Stevie Ray Vaughan

[DavidC]

Digging through my parents' cd collection is cool.

[newhizzle]

stevie ray vaughn is the [censored]

[Roybert]

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Digging through my parents' cd collection is cool.

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On average, he was very good. At times he was the best.

[Uglyowl]

In the top five best guitar players ever, glad you discovered him.

[DavidC]

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In the top five best guitar players ever, glad you discovered him.

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When you listen to this guy you can hear just the tiniest bit of the same influence that's worked with Floyd (Little Wing is an example). It's pretty sweet, though this is a sort of livelier sound and less spacey. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

(Edit: Little Wing is a Jimmy Hendrix song?)

[istewart]

Clapton/Allman's "Little Wing" is the best rendition IMO.

[rusellmj]

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(Edit: Little Wing is a Jimmy Hendrix song?)

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Yep, hear it, you will be glad.

[kidcolin]

I'm not even much of a blues fan, but he was so tasteful and creative. The master of just tiny tweaks in picking and switching between scales.. he's great.

[MrTrik]

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stevie ray vaughn is the [censored]

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[imported_The Vibesman]

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In the top five best guitar players ever, glad you discovered him.

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When you listen to this guy you can hear just the tiniest bit of the same influence that's worked with Floyd (Little Wing is an example). It's pretty sweet, though this is a sort of livelier sound and less spacey. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

(Edit: Little Wing is a Jimmy Hendrix song?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Try to check out the live videos that are out there, esp. Live At The El Mocambo, and the Austin City Limits collection. Insanely good stuff. Every album is incredible, tho I'm not a big fan of Live Alive, just because I have a some bootlegs that sound better.

Hendrix's version of Little Wing is great too - don't know if you've ever heard it but it's got lyrics. I'm not crazy about the Derek and the Dominos version that someone cites in this thread.

In addition to Hendrix, Albert King was a huuuuuge influence on Stevie, which you can hear on just about every single slow blues Stevie does. Check out Albert King if you can. Also T-Bone Walker and Buddy Guy. If you're new to the blues, Buddy Guy is probably the easiest to start with, as he's the most accessable to rock fans.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going somewhere to feel extremely old.

[FouTight]

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(Edit: Little Wing is a Jimmy Hendrix song?)

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Yep, hear it, you will be glad.

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Yeah, this is the main reason I'm not a huge SRV fan. Listen to the jimi version of this song, what did SRV do to improve this song? Take the vocals out? thats about the only change that I can tell.

Great song, I'm always disapointed when the radio stations play the SRV version though.

[imported_The Vibesman]

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(Edit: Little Wing is a Jimmy Hendrix song?)

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Yep, hear it, you will be glad.

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Yeah, this is the main reason I'm not a huge SRV fan. Listen to the jimi version of this song, what did SRV do to improve this song? Take the vocals out? thats about the only change that I can tell.

Great song, I'm always disapointed when the radio stations play the SRV version though.

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Wow. Have you ever listened to the SRV version the whole way through?

Hendrix's song has two verses and a solo, which acts as a chorus, and only rings out for one rep before fadeout.

Stevie's takes the intro and leads into at least 3 or 4 verses, playing jazz-influenced variations on the lyrical theme, before roaring into the chorus, based on Hendrix's closing solo from the original, and then back to playing verses (1 or 2, I can't remember) and finishing up with two more choruses. It's a lot more involved of an interpretation than just "removing the lyrics," and covers a lot of ground that Hendrix didn't in the original.

The funny thing is, as good as the song is, it's not perfect, which is why Stevie never released it. It fades a bit after the 2nd chorus. Still good enough to be released on the first album after his death, and a concert staple for many years.

[cadillac1234]

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Digging through my parents' cd collection is cool.

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Holy crap do I feel old now...

[FouTight]

I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as the Hendrix version. When I listen to it, I feel empty, and wish that I had just heard the Hendrix version.

I'm techinically impressed with SRV, but his creativity never appealed to me.

[imported_The Vibesman]

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I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as the Hendrix version. When I listen to it, I feel empty, and wish that I had just heard the Hendrix version.

I'm techinically impressed with SRV, but his creativity never appealed to me.

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That's fine. I think everyone has their own taste, which is awesome, otherwise there would only be one radio station. I'm saying that Stevie Ray did a lot more with the song than just removing the vocals. That's all.
You're not alone, I've met a lot of people who like Hendrix's version a lot better. Met a few who liked the Derek and the Dominos version the best, which I don't understand, but that's their slant.

Interestingly, I've never met anyone who preferred the version by Sting. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[FouTight]

Heh, I was going to bring that into the mix. 'Nothing like the Sun...' is a great album, but that was certainly a weak attempt at a classic song.

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(Edit: Little Wing is a Jimmy Hendrix song?)

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Yep, hear it, you will be glad.

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Yeah, this is the main reason I'm not a huge SRV fan. Listen to the jimi version of this song, what did SRV do to improve this song? Take the vocals out? thats about the only change that I can tell.

