This section is for soundtracks and compilations featuring some of the best of Texas music.
Average Rating
 
Total Reviews: 169
Most Recent:
by kyle 10/18/2009
the edge of nowhere is the best song to ever be sung by white people. ever.
by Vikram Andrew Naharwar 5/17/2009
My greatest fear has been that one day the incomparable Bob Dylan would be no more.The void of the Greatest writer/singer/musician of our times can never be filled, BUT NOW there is hope , Jimmy Lafave is the saviour, the hope for millions that enjoy the beauty of poetry sung the way only Dylan can. There can be no better way to say this than, THANK YOU JIMMY
by Justin 8/23/2008
Looks like a good line up.
But what's with the Big & Rich addition?
How did they sneak into this album?
(Read
More Reviews)
(Write Your Own
Review)
Click for larger image | No Depression #78
For most of its thirteen-year history as a beloved and decorated music magazine, No Depression sought to be an instrument of change: to draw attention to the deep well of American musical traditions; to shine a light on performers whose gifts far exceed the size of their audiences or their pocketbooks; and to provide a safe harbor for the best long-form writing about music on the newsstand.
These traditions continue through No Depression's now semi-annual series of bookazines. The inaugural bookazine, numbered ND #76 so as to make explicit the continuity between No Depression's original and new formats, focused on the next generation of emerging roots music performers. ND #78, due out the fall of 2009, will focus on prominent families in American roots music, kinfolk who have stretched their artistic influence across generations. This will include in-depth pieces about bedrock clans of country music—the Carters and the Cashes—and folk music—the Guthries and the Seegers; profiles of country mavericks Steve and Justin Townes Earle and of jazz great Charlie Haden and his musically adventurous children; plus a more "metaphorical family" piece on the artistic "sons" of bluesman Rev. Gary Davis.
The magazine's cofounders and coeditors, Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock, continue to guide the bookazine. The magazine's senior writers and contributors remain on board to shape the tone and voice of the bookazine, and its distinctive graphic design imprint continues in the hands of ND art director Grant Alden.
$19.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | No Depression #77
For most of its thirteen-year history as a beloved and decorated music magazine, No Depression sought to be an instrument of change: to draw attention to the deep well of American musical traditions; to shine a light on performers whose gifts far exceed the size of their audiences or their pocketbooks; and to provide a safe harbor for the best long-form writing about music on the newsstand.
These traditions continue through No Depression's now semi-annual series of bookazines. The inaugural bookazine, numbered ND #76 so as to make explicit the continuity between No Depression's original and new formats, focused on the next generation of emerging roots music performers. ND #77, due out the spring of 2009, will center around the phrase "instruments of change," and the various ways in which those words may be interpreted.
Early assignments include profiles of mandolinist Chris Thile by Seth Mnookin, Tejano accordion masters by Joe Nick Patoski, and A-Team bass player Bob Moore by Rich Kienzle, as well as essays on the strange journey of Dock Boggs' banjo and an activist's memory of Phil Ochs.
No Depression first appeared during the fall of 1995 as a 32-page quarterly magazine. Ten years later it had become a 180-page glossy bimonthly. Along the way it became one of the most prominent publications to cover American roots music, starting from the intersection of country and rock 'n' roll and tracing the links to bluegrass, folk, blues, gospel, soul, jazz, indie rock, Cajun, conjunto, and beyond.
No Depression grew to be acknowledged as one of the finest music magazines ever published, was compared often to the 1960s origins of Rolling Stone or the 1970s heyday of Creem, and received awards from the Utne Reader, ASCAP, and the International Country Music Conference. It was cited by the Chicago Tribune in 2004 as one of the nation's Top 20 magazines in any category.
The magazine's cofounders and coeditors, Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock, continue to guide the bookazine. The magazine's senior writers and contributors remain on board to shape the tone and voice of the bookazine, and its distinctive graphic design imprint continues in the hands of ND art director Grant Alden.
$19.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | No Depression #76
From its debut in 1995 as a 32-page quarterly magazine to its zenith ten years later as a 180-page bimonthly, No Depression magazine grew from humble beginnings. It became the most prominent publication covering American roots music, starting from the point where country combined with rock 'n' roll and tracing the common bonds through genres that include bluegrass, folk, blues, gospel, soul, jazz, indie, Cajun, conjunto, and beyond. Along the way, No Depression grew to be acknowledged as one of the finest music magazines ever published, often compared to the 1960s origins of Rolling Stone or the 1970s heyday of Creem, receiving awards from the Utne Reader, ASCAP, and the International Country Music Conference, and cited by the Chicago Tribune in 2004 as one of the nation's Top 20 magazines in any category.
