Cross Canadian Ragweed,
Back to Tulsa: Live and Loud at Cain's Ballroom



Label: Universal South

(3½ out of 5)

The Boys from Oklahoma return to Red Dirt soil for their third concert album, the two-disc Back to Tulsa: Live and Loud at Cain's Ballroom.

Online voting allowed fans to participate in song selection, so the 24 tracks represent Ragweed's best work over the last four years — "17" and "Constantly" from 2002's self-titled purple album, "Wanna Rock & Roll" and "Alabama" from 2004's Soul Gravy, and "Dimebag," "Sister," and "Fightin' For" from last year's Garage.

There's also a solid new song, the anti-war/pro-troops "When Will It End" with Stoney LaRue, plus covers that include an outstanding take on Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" and a closing encore of Robert Earl Keen's "Lonely Feeling." And Cody Canada's tongue-lashing of a rowdy concertgoer's beer-throwing is simply priceless. Sold separately, a companion DVD adds bonus footage and behind-the-scenes features.

Since pre-2002 favorites were already captured on Live and Loud at Billy Bob's Texas, this album is missing older staples like "Boys from Oklahoma" and "Carney Man." Obviously the band wants to avoid cannibalizing sales from the earlier, excellent live album, but an argument can be made for their inclusion. Ragweed has evolved considerably over the last few years, more firmly establishing itself as a Southern rock band and distancing itself from the increasingly clichéd Texas country sound it once dabbled in. And today's treatment of those early favorites isn't identical to previous years'. But as Canada assuages in the liner notes, "don't worry, when we come to your town you will more than likely hear them."

With audio taken directly from the sound board — no overdubs, no tuning tweaks — Back to Tulsa is an authentic (though partial) representation of a live Ragweed show. Fabulously unpolished and consistently rocking, it reinforces the conviction that Cross Canadian Ragweed is one of our best live acts going today.

Reviewed by Patrick Nichols (email)
October 30, 2006