Couldn't Stand the Weather

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.

Couldn't Stand the Weather
Studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Released	May 15, 1984
Recorded	January 1984
Studio	Power Station, New York City
Genre	Blues rock Texas blues
Length	38:08
Label	Epic
Producer	Stevie Ray Vaughan Double Trouble Richard Mullen Jim Capfer
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble chronology
Texas Flood (1983) Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984) Soul to Soul (1985)

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 an August 17, 1984, concert at The Spectrum in Montreal, Canada.

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.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
MusicHound Rock	4/5[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Great Rock Discography	6/10[10]

The album was another commercial success for Stevie Ray Vaughan, selling 1,000,000 copies within five weeks. 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.[11]

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."[12]

Track listings

Original album

Details are taken from the 1984 Epic Records album liner notes;[13] reissues show several different songwriter credits.

Side 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Scuttle Buttin'"	Stevie Ray Vaughan	1:49
2.	"Couldn't Stand the Weather"	Vaughan	4:40
3.	"The Things (That) I Used to Do"	Eddie Jones a.k.a. Guitar Slim	4:53
4.	"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"	Jimi Hendrix	7:58

Side 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Cold Shot"	K. Kendrid, arr. Vaughan[14]	3:57
2.	"Tin Pan Alley"	J. Reed[15]	9:10
3.	"Honey Bee"	Vaughan	2:40
4.	"Stang's Swang"	Vaughan	2:41

1999 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"SRV Speaks"		1:08
10.	"Hide Away"	Freddie King, Sonny Thompson	4:04
11.	"Look at Little Sister"	Hank Ballard	2:46
12.	"Give Me Back My Wig"	T. R. Taylor a.k.a. Hound Dog Taylor	4:07
13.	"Come On (Part III)"	Earl King	4:33

2010 Legacy Edition 2-CD reissue

Disc 1 – bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"Empty Arms"	Vaughan	3:28
10.	"Come On (Part III)"	King	4:33
11.	"Look at Little Sister"	Ballard	2:46
12.	"The Sky Is Crying"	Elmore James	4:12
13.	"Hide Away"	King, Thompson	4:03
14.	"Give Me Back My Wig"	Taylor	4:08
15.	"Boot Hill"	Unknown[16]	2:23
16.	"Wham!"	Lonnie Mack	2:27
17.	"Close to You"	Willie Dixon	3:11
18.	"Little Wing"	Hendrix	6:49
19.	"Stang Swang"	Vaughan	2:44

Disc 2 – live in Montreal

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Testify"	The Isley Brothers	4:37
2.	"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"	Hendrix	11:53
3.	"The Things (That) I Used To Do"	Jones	5:30
4.	"Honey Bee"	Vaughan	2:33
5.	"Couldn't Stand the Weather"	Vaughan	4:53
6.	"Cold Shot"	Michael Kindred, W. C. Clark	4:05
7.	"Tin Pan Alley" (a.k.a. "The Roughest Place in Town)"	Robert Geddins	10:30
8.	"Love Struck Baby"	Vaughan	3:01
9.	"Texas Flood"	Larry Davis, Joseph Wade Scott	8:21
10.	"Band Intros/Encores"		1:18
11.	"Stang's Swang"	Vaughan	3:07
12.	"Lenny"	Vaughan	11:07
13.	"Pride and Joy"	Vaughan	4:59

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[17]	20
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[18]	30
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19]	5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20]	14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21]	36
US Billboard 200[22]	31

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23]	Platinum	100,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24]	Platinum	15,000^^
United States (RIAA)[25]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

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

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). 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. "Couldn't Stand The Weather". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
11. "Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: Couldn't Stand the Weather – Review". Retrieved April 29, 2020.
12. "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 2137". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
13. Couldn't Stand the Weather (Liner notes). Stevie Ray Vaughan. Epic Records. 1984. LP labels. FE 39304.CS1 maint: others (link)
14. Reissues list Michael Kindred and W. C. Clark
15. Reissues list Robert Geddins
16. Originally recorded in 1958–1959 by the little-known Sly Williams
17. 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.
18. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4141". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
19. "Charts.nz – Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
22. "Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
23. "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
24. "NZ Top 50 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 3 March 1985. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
25. "American album certifications – S.R. Vaughan & Double Trouble – Couldn't Stand the Weather". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

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.
• Couldn't Stand the Weather (booklet). Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. New York City: Epic Records. 1999. 65871.CS1 maint: others (link)
• Schinder, Scott (April 2, 1999). "Studio Album Reissues". Entertainment Weekly. No. 479. 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.