Cody Canada Teams Up With Randy Rogers For A Fresh New Take On A Fan Favorite

Cody Canada and Randy Rogers had one goal, to add some fresh flair to a cult classic.

When it comes to the godfathers of red dirt country, Cross Canadian Ragweed is the first to come to mind for many fans of the country music sub genre.

Flash back to nearly two decades ago and Cross Canadian Ragweed lead by Cody was the talk of the scene. Their album Soul Gravy quickly became a cult classic. Tracks like “Lonely Girl,” “Sick And Tired,” and “Again,” were some of the biggest fan favorites.

When the powerhouse group broke up back in 2010, Cody and bassist Jeremy decided to branch out and create The Departed. Years later, Canada still harbored a touch of regret that the original album was not recorded the way he wanted it to be due to the band’s relentless tour schedule.

"I never was satisfied with the recording of 'Soul Gravy.' Cody said in a press statement "The songs are still my favorite collection of songs– but the way we recorded it was with digital amps. I wanted to do it with tube amps and we just didn’t have time because we were so busy. That was a busy year so we recorded fast. No amps. All pod. I didn’t like that idea and got out voted. This time I did it the way I wanted. I can finally own recordings of these songs again and have them on vinyl.”

Ready for a fresh start, Cody was determined to give fans a fresh new take on their favorites from twenty years ago, and man did he hit the nail on the head. But where does fellow icon Randy Rogers fit in all this? Randy, a co-writer on the hit Again so naturally it only seemed fitting that the crooner step in for the Soul Gravy retake.

“Randy Rogers and I wrote ‘Again,’ so, he’s on it. One of our students from the School of Rock in New Braunfels sings on it, Ray Wylie Hubbard sings on it, and I got another guy that’s been jammin’ with me named Ryan Snipes, he’s all over this thing. I really wanted to showcase the people that helped me write the tunes. I never really sang a song with Randy that was on one of our own records," Cody continued.

The twangy track is full of enteric guitar and offers fans a new feel on the toe tappin classic. The new take remains gritty as the 2004 track yet offers a new bright feeling. But there is one surprise, Randy epochal vocals bring this song right into 2023.

Whatever gut feeling Cody had lead him into red dirt heaven because this song and its new life will continue on for another two decades and beyond!