Couldn't Stand the Weather

1984 studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

Couldn't Stand the Weather is the second studio album by American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. It was released on May 15, 1984, by Epic Records as the follow-up to the band's critically and commercially successful 1983 album, Texas Flood. Recording sessions took place in January 1984 at the Power Station in New York City.

Stevie Ray Vaughan wrote half the tracks on Couldn't Stand the Weather. The album reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200 chart and the music video for "Couldn't Stand the Weather" received regular rotation on MTV. The album received mostly positive reviews, with AllMusic giving it a four out of five stars. It received praise for Vaughan’s playing and highlighted songs such as "Voodoo Child" and "Tin Pan Alley", but received criticism for the lack of original songs.

In 1999, a reissue of the album was released which contains an audio interview segment and four studio outtakes. In 2010, the album was reissued as a Legacy Edition containing two CDs with a previously unreleased studio outtake and selections from an August 17, 1984, concert at The Spectrum in Montreal, Canada, originally recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program.

Recording and production

During January 1984, Vaughan and Double Trouble spent 19 days at the Power Station recording studio in New York City. John Hammond was executive producer and supervised the sessions.^[1][2] The album was produced by the band along with Richard Mullen and Jim Capfer. The album was engineered by Mullen and Rob Eaton.^[1] Graphic artist Holland MacDonald designed the album cover art with assistance from Shostal Associates for the tornado image, a photograph of the 1957 Fargo tornado.^[3]

Reception

The album was another commercial success for Stevie Ray Vaughan, selling 1,000,000 copies within five weeks. In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote: "

Stevie Ray Vaughan's second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, pretty much did everything a second album should do: it confirmed that the acclaimed debut was no fluke, while matching, if not bettering, the sales of its predecessor, thereby cementing Vaughan's status as a giant of modern blues ... [However,] Vaughan didn't really push himself as hard as he could have, and the feeling that if he had, he would have come up with something a bit stronger.^[12]

Robert Christgau wrote in his review that "Though he comes close sometimes, this Texan ain't Hendrix. But between earned Jimi cover and lyric refreshment, album two is almost everything a reasonable person might hope from him: a roadhouse album with gargantuan sonic imagination."^[13]

Track listings

Original Release

Details are taken from the 1984 Epic Records album liner notes;^[14] reissues show several different songwriter credits.

1999 Reissue Bonus Tracks

"SRV Speaks" is from a studio interview with Timothy White for Westwood One Radio. The remaining bonus tracks are studio outtakes from the sessions for the album.

2010 Legacy Edition 2-CD reissue

Personnel

Double Trouble

• Stevie Ray Vaughan – guitar, vocals
• Tommy Shannon – bass guitar
• Chris Layton – drums

Additional personnel

• Jimmie Vaughan – rhythm guitar on "Couldn't Stand the Weather" and "The Things That I Used to Do"
• Fran Christina – drums on "Stang's Swang"
• Stan Harrison – tenor saxophone on "Stang's Swang"

Production

• Producers – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Richard Mullen, Jim Capfer
• Executive producer – John H. Hammond
• Engineer – Richard Mullen
• Assistant engineer – Rob Eaton
• Cover art – Holland MacDonald
• Photography – Benno Friedman

1999 reissue

• Producer – Bob Irwin
• Executive producer – Tony Martell
• Mastering engineer – Vic Anesini
• Tracks 10–13 mixed by Danny Kadar
• Dialogue edited by Darcy Proper
• Research assistants – George Deahl, Al Quaglieri, Matthew Kelly, Jon Naatjes
• Art director – Josh Cheuse
• Editorial director – Andy Schwartz
• Liner notes – Bill Milkowski

2010 Legacy Edition issue

• Photography – Jean Krettler, Robert Matheu, James Minchen III
• Liner notes – Andy Aledort

Charts

Certifications

Notes

1. Album notes & March 1999, p. 5
2. Prial & June 2006, p. 298
3. Album notes & March 1999, p. 4
4. Allmusic 2009
5. Christgau 2005
6. Schinder & April 1999
7. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
8. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
9. Coleman, Mark; Ryan, Chris (2004). "AC/DC". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 4. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
10. Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). New York: Canongate. p. 1611. OL 18807297M.
11. Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 667. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
12. "Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: Couldn't Stand the Weather – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
13. "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 2137". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
14. Couldn't Stand the Weather (Liner notes). Stevie Ray Vaughan. Epic Records. 1984. LP labels. FE 39304.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. Reissues list Michael Kindred and W. C. Clark
16. Reissues list Robert Geddins
17. Originally recorded in 1958–1959 by the little-known Sly Williams
18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 328. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
19. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6817". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
20. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
21. "Charts.nz – Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
24. "Stevie Ray Vaughan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
25. "Top Selling Albums of 1984 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
26. "Sydney Gold Street" (PDF). Cash Box. September 13, 1986. p. 31. Retrieved December 9, 2021 – via World Radio History.
27. "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
28. "New Zealand album certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
29. "American album certifications – S.R. Vaughan & Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Recording Industry Association of America.

References

• Miranda, Randy (August 7, 1984). "Huey Lewis Packs the Sun Dome". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
• "This Week on TV" (PDF). Der Spiegel. No. 34. Hamburg, Germany. August 20, 1984. p. 160. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
• Holden, Stephen (October 8, 1984). "Stevie Ray Vaughan, Guitarist, at Carnegie Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
• Kitts, Jeff (September 1, 1997). Guitar World Presents Stevie Ray Vaughan: From the Pages of Guitar World. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ISBN 978-0-7935-8080-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Couldn't Stand the Weather (booklet). Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. New York City: Epic Records. 1999. 65871.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
• Schinder, Scott (April 2, 1999). "Studio Album Reissues". Entertainment Weekly. No. 479. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
• Gregory, Hugh (August 1, 2003). Roadhouse Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Texas R&B. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-747-9.
• Dickerson, James (September 25, 2004). The Fabulous Vaughan Brothers: Jimmie and Stevie Ray. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-116-9.
• "Texas Flood Review". Robert Christgau. 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
• Prial, Dunstan (June 27, 2006). The Producer: John Hammond and the Soul of American Music. New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-11304-9.
• "Couldn't Stand the Weather – Review". AllMusic. 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2011.