Jim Cuddy announced Friday that his new album Countrywide Soul will be released May 31 – and he’s previewing it with the debut of “Back Here Again.”
The album was recorded live in Cuddy’s barn in Southern Ontario following The Jim Cuddy Band’s tour in support of Constellation.
“When we go into the studio to make records, the songs are born out of my imagination and the band contribute their incredible talents to make those ideas come to life,” Cuddy explained, in a release. “The songs evolve and become part of our collective imagination.
“But it is on tour that they really take flight. We are connected by art. We are connected by what we create together. That’s what I wanted to capture on this record. How much I enjoy listening to the band reveal their imagination and add their creativity to the songs was really the inspiration.”
Heather Pollock
The collection includes reworked versions of some of Cuddy’s solo songs as well as Blue Rodeo’s “Clearer View” and “Dragging On.” In addition to “Back Here Again,” Cuddy wrote “Glorious Day” for Countrywide Soul.
The band also covers Glen Campbell’s 1975 classic “Rhinestone Cowboy” and the 1966 song “Almost Persuaded,” which George Jones covered in 1967.
When choosing songs for the album, Cuddy said he “tried to find those in which I could change the mood and tone … or songs that had been underdeveloped on previous records.
Countrywide Soul track list:
All In Time
Countrywide Soul
Clearer View
Everybody Cries
Dragging On
The Light That Guides You Home
Glorious Day
Maybe Sometime
Back Here Again
Almost Persuaded
Rhinestone Cowboy
Wash Me Down