The Cosmic Culture Club

Robert Earl Keen takes his place among Texas’ greatest songwriters

November 13, 2024

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Robert Earl Keen

Album: No. 2 Live Dinner

Released: 1996

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 the soundtrack to every college party in Texas; it’s likely the only thing the Longhorns and Aggies ever agreed on. Rumor has it that they still play “The Road Goes on Forever” every night to close the Dixie Chicken, and that’s believable because if you accidentally do anything twice in College Station, it becomes a tradition.

Robert Earl Keen is an Aggie, but we try not to hold it against him because he is also one of the greatest songwriters to come out of the state. Like any sane Aggie, he moved to Austin as quickly as he could and made a name for himself playing joints like Waterloo Ice House and the Cactus Café. His first accolade was the 1983 New Folk Songwriting award from the Kerrville Folk Festival, and then he followed that up by winning the Austin Chronicle’s Songwriter of the Year award two years later. Sandwiched between the two awards, he released his debut album, No Kinda Dancer. Austin American-Statesman country music reporter John T. Davis described it as “the kind of homegrown product that is a welcome antidote to the generic country music infesting the radio airwaves these days.”

No. 2 Live Dinner evolves from the acoustic folk-singing of his previous albums into party anthems featuring a full band, including the legendary Lloyd Maines on pedal steel guitar. Eventually, Keen got tired of playing “The Road Goes on Forever,” but he wasn’t there yet, and they gave it an eight-and-a-half-minute assault that convinced a generation of grunge-rockers that they needed to give country music another listen. The live format works well for Robert Earl Keen because he is a natural performer who is most comfortable on stage. Or, as a young REK said back in 1986, “I really like performing more than anything; it’s something that feels real natural to me – as opposed to working.” The album was primarily recorded in front of an enthusiastic audience at the famed Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, but it also includes two songs recorded at the Cactus Café on the UT campus ((“Mariano” and “I’m Coming Home”).

In 2022, Robert Earl Keen announced his retirement from touring and promptly booked one hundred and seventy-five gigs to say goodbye to the road. The grand finale was a three-day stand back at Floore’s Country Store. After the final performance, he tipped his hat to the crowd and walked off stage. He had a message for his fans: “I want to clarify a few things. I am not Tom Brady.” Turns out he is more like Tom Brady than he advertised—if Tom Brady only showed up to play a couple of games a season. He still has a tour section on his website and there are fourteen dates scheduled in December 2024 for his Lights, Camera, Christmas tour, including two nights in Austin. He’ll be back in April for two shows at the Whitewater Amphitheater. What else would you expect from the man who wrote “The Road Goes on Forever”?

Red Snapper

Cheap Mexican beer and Jägermeister might be the drinks that best match No. 2 Live Dinner, but let’s take it up a notch, because as Keith Richards says, “If you’re going to get wasted, get wasted elegantly.’” The early aughts cocktail menus were dominated by drinks like the Cosmopolitan, Long Island Iced Tea, and Frozen Margarita. Mixed shots with exotic names like Surfer on Acid or Sex on the Beach were all the rage. One of the most universally loved shots was the Red Snapper. The Crown provided a whiskey bite but it was mellowed by the Amaretto and sweetened with a splash of cranberry juice. For the cocktail version, we’ve adjusted the proportions to maintain the same essence while still being something that can be sipped.

Ingredients

2 oz Crown Royal Whiskey
1 oz Amaretto
4 oz Cranberry Juice
Lime wedge (for garnish)

Directions

Combine the whiskey, Amaretto, and cranberry juice in a mixing glass.
Pour over ice and garnish with lime wedge.

Lloyd Maines, Texas Artist

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Listening Lounge, Whiskey

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