Albums - The Cosmic Culture Club

The Grateful Dead record a country inspired album and jam at the ‘Dillo

This album is one of the tangible links between the psychedelic rock music that came out of San Francisco in the sixties and the cosmic country that was brewing in Austin in the seventies. What the Grateful Dead played on this album is not much different from what you could hear at the Armadillo World…
Austin super group delivers highly acclaimed blues album for the Antone’s label

“Dreams Come True” was a highly anticipated album from an Austin supergroup featuring Lou Ann Barton, Marcia Ball, and Angela Strehli—three renowned artists who had been dominant vocal forces in the city for over a decade.
Waylon records classic live album at the Texas Opry House

Waylon Live was recorded at the dawn of Waylon’s golden era, and released during the height of it. After toiling in Nashville for years, he had wrestled creative control away from the executives and was starting to flex his newfound muscles. The release of Honky Tonk Heroes in 1973 announced his arrival and is often…
Kacey Musgraves golden hour

Kacey Musgraves is an authentic songwriter whose albums are imbued with personal experiences. Her first two albums depict small-town American life, sung with a traditional twang but featuring an outspoken viewpoint that sets her apart from typical country musicians. Kacey quickly grew a reputation as the bad girl of country music, more than happy to…
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s invitation to the big dance

“Let’s Dance” transformed David Bowie from a rock star into a megastar. He was chasing commercial success with this album and in the process discovered an entirely new legion of fans. Not only is it the best-selling album he recorded, but RCA, the label he had just fled, capitalized on the attention by re-releasing his…
Welcome to Groover’s Paradise

There isn’t one album that encompasses the Doug Sahm sound. That would be like defining the flavor of ice cream using a single sample spoon at Baskin Robbins. Throughout his career he delivered the musically diverse repertoire you expect from a child prodigy who was playing the San Antonio club scene before the training wheels…
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Final Album

Stevie Ray Vaughan is the figurehead opposite Willie Nelson in the dichotomy of Austin music, with both men serving as symbolic leaders of their respective scenes. Vaughan has a statue that stands vigil on the shores of Lady Bird Lake, near where he played his last show in Austin, while Willie’s monument sits at the…
You have to live it before it can come out of your horn

‘Under the Double Ego’ was Kinky Friedman’s melancholic goodbye note to the music industry. It would be thirty-two eventful years before he recorded another studio album. When he recorded this one in 1983, he was disillusioned with the music business and chose to work with the Austin based Sunrise label, who had a limited distribution…
An Eagle, a Beatle, and a (Black) Crowe

Co-Starring is an album released by Ray Wylie Hubbard in 2020 and features a collection of artists including members of the Beatles, Eagles, and Black Crowes.
A voice that can peel chrome from a trailer hitch

“Read My Lips” is the album fans waited a decade for Lou Ann Barton to record. It’s unadulterated Texas Roadhouse blues, and Lou Ann howls into the microphone with what the great Margaret Moser described as “a voice that can peel chrome from a trailer hitch.” Margaret had a gift with words, and once you’ve…
Beyonce is coming for the country crown

Cowboy Carter is destined to be a landmark album in Beyoncé’s collection, and has the potential to be a transcendental force in how American’s perceive country music. While the album has only been available on streaming services for two weeks, and the vinyl edition has been available for less than twenty-four hours (at the time of…
Austin’s role in producing one of the definitive albums of the the 90’s

Austin is not the first city you associate with Sublime, but it played a pivotal role in the release of their magnum opus. The self-titled 1996 major label debut is what catapulted the band into the mainstream and cemented their status among rock’s greats. Tragically, lead singer Bradley Nowell passed away from a drug overdose…
How ‘Red Headed Stranger’ defined Willie Nelson’s career

“Red Headed Stranger” is the definitive album that established Willie as the cultural icon he is today. In many ways, it epitomizes the story of Texas music. It’s an example to point to when folks ask what the difference is between Texas Country and the music that comes out of Nashville. This is proof that…
What if the songs are about suicide, divorce, and consequences of choices, but you play ’em to a happy beat?

DBT sits at the Pantheon of great lyricists and they are capable of reflecting the emotion of small town America in a way reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen. On this album, they are dealing with divorce, suicide, and consequences for choices, but the music doesn’t match the dark material and plays well at any party.
Two years before Ray reinvented the wheel

This is the fifth album from Asleep at the Wheel and the original lineup is intact and in prime form. In addition to the founding members the ensemble has expanded to include eleven total musician including two sax players. The result is an eclectic mix of songs that were recorded “basically live” and capture the…
That time Trisha Yearwood released a Jazz album

Trisha Yearwood is best known for 90’s country anthems like She’s In Love with the Boy and XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl) but on this Don Was produced 2018 release she goes crooner and performs jazz standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. The songs were recorded live at the same Hollywood studio where Sinatra…