In early 2008, No Depression announced that its May-June issue, ND #75, would be its finale as a bimonthly magazine. To ward off the disappearance of No Depression in print, the University of Texas Press stepped into the vacuum, arranging for a new semiannual ND "bookazine" to be published each fall and spring. The first installment—to be called No Depression #76, reflecting continuity with the magazine's history—will be issued this fall and will carry on the publication's tradition of outstanding long-form writing about major and influential American roots musicians, along with quality photographs and other elements all presented via the graphic design imprint of ND art director Grant Alden. This book/magazine hybrid is essentially groundbreaking territory in both of those publishing worlds.
Sharing the editorial vision for the bookazine will be Alden and Peter Blackstock, co-founders of No Depression and its co-editors from the beginning. Many of the senior editors and contributing editors who helped shape the voice and tone of the magazine will contribute to the bookazine, which will feature entirely new content in every issue: Unlike ND's previous project with UT Press (2005's The Best Of No Depression: Writing about American Music), these will not be anthologies of previously published works, but rather entirely fresh creations every six months. If you loved No Depression magazine, this is where it lives on, in print.
$19.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Fire In The Water, Earth In The Air
From Buddy Holly and the Crickets to the Flatlanders, Terry Allen, and Natalie Maines, Lubbock, Texas, has produced songwriters, musicians, and artists as prolifically as cotton, conservatives, and windstorms. While nobody questions where the conservatives come from in a city that a recent nonpartisan study ranked as America's second most conservative, many people wonder why Lubbock is such fertile ground for creative spirits who want to expand the boundaries of thought in music and art. Is it just that "there's nothing else to do," as some have suggested, or is there something in the character of Lubbock that encourages creativity as much as conservatism?
In this book, Christopher Oglesby interviews twenty-five musicians and artists with ties to Lubbock to discover what it is about this community and West Texas in general that feeds the creative spirit. Their answers are revealing. Some speak of the need to rebel against conventional attitudes that threaten to limit their horizons. Others, such as Joe Ely, praise the freedom of mind they find on the wide open plains. "There is this empty desolation that I could fill if I picked up a pen and wrote, or picked up a guitar and played," he says. Still others express skepticism about how much Lubbock as a place contributes to the success of its musicians. Jimmie Dale Gilmore says, "I think there is a large measure of this Lubbock phenomenon that is just luck, and that is the part that you cannot explain."
As a whole, the interviews create a portrait not only of Lubbock's musicians and artists, but also of the musical community that has sustained them, including venues such as the legendary Cotton Club and the original Stubb's Barbecue. This kaleidoscopic portrait of the West Texas music scene gets to the heart of what it takes to create art in an isolated, often inhospitable environment. As Oglesby says, "Necessity is the mother of creation. Lubbock needed beauty, poetry, humor, and it needed to get up and shake its communal ass a bit or go mad from loneliness and boredom; so Lubbock created the amazing likes of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Terry Allen, and Joe Ely."
$22.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Music In The Kitchen
With a musical mix that free ranges from progressive country to rock'n'roll, jazz, Texas swing, Latin, blues, pop, bluegrass, and world music, Austin City Limits inspires and entertains millions of fans around the globe. Created by Austin's PBS television station KLRU in 1974 and winner of countless awards (including the National Medal of the Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts) since, ACL is now the longest-running show on PBS, as well as an annual music festival that draws tens of thousands of music lovers to the "Live Music Capital of the World."
As the show celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary in 2009, Music in the Kitchen offers a unique, highly flavorful way to connect with ACL through the favorite recipes of some 130 artists who've appeared on its stage. From Willie Nelson's "Willie's Tequila-Mango Salsa" to Roseanne Cash's "Roast Lemon Chicken with Carrots and Onions," Joss Stone's "Veggie Lasagna," My Morning Jacket's "Quinoa Eggs with Cheese, Please!" and Shawn Colvin's "Swedish Pancakes," these are some of the most authentic family recipes for everything from zesty appetizers to scrumptious desserts. Not surprisingly, the recipes reflect the diverse national and international roots of the performers, who tell interesting and flavorful stories of what these dishes mean to them and their families. Glenda Facemire introduces the recipes with brief biographies that highlight not only the artists' musical careers and achievements but also their contributions to society beyond music, as well as their favorite charities. Striking color photographs of the performers make this book a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
Music in the Kitchen's tasty mix of food, family stories, photos, and backstage insights collected and compiled by an ACL veteran will make you feel like you're right there on the set as you whip up these recipes in your own kitchen. Good entertainment, good eating, and good listening, y'all!
