Jimmie Vaughan PLAYS MORE BLUES, BALLADS &FAVORITES
aaamusic | On 17, Jun 2011
For Jimmie Vaughan, too much of a good thing is a concept that simply
doesnt exist. The legendary Texan guitar dynamo was so pleased with
the response to his 2010 album BLUES, BALLADS AND FAVORITES that he
decided to follow it up with a brand new collection hes calling, what
else but MORE BLUES, BALLADS AND FAVORITES! Packed with 16 covers of
classic tunes that are close to his heart, the album, recorded, like
the previous one, in his hometown of Austin, Texas, reunites Vaughan
with the same cast of musicians that helped him out on the previous
set. Also returning for round two, to assist with the vocals, is Lou
Ann Barton, whose powerful pipes grace several tunes on the new release.
Jimmie Vaughan, who first came to prominence as co-founder of Texas
blues-rock band the Fabulous Thunderbirds in the 70s has certainly
earned the right to do whatever he wants whenever he wants to do it.
Since he was a kid, Vaughan has dedicated his life to mastering his
axe and reminding folks what American music is all about, music, he
says, that need not be categorized.
On MORE BLUES, BALLADS AND FAVORITES, bringing it all together is
exactly what Jimmie Vaughan does. From the opening track I Aint
Never, to the closer, the Faye Adams rouser Shake a Hand, Vaughan and
his like-minded pals keep things rockin and rollin.
Highlights include Rains Came, originally by the Texas Gulf Coast band
Big Sambo and the House Wreckers and later reworked by the late, great
Doug Sahm; two tracks by the recently deceased Bobby Charles, No Use
Knocking and I Aint Gonna Do it No More; two picked up from the
semi-obscure New Orleans R&B singer Annie Laurie, Its Been a Long
Time and Im In the Mood For You and great, often lost songs
originally cut by Hank Williams I Hang My Head and Cry and Ray
Charles Greenbacks.
If the repertoire sounds like a record collectors dream, that might
be because Vaughan approached the recording sessions in much the same
way that the original artists must have. I pretend that Im making
45s. I only make two or three at a time and I might say, This song
would be a good flip side. We go in the studio and work out the
arrangement and then go for it. Sometimes something will happen that
you didnt expect and youll say, Well, thats really cool. I
couldnt have planned on that.
He plays music because theres nothing he loves more. These songs
just speak to me, he says. Sometimes the ones you think you cant
do, you can do, and the ones you think you can do, you cant. The only
way to find out is to try. But if you saw how easy it was for us to do
these songs on this album, you would be amazed. Id listen to a song
for a couple of days in my truck and just take it to the band and say,
Id like to do this. We would just do it and sometimes it would be
done after the first or second or third take. We didnt spend a lot of
time in the studio.
Of course, much of the credit goes to the band and Vaughan reserves
special kudos for Lou Ann Barton. I go back with Lou Ann before the
Thunderbirds, he says. When we met she was 18 and sang a Little
Richard medley and I never recovered. She was wild. Shes just got a
lot of feeling and we like the same kind of stuff.
