# The Strange Magic of: Stevie Ray Vaughan



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Paganini of the electric guitar. His idol was Jimi, and though he never equalled him as a songwriter, he may have surpassed him as a master of the instrument. Vaughan "appeared to come out of nowhere, a Zorro-type figure in a riverboat gambler's hat, roaring into the 1982 Montreaux festival with a '59 Stratocaster at his hip and two flame-throwing sidekicks he called Double Trouble. He had no album, no record contract, no name, but he reduced the stage to cinders and, afterward, everyone wanted to know who he was", later said People Magazine. David Bowie sought him out, with the result that SRV played guitar on 6 selections on the Let's Dance album. Rock lost a treasure when Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in 1990 at the age of 35. Bowie joined many other musicians at SRV's memorial service. Here is Vaughan's stupefying version of Jimi's _Voodoo Child (Slight Return)_. I can hardly believe what I am seeing and hearing.


----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my favorite guitar players. His debut album, Texas Flood, is simply brilliant from start to finish. He has some great DVDs and specials available, including Live From Austin, TX. I recommend that everyone listen to "Texas Flood" and "Pride and Joy."


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

bharbeke said:


> Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my favorite guitar players. His debut album, Texas Flood, is simply brilliant from start to finish. He has some great DVDs and specials available, including Live From Austin, TX. I recommend that everyone listen to "Texas Flood" and "Pride and Joy."


So true. _Tin Pan Alley_ is another great song.


----------



## Kevin Pearson (Aug 14, 2009)

He was a gifted guitar player no doubt and since you compared him to Hendrix let me say I much prefer listening to SRV over Hendrix any day.

Kevin


----------



## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

"Little Wing" is a personal favorite:angel:


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Strange Magic said:


> Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Paganini of the electric guitar. His idol was Jimi, and though he never equalled him as a songwriter, he may have surpassed him as a master of the instrument.


Technically he was without a doubt superior and he had a lot of fire in his playing (altough I don't think that he has had a good influence on blues music for many reasons), but it must be said that Hendrix did a revolution in the way the electric guitar was used, Vaughan was a very conservative musician.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

norman bates said:


> Technically he was without a doubt superior and he had a lot of fire in his playing (altough I don't think that he has had a good influence on blues music for many reasons), but it must be said that Hendrix did a revolution in the way the electric guitar was used, Vaughan was a very conservative musician.


In general, I agree. Jimi Hendrix was the prototypical innovator; everyone working after is, in many ways, derivative by necessity. But a performance like SRV's of a Hendrix classic honors both the originator and the current performer--I think also of Clapton's incandescent version of Little Wing on the Layla album.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I had some chances to see him play, but I really wasn't into the blues all that much until he got more famous. By that time he wasn't playing in my town anymore. I wasn't always that crazy about his material, but I enjoyed his last album, In Step.

He did give the blues a big shot in the arm, which had positive repercussions throughout the 80s and 90s. As a result, a lot of local clubs popped up booking SRV's idols. You know, the black artists he worshipped, that couldn't fill big theaters and concert halls. So I got to see many of them close up. And I know he was happy for all of those cats.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Hendrix playing was more adventurous, he was more about spontaneous creation and sound exploration. Stevie Ray was more about performance and execution, he wasn't as bold as Hendrix in his approach, or as varied in his style. 

I do think Stevie Ray was a great guitarist and singer with a lot of charisma but also that in concert as the show goes on the music becomes a little "samey" perhaps a little one-dimensional - however it seems he was starting to diversify more around the time he died.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

tdc said:


> Hendrix playing was more adventurous, he was more about spontaneous creation and sound exploration. Stevie Ray was more about performance and execution, he wasn't as bold as Hendrix in his approach, or as varied in his style.
> 
> I do think Stevie Ray was a great guitarist and singer with a lot of charisma but also that in concert as the show goes on the music becomes a little "samey" perhaps a little one-dimensional - however it seems he was starting to diversify more around the time he died.


