[.ca] Couldn't Stand the Weather

From Amazon.com:
The second wind following Vaughan's torrential debut, Texas Flood, Weather is no less severe a storm. Vaughan classics such as "Cold Shot," "Scuttle Buttin'," and "Honey Bee" are flanked by reverent, impassioned takes on Jimmy Reed's "Tin Pan Alley" and Guitar Slim's slinky "The Things That I Used to Do. An ambitious, heavily improvised reading of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" finds the late Dallas native coaxing soaring, spitfire dialogues between his Texas-cured voice and blues-abused Stratocaster. Vaughan has inspired a whole school of guitar players. A class roster of "next Stevie Rays" includes Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Ian Moore, and Corey Stevens. Couldn't Stand the Weather constitutes a good chunk of the text, and it remains an exciting read, whether you're a guitar student or you just enjoy a classic thriller. --James Rotondi

It sure starts with a hiss and a roar...:
If you don't know what the hoop-la about Stevie Ray Vaughan was all about, you will after you listen to this. It kicks in with Scuttle Buttin', a cheeky, breakneck instrumental that will leave the guitarists amongst you wondering how on earth he did that, and continues to surprise and impress as it bounces merrily along its way. Outstanding highlights are the thermonuclear take on Hendrix's Voodoo Chile (and there are NO tricks - keen viewers are invited to check out Stevie doing this live on the jaw dropping "El Mocambo" DVD), the pulsing railroad boogie of the title track and the swaggering blues stomp of Thangs That I Used To Do. I have a fervent respect for those who, stooped in the idiom of the blues, solve all their problems by sending their women "back to mama" and playing their guitar as loud as they can, which Stevie Ray does with interest on all of his albums, but none more so than this. So that's a plus, too. To my mind the second side fades a little bit on the first. While certainly propped up by the smouldering slow blues of Tin Pan Alley, the other tracks are more dispensible: Cold Shot and Honey Bee don't really develop the trademark sound the band set out in Texas Flood, and Stan's Swang might be clever, fiddly jazz, but it still sounds like elevator music to me. Nevertheless, the first side is worth the price of admission alone, and the second is by no means discreditable.

SRV on SACD:
This review is for the SACD version of an established classic album. The remaster was good, this is better. Must have an SACD player to play this disc as Sony has so far only released single layer SACD discs while all the other lables releasing SACD material are dual layer and therefore backwards compatible. They will play in a regular cd player. But why would you want to. This SACD has a wider and much deeper sound stage. Snare and kick drum attacks here are very sharp and articulated. Midrange guitar notes punch you right in the stomach while Stevie's voice has incredible presence compared to the regular cd version. The slower, bluesy tracks including Stang's Twang really make you sit up and take note of the detailed sound this SACD offers. As Hound Dog Taylor and SRV said, "Give me back my wig and let your head go bald".

I have no review, S.R.V. was the best.:
I like a lot, this kind of music, S.R.V. was called, the white jimi hendrix of rock, both rest in peace.

His best studio album, but so what?:
Sadly, SRV was never able to capture the excitement of his live shows on his studio albums and as others have pointed out, he couldn't write (the SRV tribute album aside, no one will be covering his tunes in the future). Thirty years from now, people are going to wonder what the fuss was. SRV was not the best bluesman. He wasn't even the best white bluesman. He will be missed but the hyperbole in other reviews here is disturbing. If you are looking for an introduction to SRV, get a live album instead (the newly released set with Albert King -a real blues legend - is a good start).

Great CD.:
I haven't heard this SACD thing. But I have heard the other versions, I think it's one of Stevie's best albums. I has a classic Jimi Hendrix song on it(voodoo chile(slight return)), a great orignal song (couldn't stand the weather), and several other tracks, that are all great, Stang's Swang is a awsome track, It's a jazz track (if you are from the bay area you might have heard it on mornings on 2). I think every Stevie fan should get this, if they dont have it already.

• Scuttle Buttin'
• Couldn't Stand the Weather
• Things (That) I Used to Do
• Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
• Cold Shot
• Tin Pan Alley (AKA Roughest Place in Town)
• Honey Bee
• Stang's Swang