Alan Paul

Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughn by Alan Paul is a 2019 St. Martin’s Press publication.

This book made me feel like I’d been invited to a memorial service for Stevie, with everyone who knew and loved him, either personally or professionally gathered around sharing intimate memories of Stevie’s life from their own unique perspective.

I remember when Stevie died, perhaps more vividly than I might have because of a death in my own family just days before. Despite my show more personal grief, I was still in utter shock and disbelief. Yet, it would be years down the road before I was able to truly absorb the magnitude of his loss and the incredible void he left in the world of music.

This book is not written in the traditional biographical format. The presentation is unique, a compilation of interviews, reflections, and recollections.

I loved it!! Memories are so subjective. Sometimes people remembered events differently or had differences of opinion.

That gave the book a realistic quality and made me feel as though nothing was being glossed over or sugarcoated or left out, because at the end of the day we all experience events in different ways. Anything too pat, might be circumspect. This material came straight from the mouths of the participants. Their words were pure, unedited with no way to put a spin on it.

I think it is the unique layout of the book that gives it such a personal and emotional atmosphere. I admired the way the author assembled the information, letting those who were there, tell the story chronologically. Using this unconventional approach took some extreme organizational skills, and the author pulled it off quite nicely.

Over the years, the little details of Stevie’s life have slipped from my consciousness. This book brought back a few memories for me, not just musically, but geographically, since Stevie was a home- grown talent. There are so many talented blues artists, so many guitar heroes out there, but no one could touch Stevie Ray Vaughn. The guy was electrifying. It wasn’t just his skill- There was an aura around him, a presence, that spilled over his live performances casting a spell over his awed audience.

I miss Stevie a lot. I often wonder just how far he would have traveled musically and personally, as well. His life was clicking into place, coming together on all fronts. He was blazing hot with nowhere else to go but up. His death was a tragedy of epic proportions, only made worse by the knowledge that it was preventable. Hearing the various artists reflect on that fateful decision reiterates the senselessness of it, only compounding the loss even more.

In some ways, though, this book was cathartic for me. I never really got to grieve this loss has I have other artists who left an indelible mark on me. I enjoyed hearing these heartfelt, humorous, honest, harrowing, poignant, and inspirational stories about Stevie, learning a few details about his career I didn’t know, or had forgotten about over time. But mostly this book was a reminder of what a great talent Stevie was and how grateful I am for the influence he had on me and my great love affair with pure blues.

The sky is still crying…. show less

Stevie Ray Vaughan is apart of my childhood. I grew up with his music pulsing through our living room stereo, and I remember members of my parents rock band trying to emulate the incredibly talented blues guitarists during sunny Sunday afternoon jam sessions.

I still see August 27, 1990 vividly through nine year old eyes. I remember both my mom and dad beside themselves with grief, like a member of our family had passed away, and in a way they did. Stevie's music and talent had a way of show more touching lives far and wide and since he was a fellow Texan, I believe there was an unspoken kinship to the man, among other similarities. Us Texan's are proud of our own.

At the time, I didn't understand the tears, or why my parents left a photo of SRV on my moms keyboards in our living room for months after his death but, years later, I believe I have a better understanding, especially after reading Texas Flood.

Hearing about a life by those that lived that life with that person is unique, and that's exactly what Texas Flood is all about. Raw and real, you get a glimpse of who Stevie was at his core, his rise to stardom by those who were by his side, his long-time battle with drugs and alcohol, and the amazing story of him overcoming his demons, and finally going clean, only to be killed at the peak of his life on a plane that he wasn't supposed to be on. Oh those damn airplanes! So many of the greats lost by the same fate.

Stevie is buried in Dallas at the same graveyard as my cousin, who died before I was born. Visiting his grave reminds me just how close I feel to the rocker that I never got to meet, yet is apart of me. Reading Texas Flood brought me even closer to the legend, and for that I am grateful. He was an amazing talent that deserves to be remembered not only for his music but for the man that he was.

I cannot recommend this biography enough! I can honestly say that I've never read such a wonderfully unique tribute, and I am so happy to be reviewing this incredible work on my dad's 60th birthday! Happy Birthday Dad!!

*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions are completely honest, and my own. show less

Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan by Alan Paul is a comprehensive and enjoyable biography of SRV. Disclosure: I am a big fan, saw him about 17-20 times, and still feel very sad when I think too much about his death rather than his life.

This is a unique way to write a biography and took a few pages to get used to, but it ended up being a very compelling way to have his story told. Most biographies have the narrative provided almost entirely by the writer, with periodic show more quotes or allusions to comments others made. It is what we are used to and I think some readers may be put off by not having the story of his life laid out in a simple format. Here, the story is still there, Paul tells a little of the story, mostly contextualizing a period or moment in SRV's life, then lets those who knew him best actually tell the details of the story. Paul writes a lot more than some readers seem to have noticed, but they likely skimmed and missed the actual structure. The wonderful part of this style is that it felt less like someone did a bunch of research then tried to make it all into a story. Rather, it is like sitting around with all these friends, family, and other musicians and every time Paul moves the story forward they all share their memories from that time. I found it to be every bit as organized as the usual method and far more personal.

This is a nice mix of being about both his life and his music. Many biographies focus more heavily on one or the other when writing about an entertainer. I think Paul leans slightly toward the music side but not to the detriment of SRV's life as a whole. He includes details about guitars and amps but if you're not into those details they are not obtrusive, usually a sentence or less whenever a new piece of equipment is introduced. And lets be honest, in SRV's life the guitars were full fledged characters.

If there is a drawback to this style it leaves less room for speculation on the part of the biographer. That suits me just fine here since I don't want a lot of conjecture about hows and whys, I just wanted to gain some more insight into the life and music of SRV. But if you like biographies to include some speculation about aspects of the person's life, often psychologically based opinions, you might consider this a bit of a negative.

I would highly recommend this to fans of SRV as well as those who might like to read a lesser used form of telling a celebrity's life.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

Well written, warm and interesting. I like reading expat memoirs which don't revolve around buying and fixing up a house. Paul is an editor at Guitar World and a freelance writer and his wife works for the WSJ. They went to Bejing on assignment. This book could almost be two books - Paul's story of becoming the musician he wanted to be or the story of living the life of a temporary expat. My husband is a musician and this is the first book which gave me an appreciation for the process of show more playing in a band as an amateur, the joy of collaboration and the journey to being confidant and embracing the passion inspired by music. I also liked how he examined the limbo experience of being between cultures and homes, not only for himself but for hie young children, one of who was an infant when they arrived in China. Paul provides a totally different take on living and working in a foreign country - highly recommended. show less