity to read. The book starts years before his birth until after his passing, and this book really clues you in to how he became such and intense player. His story is about a man following in his brothers foot steps who decided the only direction in his life was to play guitar wheather he lived in the gutter or lived rich and famous. It opens your eyes into the musician's life styles and how they got there.
The only drawback to the book was that sometimes the authors get side tracked into too much detail (history of Dallas, Austin, his Mother and Father...), and the language is pretty rough throughout the book. The story of Stevie Ray's life is written well enough that I read the book a second time as soon as I finished. Stevie Ray Vaughn had a unique life.

The Austin, Texas authors start out with Little Stevie (he became known as Stevie Ray much later) sneaking to hold and attempt to coax some music from his brother's guitar. Throughout the book, there is the challenge of being as good as his brother. (Although he was much better....later on...Stevie Ray would always say that his brother was better.) From there, it leads through his life, including the artists that he listed to on records and over the AM radio. It was, according to the authors, a conglomeration of the varied styles of guitar players like Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and others that became the well known, and superlative playing of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His life would not be fully and fairly presented without SRV's addiction to cocaine and to alcohol, which is made an integral (and very necessary) part of this book, and his conquering of these addictions almost four years prior to his death on a foggy morning on a helicopter leaving a concert in Wisconsin. The book is not perfect, but which one is? Still, it held me throughout the writing and made me know and somewhat understand SRV so much better. Fan or not of SRV, it is a very good read.

Stevie Ray Vaugahn: Caught in the Crossfire is a very insightful, informative look into the life and career of Stevie Ray Vaughan. This book concerns itself with details while remaining flattering to the fans of Stevie Ray without boring the casual reader. A great book that I have purchased on two different occasions and read more times than I can remember. A highly recommended purchase for anyone with any interest in Stevie Ray Vaughan.

It is very difficult to let go of this book once you've started reading it. The narrative flows effortlessly, and it is very easy to read without stopping. Not only it gives an ample view on the life of the late guitarrist, but it is also a lesson in musical history. One can easily build a record collection by simply searching all the references present in this very entertaining tome. More pictures would be welcome in future reissues, though. But as it is this books presents itself as a must for everyone who's interested in the life of SRV or anyone who is a blues enthusiast.

After much hype about this book, Caught in the Crossfire, I had to see for myself. I received this book as a gift and immediately picked it up to read it. I read 7 chapters in the first night.

Being an avid fan and well-read on Stevie and the blues, I was expecting to find something wrong or at least something to contradict what I had read before. Not in this book. One can see the research that Patoski put into this book and how much he cared about his work.

Patoski documented Stevie's life from the time he was born until the time of death. He included everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. After all, isn't that what life is all about? And isn't Stevie and his music about life? Patoski showed the reader that although Stevie was in a battle against himself, he also gave the optimistic feeling that Stevie would one day realize his problems and fix them. This gives the reader a feeling of hope, as in real life.

Caught in the Crossfire documents Stevie's childhood, his pain of being made fun of at school by the other kids, his constant living in brother, Jimmie's, shadow until later, his alcohol/drug abuse, and his triumph over his personal demons. Although Stevie went through so many harsh things in life, this book shows Stevie's sweet nature and how it stayed through all his troubles.

Although the book was great and the information was very accurate and precise, there were times when I thought I was reading pieces of poetry. Just one word here or a couple of words there that seemed a little too cliche or too expected. Possibly even overused.

However, this didn't affect the way the book afflicted my soul. Near the end, the author just tends to use the right way of wording and touch the reader's heart, almost as if one was feeling Stevie Ray right there reading along with them, giving them a Blues Oasis which will quench their soul.

This biography on Stevie Ray Vaughan is the best I have seen so far. To me, it is the defining biography until Dan Forte comes out with the "official" bio. It shows that while many view Stevie as a god, and thought that he was this mystical figure, it shows that he was just an average joe, who happened to have extraordinary abilities. The most interesting part of the book to me is when the fan presents him with a rubbing of Hendrix's gravestone, and he tells the fan to get rid of it, saying that it is too creepy. This book also shows how Stevie became who he was, and how the insecurities that he had enabled him to become the great guitar player that he was. I've reread this book 6 times since I owned it. It's like my favorite movie: I just keep going back to it again and again. Rave On Stevie Ray, may you rest in peace, and may you play a hell of a jam with Hendrix and Albert King in that Great Gig In The Sky.