$34.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Women In Texas Music
Women In Texas Music.
$24.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Texas Troubadours
Texas Troubadours.
$39.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | From Blue Devils to Red Dirt
From the Blue Devils to Red Dirt: The Colors of Oklahoma Music is one of only three books commissioned by the Oklahoma Centennial Committee and the Oklahoma Arts Council for the state's 2007 celebration. This book is about the Oklahoma musical movements that have had a major impact, beginning with the groundbreaking jazz band the Oklahoma City Blue Devils in the '20s, going through western swing and Woody Guthrie, the Tulsa Sound and the Jim Halsey Agency, Oklahoma's dominance of Nashville in the '90s, and the current Red Dirt scene. Thanks mostly to John Wooley's 23-plus years covering music for the Tulsa World newspaper, he was able to put a lot of first-person interview material into the book - including portions of an interview he did with guitarist Herman Arnspiger, who was there when western swing was, for all practical purposes, born. Perfect reading material for people who may not know much about Oklahoma's contributions to America's pop-music culture, who may be surprised to see just how much we've influenced things.
$17.95 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Ghost Band
Ghost Band is the story of a trumpeter named Miles West, who, while touring with a big-band outfit under the name of a long-dead bandleader, slowly begins to understand that he and the group are being trailed by ghosts that aren't just musical, but real. It's spooky and unsettling (he says hopefully) but not graphic, and will especially be enjoyed by people who appreciate the big-band era and old movies, as well as those who have a few miles on their odometers - like Miles himself.
$16.95 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Light Crust Doughboys
The Light Crust Doughboys are one of the most long-lived and musically versatile bands in America. Formed in the early 1930s under the sponsorship of Burrus Mill and Elevator Company of Fort Worth, Texas, with Bob Wills and Milton Brown (the originator of western swing) at the musical helm and future Texas governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel as band manager and emcee, the Doughboys are still going strong in the twenty-first century. Arguably the quintessential Texas band, the Doughboys have performed all the varieties of music that Texans love, including folk and fiddle tunes, cowboy songs, gospel and hymns, commercial country songs and popular ballads, honky-tonk, ragtime and blues, western swing and jazz, minstrel songs, movie hits, and rock 'n' roll. In this book, Jean Boyd draws on the memories of Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery and other longtime band members and supporters to tell the Light Crust Doughboys story from the band's founding in 1931 through the year 2000. She follows the band's musical evolution and personnel over seven decades, showing how band members and sponsors responded to changes in Texas culture and musical tastes during the Great Depression, World War II, and the postwar years. Boyd concludes that the Doughboys' willingness to change with changing times and to try new sounds and fresh musical approaches is the source of their enduring vitality. Historical photographs of the band, an annotated discography of their pre-World War II work, and histories of some of the band's songs round out the volume.
$18.95 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music Book
$24.99 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Best Of No Depression
To celebrate No Depression's tenth anniversary and spotlight some of the most important artists and trends in alt.country music, editors Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock have compiled this anthology of twenty-five of the magazine's best and most representative feature articles. Their subjects range from venerated country artists such as Johnny Cash and Ray Price to contemporary songwriters such as Lucinda Williams and Buddy and Julie Miller to the post-punk country-influenced bands Wilco and the Drive-By Truckers. All of the articles included here illustrate No Depression's commitment to music writing that puts the artist front-and-center and covers his or her career in sufficient depth to be definitive. Alden and Blackstock have also written a preface to this volume in which they discuss the alt.country phenomenon and the history and editorial philosophy that have made No Depression the bible for everyone seeking genuine American roots music.
$19.95 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock
Book: Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture, No. 12
$26.95 - (buy)
| 
Click for larger image | Telling Stories, Writing Songs:
Book: An Album of Texas Songwriters
$17.95 - (buy)
|
|