Every Stevie Ray Vaughan album ranked
There’s always a great challenge in trying to make the blues interesting in the modern day. The legends like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters have taken the genre in more directions than anyone thought possible, so there’s no point in trying to go back to the drawing board and try to outdo the masters. You have to think of something different to make yourself stand out, and while Jack White used effects to get his point across and Gary Clark Jr used pure taste, Stevie Ray Vaughan got to the top of the charts with pure muscle.
As much as he could have laid back into the groove on many of his songs, there was something almost punk rock about the way Stevie Ray Vaughan played. Across every album he made, he was always set on going against the grain by playing into his Texas roots, and despite the blues not having any traction on MTV, it didn’t take people long to see the absolute legend that he was behind the fretboard in the 1980s.
But when looking at the precious few records he made during his lifetime, each provides a different glimpse of what he was trying to do. There would be a few tunes that sounded like he was trying to attack his guitars, and others he would break out the acoustic or focus on his criminally underrated rhythm playing, which may as well have been a well-oiled machine when the rest of the band came in behind him.
And while we never got to see what his music would have been like following that devastating plane crash, some pieces are always going to be essential for anyone even mildly interested in blues. The genre may have been going out of style, but all it takes is the right hands to prove to everyone why playing the blues is a universal language.
Every Stevie Ray Vaughan album ranked:
Soul to Soul (1985)
By the mid-1980s, nothing could stop Vaughan from becoming one of the biggest names in music. Everything was lined up for him after tunes like ‘Pride and Joy’ started storming up the charts, and with two albums under his belt, he had the power to conquer the world if he had wanted to. But while Soul to Soul is still a fine helping of blues rock, there’s a certain ex-factor missing whenever he steps up to the microphone on this one.
It goes without saying that the playing is excellent, but outside of tunes like ‘Life Without You’ and the stellar cover of ‘Look At Little Sister’, many of the songs feel like they were either half-finished or cut in between touring. It’s entirely forgivable given that Vaughan was an absolute monster live, but compared to the stellar work he had done thus far, it’s hard to look at this as a step down. But granted, this is a case where it’s a step down by mere inches.
Family Style (1990)
Ever since Stevie’s death, his brother Jimmie has always been proud to carry on his brother’s legacy. He was playing on the same shows that his brother was when he was killed, and if he couldn’t have saved him from that horrific crash, he knew that the best way to do right by his brother is to keep the blues flowing every time he played. And while Family Style doesn’t stand in the same area as his mainline albums, it’s a thing of beauty to hear both of them duetting with each other.
Compared to the other collaboration records done by artists like Eric Clapton and BB King, all of the solos here feel more like a conversation between the two, with Stevie communicating with everyone from the great beyond. All of the finishing touches on this album were made before Stevie’s passing, so when pairing it against his other studio albums, this is the kind of labour-of-love that showed a glimpse into what could have happened if Double Trouble decided to add another guitarist.
The Sky is Crying (1991)
Not every blues artist is necessarily known for their composing skills. As much as the blues is about being authentic compared to your peers, it’s much easier to get by playing someone else’s material half the time. When the rest of Double Trouble were left to pick up the pieces after 1991, though, The Sky is Falling is the perfect amalgamation of everything Vaughan was both as a player and as an artist.
Does that mean we were in for the blues-rock version of Made in Heaven? Not necessarily. It’s clear that some of the performances are incredibly rough or weren’t good enough to be featured on mainline albums, but when he shines, it’s blinding compared to everything else in his catalogue, like his beautiful rendition of Hendrix’s ‘Little Wing’ or breaking out the acoustic on ‘Life By the Drop’. It’s a shame that Vaughan didn’t have enough vocal takes down, but all the instrumentals on this record highlight what a special player he was without having to throw words into the mix.
In Step (1989)
Any rockstar will have their fair share of demons before they’re through, and Vaughan was no exception. It was one thing to play like a madman every single time he got onstage, but after years of doing a number on his body on the road, he decided to finally change his ways and go to rehab to get over his drinking habit. And when he was finally dried out, Vaughan made sure to channel every bit of that pain back into his music on In Step.
The record itself is a much more sombre affair than his previous outings, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Considering how much the blues is indebted to sorrow and pain, his flirtations with other genres like jazz in between the traditional jams give his songs more depth after each passing listen. And had he been around to release more music, perhaps we could have seen how Vaughan would have fared against Clapton when making his unplugged version of his music.
Couldn’t Stand the Weather (1984)
Every single musician lives in fear of the sophomore slump. As much as people like the idea of writing their records for years at a time, writing an entire album’s worth of material in a few months is what separates the artists from the ones doing it as a hobby. Vaughan was always in it for the long haul, so Couldn’t Stand the Weather was nothing but another helping of the most gritty blues licks anyone had ever heard.
Some of the songs are admittedly a little lighthearted than usual like ‘Cold Shot’, but there are also a few tunes that leave the previous album in the dust, like the shot of adrenaline on ‘Scuttle Buttin’ and having the cajones to cover the Jimi Hendrix classic ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’ and get away with it. ‘Stang’s Swang’ is one of the only pieces holding this album down from sharing the number-one spot, but there’s no shame in getting a near-perfect score on the second try.
Texas Flood (1983)
For a brief second, it looked like Stevie Ray Vaughan was going to become known as a pop guitarist before he made a name for himself. He already contributed the best licks to grace any David Bowie record on ‘Let’s Dance’, but when he wasn’t able to take his band out on tour, he knew that he would rather keep his integrity than go on every night playing songs he wasn’t keen on. It was a massive gamble to stick by his principles, but Texas Flood serves as the best case of him trusting his instincts.
From his massive grit on the guitar to introducing the world to his smoky voice, Texas Flood has everything that a great blues-rock artist is supposed to. While it is home to his signature single ‘Pride and Joy’, the best moments on the record are when he’s veering off in different directions, like kicking off the record on the fast-paced ‘Love Struck Baby’ or playing off Double Trouble perfectly on ‘Rude Mood’, which would only get better once they played it live. And closing up shop with the beautiful instrumental ‘Lenny’, every song on here is the complete package of why Vaughan was one of a kind and why he should be so missed.