Great song, I'm always disapointed when the radio stations play the SRV version though.

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SRV's version blows Jimi's out of the water. It's much better without lyrics and he extends it and just goes crazy. Jimi's version is just "OK" imo. Of course I may be biased b/c I heard SRV's version first. When I heard Jimi's I was like "WTF, there is lyrics?! Noooo.." lol.

[twang]

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Try to check out the live videos that are out there, esp. Live At The El Mocambo, and the Austin City Limits collection. Insanely good stuff.

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What he said. The El Mocambo concert is one of the best live videos I've seen. SRV looks like he is about to fall apart, all pale and unhealthy, probably due to years of heavy drugs. And the clothes... He's wearing a really strange women's blouse and a pair of funny pants stuck down in a pair of horrible western boots. I suppose that he tried to look like Jimi. The funny thing is that the performance is so unbeliveingly good that after a couple of notes you forget about how he looks. It's an incredibly powerful gig and a must see for anyone remotely interested in the blues.

[imported_The Vibesman]

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Try to check out the live videos that are out there, esp. Live At The El Mocambo, and the Austin City Limits collection. Insanely good stuff.

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What he said. The El Mocambo concert is one of the best live videos I've seen. SRV looks like he is about to fall apart, all pale and unhealthy, probably due to years of heavy drugs. And the clothes... He's wearing a really strange women's blouse and a pair of funny pants stuck down in a pair of horrible western boots. I suppose that he tried to look like Jimi. The funny thing is that the performance is so unbeliveingly good that after a couple of notes you forget about how he looks. It's an incredibly powerful gig and a must see for anyone remotely interested in the blues.

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Stevie's main drug was drink, and I'm sure he had imbibed.

He's the only guy I ever saw come out on stage in a powder blue japanese silk kimono and a feather boa and still be completely cool and manly. Frikken ruled.

[rusellmj]

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...playing jazz-influenced variations on the lyrical theme...

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This is what I never hear mentioned about SRV. Critics who've never dug that deep always spout blues, blues, blues, one trick pony, bla bla bla. These influences run throughout his music.

[imported_The Vibesman]

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...playing jazz-influenced variations on the lyrical theme...

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This is what I never hear mentioned about SRV. Critics who've never dug that deep always spout blues, blues, blues, one trick pony, bla bla bla. These influences run throughout his music.

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Yes, he especially dug Kenny Burrell, Chitlins Con Carne on the posthumous album The Sky Is Crying is a tribute to him.


Real quick, I'm doing this from memory:
Albums:
Texas Flood - the first, produced by the legendary John Hammond (who pretty much just turned the recorders on and the distortion down). Album contains mostly standard blues (as "standard" as Stevie Ray, anyway), with the solos from Texas Flood showing off his Albert King chops, and his Buddy Guy influence coming through Mary Had A Little Lamb, with a few notable exception, like Dirty Pool, which is bluesy but not really blues, and "Lenny," one of the most beautiful songs ever written, a masterpiece of an instrumental. Very jazzy, that one. This includes his hits Love Struck Baby and Pride and Joy.

Couldn't Stand The Weather - A departure to more rock-and-roll flavored stuff includes the title track (an amazing pure rock and roll song), Stevie's cover of Hendrix's Voodoo Chile - Slight Return, with a solo extended into more jazz-inspired area than Hendrix. Also includes the hits Cold Shot and Look At Little Sister.

Soul To Soul - Some of this material is a little more shaky than the last two. Stevie Ray cited this period as one of his roughest, in terms of his alcoholism and just plain exhaustion. But "Change It" may be my favorite Stevie Ray song ever, and is impossibly to pigeonhole into a genre. "Life Without You" is another beautiful ballad in the style of "Lenny" but with lyrics this time. The album is worth owning for these two songs alone, but there is more good stuff on there.

Live Alive - I just don't think it was done right. I know people that like it a lot. It's hard to find studio recordings of Willie The Wimp and Superstition, tho. Try to find bootleg live shows and check out the videos before going to this.

In Step - the last album Stevie released before he died shows him moving forward into some R+B inspired territory with songs like Tightrope, Crossfire, and Wall of Denial. Riviera Paradise is another jazz-inspired instrumental thing of beauty, and he stays true to his blues roots with yet another Buddy Guy cover, You Better Leave My Girl Alone. This may be my favorite album. These guys always die just when they're coming into their prime....

Of the records released posthumously, I can tell you that The Sky is Crying and In The Beginning are definitely worth owning. Sky is Crying includes the cover of Little Wing that has been debated here and elsewhere, In The Beginning is a live record recorded in the early days of Double Trouble, and includes some of the only slide guitar work on record from Stevie.

Sorry to bore you guys, I love this guy so much. I gotta get back to work now. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[CrazyEyez]

"Lenny" is so awesome.

Also, the SRV Tribute album is pretty sweet. It's pretty unpolished since it was basically ad-libbed, but it's awesome if for no other reason than the fact that it's an incredible collection of talent.

