Albums - The Cosmic Culture Club

These are essential albums that tell the story of Texas music from the 70’s through today. Each album is paired with an accompanying libation. Use this page to explore the collection by album, or use the recipe list to search by cocktail.

Essential Albums

The Skunks pioneer a new scene in Austin

On a cold February night in 1978 The Skunks played what is widely regarded as the first punk rock show in Austin, and for the next six years they continued to be a definitive presence. The three piece lineup evolved over the years, with bassist Jesse Sublett serving as the anchor. They pioneered a new…
Robert Earl Keen’s never ending party

No. 2 Live Dinner is one of the greatest Texas country albums ever recorded. Maybe the greatest, and yes, that includes the ones by Willie, Waylon, and the boys. It contains everything there is to love about Texas music, plus a Christmas song. From the mid-nineties through the early aughts, No. 2 Live Dinner was…
Peaks, Valleys, Honky-Tonks, and Alleys

Throughout his musical career, Michael Murphey has two-stepped his way through various styles, including cosmic country, pop, traditional cowboy songs, and bluegrass. Peaks, Valleys, Honky-Tonks, and Alleys is a dichotomous album that splits its time between the first two styles. Side A was recorded live at the Palomino Club in Hollywood and is a collection…
Joe Ely records a live album in London punk clubs

Good luck trying to pigeonhole Joe Ely. His music is often lumped into a vague rockabilly category, but he won a Grammy award for best Mexican / Mexican-American album with the supergroup Los Super Seven, and he’s more than comfortable strumming country ballads. Live Shots is none of the above. This high octane album was…
The unlikely friendship of Joe Ely and The Clash

The Clash Album: London Calling Released: 1979 (UK) In 2003, Rolling Stone named London Calling one of the ten greatest albums of all time, and it’s arguably the greatest rock album ever recorded. The Clash expanded beyond straight-forward punk, incorporating ska, reggae, rockabilly, and R&B, which catapulted them into rock immortality. London Calling was an…
It’s 1989, and Doug Sahm is playing at Antone’s

Juke Box Music is a late-night joy ride with Doug Sahm while he weaves his way through the neighborhoods of R&B, doo-wop, and blues. It’s a detour from the tejano-tinged redneck rock he was known for, but not a surprise to fans.
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. Strehli won the Austin Music Awards’ Female Vocalist of the Year five consecutive times in the early eighties, while…
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…
It’s 2018, and Kacey Musgraves is having a 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 he was disillusioned with the music business and chose to work with the Austin based Sunrise label, despite their limited distribution network, rather than…
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 unadulterated Texas Roadhouse blues, and Lou Ann Barton howls into the microphone with what Margaret Moser described as “a voice that can peel chrome from a trailer hitch.” It’s widely considered a redemption album for her that was seven years in the making. Jerry Wexler produced her first album and pulled…
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 as an anthem?

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.
The wide open spaces of western swing

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…