Chasing The Demon/Stevie Ray Vaughan/Little Wing

Although this was a whole hell of alot easier to write than you might think, it's a whole hell of a lot harder to explain than I would've thought. Although there are some Stevie Ray Vaughan recordings that damn near bring me to tears-- "Couldn't Stand the Weather" leaps to mind-- there are others that I simply cannot stand. ("If the House is a-Rockin'." Bleuhgh.) Too, I've known many for whom the appreciation of SRV's music amounts to worse than Idol worship, to the point of embracing anything labelled Texas Blues as the cerulean serenades of the Gods.

But there's something special about this tune. It was Hendrix's big step away from (brace yerselves) schlock rock-n-roll guitar and towards real, emotive, challenging composition; it retains the best of the spirit of rock while taking a breath of jazz and a tinge of blues. Vaughan, as an axe-slinger, thought of himself as a disciple of Hendrix, and was known to say that, while respectful to those who taught him Texas Blues, he really learned how to play guitar from Hendrix.

Hendrix is dead. Vaughan is dead. Jimi died of bad decisions; Stevie of bad luck. And as pragmatic and logical as I tend to be, it's not hard to imagine, while listening to Stevie's version of Jimi's song, the two of them, out there in the ether, grasping at the necks of mythic Stratocasters, engaged in a Battle Royale, wrestling out the best of all possible versions of "Little Wing."

Corny, huh?