[jakethebake]

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Digging through my parents' cd collection is cool.

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On average, he was [censored] great. At times he was the best.

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I love the album he did with Albert king.

[imported_The Vibesman]

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Digging through my parents' cd collection is cool.

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On average, he was [censored] great. At times he was the best.

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I love the album he did with Albert king.

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I just recently found out this existed, and feel like the dumbest mf'er in the world because I don't have it. Getting it ASAP. Can't imagine that it wouldn't be fantastic.

[MonkeeMan]

You've struck gold baby.

IMO, SRV's Little Wing is tops, followed closely by Jimi's, Derek and the Domino's version is far far behind.

My favorite song is Tin Pan Alley (I think), Life By The Drop is so damn touching though.

Austin is a lot less fun w/o SRV.

[jakethebake]

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Austin is a lot less fun w/o SRV.

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Very true, although Jimmy still plays pretty regularly I think, and Double Trouble still plays around under various names. Not the same but still very cool.

[danzasmack]

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In the top five best guitar players ever, glad you discovered him.

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No.

He was very good, not top 5. As for jazz influences - most everything is influenced by jazz but stevie was a lot more rock n' blues than jazz. Just listening to his stuff you can confirm that as well as looking at his music (or learning it).

[imported_The Vibesman]

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In the top five best guitar players ever, glad you discovered him.

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No.

He was very good, not top 5. As for jazz influences - most everything is influenced by jazz but stevie was a lot more rock n' blues than jazz. Just listening to his stuff you can confirm that as well as looking at his music (or learning it).

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This "top 5 guitar players ever" thing is totally subjective, and if you mean technically proficient, I can't imagine who would care. Does it matter how many different scales and relative keys a guy knows if he just doesn't sound cool? The five best technical guitarists in the world probably don't even have any recorded material. I think Albert King is one of the best guitar players ever, and he only used one scale and like two hand positions the whole time.


"was a lot more rock n' blues than jazz." Did anyone say anything different? We said he had jazz influences AS WELL AS rock 'n blues. And guess what? Just listening to his stuff you can confirm that as well as looking at his music (or learning it).

[MonkeeMan]

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In addition to Hendrix, Albert King was a huuuuuge influence on Stevie, which you can hear on just about every single slow blues Stevie does. Check out Albert King if you can. Also T-Bone Walker and Buddy Guy. If you're new to the blues, Buddy Guy is probably the easiest to start with, as he's the most accessable to rock fans.

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Check out Buddy Guy's "Rememberin' Stevie", great tribute and re-creation of the SRV sound.

[PITTM]

i just put an SRV poster up on my wall yesterday. my two favorite recordings are the live video version of "texas flood" and a random live recording of "let me love you baby" that im pretty obsessed with. i <3 SRV. IMO one of the top 5 guitar players of all time. SRV+jimi would have been so [censored] rad i cant even begin to express it.

rj

[jakethebake]

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i just put an SRV poster up on my wall yesterday.

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Do you also drag your boyfriend out to auditoreum shores to light candles, place guitar picks and have sex under his statue?

<font color="white">Only people from austin will know what I'm talking about. </font>

[Predator314]

SRV is great.

True Story:

I got a friend that is a fantastic guitar player and he idolizes SRV. He can play a lot of SRV stuff VERY well.

Anyway, we're at the club one night and it's not very packed. There happens to be a band. Just 2 guys and their acoustics singing cover songs. One of the songs included the worst version of Sweet Child Of Mine I've ever heard. The guys weren't horrible, but kind of just strummed their guitars and sang. Nothing really exciting.

My buddy is pretty blitzed out of his mind at this point. The band takes a break. My buddy runs up to one of the guys and asks if they mind if he plays a song or 2 while they take a break. They didn't take him seriously at first, but figured after a while it would be worth it to watch him make a fool out of himself.

He gets up there on the stage... staggering... picks up the dude's guitar and just draws a complete blank on what to play. I yell out to him to play Pride &amp; Joy.

There he goes... just playing the crap out of this guy's guitar and the whole bar came to life when he played that song.

Honestly a girl next to me asked what the song was. I told her it was Pride &amp; Joy. She then asked me if my buddy wrote it. Me: "Well... most of it".

[Roy Munson]

Albert King's best work was with Buck Williams at Maryland during his junior year.

[PITTM]

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i just put an SRV poster up on my wall yesterday.

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Do you also drag your boyfriend out to auditoreum shores to light candles, place guitar picks and have sex under his statue?

<font color="white">Only people from austin will know what I'm talking about. </font>

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yes

[imported_The Vibesman]

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Honestly a girl next to me asked what the song was. I told her it was Pride &amp; Joy. She then asked me if my buddy wrote it.

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Hell in a handbasket. The world is going to hell in a handbasket, I tell ya.

[MonkeeMan]

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Albert King's best work was with Buck Williams at Maryland during his junior year.

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Surprised he didn't O.D.