Track List
| Nashville West | Mental Revenge |
| International Submarine Band | Luxury Liner |
| The Byrds | You Ain’t Going Nowhere |
| The Beau Brummels | Deep Water |
| Hoyt Axton | On The Natural |
| Flying Burrito Brothers | Hot Burrito #2 |
| Bob Dylan | Girl from The North Country |
| Grateful Dead | Box of Rain |
| Cowboy | Livin’ in the Country |
| The Dillards | Nobody Knows |
| Country Funk | Apart of Me |
| New Riders of The Purple Sage | Portland Woman |
| Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen | Cravin’ Your Love |
| The Band | Tears of Rage |
| Gram Parsons | She |
| Chris Darrow | Take Good Care of Yourself |
| Mason Proffit | Voice of Change |
| Swampwater | Ooh Wee California |
| Borderline | Please Help Me Forget |
| Dillard & Clark | Through the Morning, Through the Night |
| Doug Sahm & Band | It’s Gonna Be Easy |
| Flying Burrito Brothers | Colorado |
| Old & In The Way | Midnight Moonlight |
| New Riders of the Purple Sage | Lonesome L.A. Cowboy |
| Emmylou Harris | Bluebird Wine |
| Jimmy Carter and Dallas County Green | Honey Dew |
| Jon Corneal | We Just Couldn’t Make It |
| Bobby Charles | Homemade Songs |
| The Farm Band | Keep Your Head Up High |
| The Souther Hillman Furay Band | Mexico |
| Skip Battin | Captain Video |
| Gene Parsons | Long Way Back |
| Relatively Clean Rivers | Easy Ride |
| New Riders of The Purple Sage | Dead Flowers |
| Gene Clark | Full Circle Song |
| Rick Roberts | Lights |
| The Eagles | Take It Easy |
| Lee Clayton | I Ride Alone |
| Flying Burrito Brothers | Dim Lights, Thick Smoke |
| Gram Parsons | Return of the Grievous Angel |
Space Cowboys: The Great Cosmic American Music Songbook
Cosmic American Music is a term coined by Gram Parsons, one of the most influential yet underappreciated figures in 20th-century music. It describes a visionary blend of country, rock, soul, R&B, folk, and gospel—a style that rejected strict genre boundaries in favor of something more universal.
Parsons believed that the soul of American music was located in synthesis over separation. Pulling in honky-tonk, rhythm and blues, gospel, and country music, he used the term to identify a unifying sound that was both timeless and adventurous.
Ultimately, Cosmic American Music ended up being bastardized by the recording industry who thought that “country rock” was just an easier monicker for everyday consumers to get.
But Gram Parsons loathed the term, and his vision of a music rooted in country and soul, but with a near-psychedelic sense of exploration, did manage to make a dent over the years, inspiring generations of country loving longhairs to keep the freak flag flying for pedal steel guitars, heartbreak vocals, and rock ‘n’ roll spirit.
Here’s just under two and a half hours of some of (what we consider to be, because it’s a range-y term) the best, rarest, and best-known Cosmic American Music this side of Joshua Tree. Enjoy.