You are spot-on, here. There is no question that Hendrix was the innovator, the more adventurous of the two, and the more accomplished songsmith. I do think, though, that SRV would have both impressed and pleased Jimi, if he could have seen him at his best. Not everyone gets such a disciple.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

tdc said:


> Hendrix playing was more adventurous, he was more about spontaneous creation and sound exploration. Stevie Ray was more about performance and execution, he wasn't as bold as Hendrix in his approach, or as varied in his style.
> 
> I do think Stevie Ray was a great guitarist and singer with a lot of charisma but also that in concert as the show goes on the music becomes a little "samey" perhaps a little one-dimensional - however it seems he was starting to diversify more around the time he died.


What you're saying confirms what Johnny Winter said,


> I thought he was a flashy player who played pretty much the same style--you didn't notice him taking any chances.


From _Raisin Cain, The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter_ by Mary Lou Sullivan. Page 233.


----------



## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Sonny Sharrock leaves Vaughan and Hendrix in the dust.


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Eric Clapton and Duane Allman #1 and #1


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)




----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

It seems like all guitarist discussions tend to go straight for the comparisons to other guitarists, but let's talk for a bit about what Stevie Ray Vaughan did in his career.

He did a great job of expanding and reinterpreting his own songs in concert, making them different from the CD versions and dishing out killer solos. He had some great showboating moves like playing guitar behind his head without missing a beat.

His collaboration CD/DVD with Albert King also deserves mention. They complement each other's style and songs while still adding their own individuality to their guitar playing. The footage is mesmerizing to watch.

There are some of Stevie's songs that I do not care for as much as some of the online fans. Among them are "Riviera Paradise" and "Life Without You." I respect and applaud Stevie for sharing his outlook on life and sobering up with audiences on the latter during concerts, but it brings any momentum in the concert to a halt, and I generally do not like being preached to by musicians.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

bharbeke said:


> There are some of Stevie's songs that I do not care for as much as some of the online fans. Among them are "Riviera Paradise" and "Life Without You."


I'm not a huge fan of him but Riviera paradise it's exactly my favorite tune of him. Actually one of the very few smooth jazz tunes that I like.


----------



## Guest (Feb 5, 2016)

One of my musical "moments" was when a friend sat me down and said listen to this; it was Texas Flood. Stunning.
I much preferred his trio stuff before he added keyboards. I went to see him but the gig got cancelled.
Damn that helicopter.


----------



## Kevin Pearson (Aug 14, 2009)

bharbeke said:


> There are some of Stevie's songs that I do not care for as much as some of the online fans. Among them are "Riviera Paradise" and "Life Without You." I respect and applaud Stevie for sharing his outlook on life and sobering up with audiences on the latter during concerts, but it brings any momentum in the concert to a halt, and I generally do not like being preached to by musicians.


That is only your perception. Others may have called it sharing a conviction. Just because something makes you uncomfortable to hear does that make the message any less true? Perhaps he just hit a little too close to home? I think it's worth exploring why or what makes us feel certain ways because often it's not the artists but us who have the real issues.

Kevin


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

@Kevin: bharbeke's post says 3 things--A) he respects and applauds SRV for sharing his tale with the audience during concerts; B) it brings the concert's momentum to a halt, and C) bharbeke generally dislikes being preached to by musicians. All 3 of these attitudes and conditions can be and in this case are true simultaneously, certainly in my understanding, as i found myself in full agreement.


----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

It's one of those talks that is extremely important to SRV personally and may touch the lives of those who hear it. Hearing it once on a concert tour would be A-OK. Coming at this from a person going through archives of video footage from past tours, I don't really feel like hearing the message for the 100th time. Anyway, we do have fast forward and skip buttons, so it's not a big deal to me, just something on the con side of the ledger I thought I would share. Overall, as I said before, SRV is one of my favorite guitarists/singers, and I urge people interested in the blues to check him out.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Hendrix could get a little preachy at times too. Maybe not as much in between songs, but in his actual songs. I agree with those that don't really like the preachy aspect of the music, though many of my favorite bands/musicians are guilty of it to some extent.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

My original video of SRV performing _Voodoo Child_ has since been blocked, so here is another just as good. Ya gotta love The Man in Black, total master of his instrument, and outrageously cool....


----------

