Since the demise of Cross Canadian Ragweed in 2010, their mastermind Cody Canada has made some efforts to move on from the band’s glorious past and discover new ground. With The Departed he released three varied albums between 2011 and 2015 – but now he has decided to get back to exactly the type of music that brought him the most fun and success. Between 2002 and 2006 Cross Canadian Ragweed were the red dirt band to take note of. That band’s name will certainly stay in Oklahoma’s music history books. Now, the new album by Cody Canada & The Departed is entitled 3 which is somewhat surprising given that it’s their 4th release. The title indicates that the former quintet and quartet is now down to a trio. This power trio in every sense of the word delivers 14 tracks with great variety and a great, tailor-made sound.
Cross Canadian Ragweed embodied the sound and attitude of the Oklahoma/Texas red dirt scene like no other band. Their (red) dirty mix of guitar-driven country, Southern rock, singer-songwriter sounds, heartland rock & boogie was irresistible and highly successful. Between 1998 and 2009 they released ten albums some of which reached the Billboard top ten! Their concerts from San Francisco to NYC, New Orleans to Chicago were often sold out and the band achieved almost legendary status in their home region of Stillwater, Oklahoma and later anywhere between Austin and New Braunfels, Texas. However, it all became a little too much for bandleader Cody Canada and he pulled the plug on the band in 2010. Only to return from the ashes with a new band shortly thereafter.
The newly-born Departed were signed by Blue Rose without hesitation. Their first sign of life was This Is Indian Land in 2011, a colossal homage to their Oklahoma forebears Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, Bob Childers, Tom Skinner and others. Their second release Adventus (Blue Rose, 2012) was a pretty radical step away from red dirt, Texas rock and Americana – unbending electric rock’n’roll, a kind of Southern hard rock, brilliantly played but perhaps – at least for Ragweed fans – a little short on soul. In spite of an innovative spirit, an experimental mindset and a love for challenges, Canada felt like a stranger in his own band. The next album HippieLovePunk (Blue Rose, 2015) had a warmer, rootsier sound with a hint of a psychedelic “garage” vibe. 2013 saw the release of a Cody Canada live double album Some Old, Some New, Maybe A Cover Or Two, yet another live double album came out in 2015: Chip & Ray – Together Again For The First Time with Mike McClure his former mentor and something of a godfather of the red dirt scene. In 2016 Canada’s longtime friend and bass player took on frontman duties on the country album In Retrospect, released by Jeremy Plato & The Departed.
And now, after a period of self-rediscovery, Cody Canada returns to the spirit of Cross Canadian Ragweed with new material and a trio formation that sees him play all kinds of guitars, as well as piano, organ and harmonica. We also hear his raspy inimitable voice again. Jeremy Plato is still irreplaceable on bass. On drums we find a well-known name from the Okie scene: Eric Hansen who has played with everyone from Jimmy LaFave, Bob Childers, Greg Jacobs to Stoney LaRue as well as in the Mike McClure band in the last twenty years. Speaking of McClure: For the first time in The Departed‘s history Cody Canada is collaborating with his right-hand man for almost all of CCR’s output. McClure’s involvement is deep: He acts as producer, co-writer on a number of songs and contributor of various guitars and backing vocals. Joe Hardy, another familiar collaborator, mixed the album. It’s exactly this feeling of loyalty and friendship that permeates the entire 3 project.
