As 2025 rolls on, we continue our backward glance at Texas-tied albums celebrating significant birthdays in the next 12 months.
For this batch, we’ve arranged, chronologically by release date, a handful of mostly North Texas-rooted records which will hit 25 years over the course of 2025. (In case you missed it, here are the albums celebrating their 50th anniversaries, 45th anniversaries, 40th anniversaries, 35th anniversaries and 30th anniversaries this year.)
Explosions in the Sky, How Strange, Innocence (Jan. 17, 2000)
Austin post-rock foursome Explosions in the Sky made their full-length debut with this, an album which, initially, was only offered on CD-R (recordable CD) in a very limited quantity. Five years later, the band remastered and reissued the seven-track LP with new artwork — and in far more ample supply.
Jimmie Dale Gilmore, One Endless Night (Feb. 29, 2000)
For his first album in four years, Amarillo-born singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore tapped Buddy Miller to co-produce, and pulled from the works of John Hiatt, Townes Van Zandt and Butch Hancock for source material — he even tossed in a moody cover of “Mack the Knife.”
Pantera, Reinventing the Steel (March 21, 2000)
Pantera’s ninth studio album was, in keeping with the heavy metal band’s tradition, recorded in North Texas (Arlington, to be precise — a move from Pantego, where many Pantera records were made), and produced by the brothers Abbott. This album would also mark the final time either Abbott brother — “Dimebag” Darrell or Vinnie Paul — appeared on record with Pantera; Darrell was tragically killed in 2004, and Vinnie died of cardiac arrest in 2018.
The Reverend Horton Heat, Spend a Night in the Box (March 21, 2000)
Dallas singer-songwriter Jim Heath — aka the Reverend Horton Heat — kept it simple for this, the band’s sixth studio album, produced by Paul Leary down near Austin, in Spicewood: Track after track (14 in all) of rowdy, danceable rockabilly goodness.
Tripping Daisy, self-titled (April 18, 2000)
The Dallas alt-rock band’s fourth studio album, following 1998’s masterful Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb, was its swan song — the self-titled project was released six months after the untimely death of guitarist Wes Berggren, a passing which would ultimately dissolve the band until a reunion 17 years later, before reactivating for good in 2024.
Bowling for Soup, Let’s Do It for Johnny (May 16, 2000)
As albums cut in Denton and named for a line in S.E. Hinton’s classic The Outsiders go, Bowling for Soup’s third album stands alone. The freewheeling pop-punk four-piece got their first hit here — “The [expletive] Song” — and tucked in a cover of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” as well, for good measure.
Don Henley, Inside Job (May 23, 2000)
It took Linden native Henley more than a decade to follow up the enormous success of 1989’s The End of the Innocence — in fairness, there was an Eagles reunion tucked in there as well — but for his fourth solo album, he teamed up with Stan Lynch (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame) to co-produce a collection which debut in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart. Job would be his last album of original material for 15 years.
Willie Nelson, Tales Out of Luck (Me and the Drummer) (June 6, 2000)
For his 47th studio album, Nelson reached back into his voluminous catalog of songs and dusted off some deep cuts from the 1960s, like “No Tomorrow in Sight,” “A Moment Isn’t Very Long” and “Home Motel.” Nelson was backed by the assemblage of musicians known as the Offenders: Johnny Bush, Jimmy Day and David Zettner.
Fastball, The Harsh Light of Day (Sept. 19, 2000)
Following up 1998’s breakthrough All the Pain Money Can Buy, Austin power-pop trio Fastball delivered a dozen high-gloss tracks for this, its third studio album (and final major label release) — even enlisting guests like Billy Preston and Brian Setzer — but didn’t quite achieve the same levels of success.
Willie Nelson, Milk Cow Blues (Sept. 19, 2000)
The second Nelson album in less than 12 months, the Red Headed Stranger’s 48th studio album was a decidedly bluesy affair, leaning into the more soulful side of his country sound. Nelson pulled plenty of A-list guests onto the 15 songs gathered here, including B.B. King, Dr. John, Susan Tedeschi and Jonny Lang.
Erykah Badu, Mama’s Gun (Nov. 21, 2000)
Three years after Badu’s critically and commercially successful major label debut, she returned with a stunning sophomore effort, building upon the neo-soul sound first forged on Baduizm. Collaborating with an array of top-flight producers and musicians — Questlove, James Poyser, the late Shaun Martin and Roy Hargrove, Stephen Marley and Pino Palladino all pitched in — Gun cemented her status as an artist of consequence.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at preston@kxt.org or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
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