Customer Reviews

Texas Flood

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Plenty of people have written reviews of this album. All I wish to comment on is the quality of the SACD transfer.

I compared the SACD to the original (not the re-mastered) CD of this album, which has been in my collection for many, many years. I had both queued up in two separate players: a Sony DVP-S9000ES for the CD and a Sony SCD-E555ES for the SACD. I used the DACs in the players and used an "analog direct" setup to ensure that no further signal processing occurred. Levels were matched closely enough that we couldn't identify a difference.

With most of the program material we couldn't tell the difference between the two disks. The only difference I noticed with any regularity was a slightly increased sharpness of high transient sounds such as rimshots and cymbals. If there was any difference in guitar, vocals, bass, ambience or spaciousness, we couldn't hear it.

There are other albums that I own both a CD and SACD of where I can identify significant differences. In fact, with the multi-channel SACDs that I've listened to, the sound quality is magnificent. This disk just isn't one of them.

That said, this is one of my all-time favorite albums. This is my third copy (LP, CD and SACD) and even after almost twenty years it gets played frequently. I certainly recommend the album, but I'm not sure it is worth getting in SACD.

I respectfully disagree with A Music Fan from Ellensburg, WA USA - listening both on a friend's Marantz player, and my Esoteric transport / DAC combination, there are distinct differences between the CD release and the SACD on both systems. The SACD provides a delicious sense of depth and dynamics, and 'air' on the live tracks, that is lacking on the Redbook release. In addition, the shimmer of cymbals and the attack and release of SRVs guitar work (whether during ferocious or quiet work) is much more detailed and distinct on the SACD - the leading and trailing edges of notes are much easier to discern and follow.

In any case, you can't go wrong with this disc. Highest recommendation!

I strongly agree with Mr. Steinhauer's comments regarding the quality of this SACD release. If you enjoyed the LP (as I have for many years since it's original release), you will rediscover how good this recording is (and of course the music itself). For reference, I am playing the disc on a McCormack UDP-1. Both clarity and depth are outstanding. Man, this is good SRV. (Now I wish there was an SACD release of "The Sky is Crying!")

I've got about 30 SACD's now to complement the other 1,500 normal CD's. When I want really well-defined sound I often go for the SACD's. Unfortunately, this SRV disc is not that well engineered, as are a few others I own, and it is not really worth the extra money for the SACD version.

One would like to think that any SACD you purchase will be seat-of-the-pants better than it's normal CD counterpart, but that is not the case with this one. Not all SACD's sound superior to their CD mates, unfortunately, so let the buyer beware.

Gotta admit, definitely better than the regular or remastered cd.
I'm able to pick up a little better what his hand is doing as it crosses
strings. His ability to use all of his hands (fingers, palms) to drive rhythm and timing was just exceptional. Never did get a chance to see this man play.

Still looking for the other SACD version of "Couldn't stand the Weather". Not all stereo sacds provide enough there to improve on the regular cd.

Best SACD stereo mix bought to date is the "Dances with Wolves" soundtrack.


That said, peace SRV

I just love this cd, perfect blues played by a great guitar player and his band. If you want to be introduce to blues, this is the way to go.
You'll love this album. We miss you Stevie Ray !

To my mind, Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut album "Pride and Joy" is still his best. The songs are shorter, the guitar work more concise, and the tone more consistent than his later albums. Song structure tends to stick close to traditional 12-bar blues, with most solos limited to 24 bars (frequently less), in contrast to some of his later efforts, where epic treatments were the order of the day. And while Vaughan obviously draws heavily from his heroes, especially Albert King (just listen to King's "Blues at Sunrise"), he remains one of the few blues or rock soloists capable of creating extended phrases without ever sounding even close to getting lost or running out of ideas, heavy-handed though his playing sometimes was. But if you accept a definition of genius as doing what talent can not, how many other guitar players can you name that were better?

Stevie Ray Vaughan was the greatest blues guitarist of his era, and his debut album may be his very best. He hits us right out of the gate with "Love Struck", a rock'n'roll tune worthy of Chuck Berry, his voice tinged with whiskey and his guitar playing a breathtaking mix of flash and liquidity. "Pride and Joy" is a bluesy rocker after the style of B.B. King. "Texas Flood" is dynamite slow blues, while "Tell Me" is great medium-tempo blues, and "Testify" and "Rude Mood" are a little faster. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an amusing take on mid-tempo blues, and while the lyrics aren't emotionally overpowering, the reappearance of SRV's voice after a couple of instrumentals really makes this track click. "Dirty Pool" is another stupendous slow blues. "I'm Cryin'" is perhaps my least favorite, because it sounds a little too much like "Pride and Joy". But "Lenny" is a truly lovely instrumental for guitar: heartfelt, but delicate - a real departure, and a perfect coda for this album. Nobody ever played the blues better.

I was reluctant to pick this up because it's stereo and not a 5.1 mix. I have quite a few DSD titles and I've never really been blow away, definitely can be better than the standard release but this is the first title that really just blew me away and made me a believer in the potential for DSD stereo, if it appears, done right. So if you're a fan and have the equipment to play this then it is definitely worth picking up, of course at a reasonable price. Bit of surface noise, which you would expect but I didn't find it a problem. The crispness of the instruments is amazing... truely excellent 24 bit stereo sound! If only other titles were as sweet as this....

I think this is the better SRV album ever. A great blues/vintage sound with a lot of funny songs. LOVE STRUCK BABY: it's a Chuck Berry-style song, pure Rock 'n' Roll. PRIDE & JOY: pure texas shuffle, funny! TEXAS FLOOD: it's one of the SRV most famous songs, five minute of strong blues, deep and sad. TELL ME: a classic boogie song. TESTIFY: a powerful instrumental! RUDE MOOD: yeah! This is a Wonderful instrumental, great playing with a strong texas shuffle! MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB: a Buddy Guy tune, again shuffle and again fun. DIRTY POOL: a sad blues, with a clear (stratocaster) sound, it's a "from the heart" tune. I'M CRYIN': similar to Pride And Joy with more ringin' sound. LENNY: do you like jazz? Do you like blues? Do you like Hendrix? Yeah? So you love this wonderful instrumental! The bonus tracks include the live version of Testify and Mary Had A Little Lamb (a lot of energy more), with two others songs. TIN PAN ALLEY: great studio version, a blues stuff similar to Dirty Pool (this track fade out at 7:31). WHAM!: The title is the truth, an aggresive Lonnie Mack song, played live!

This is all... This remastered CD is a MUST HAVE for the Stevie's fan but also for all the blues lover, BUY IT!