Episode 189 with Heath Wright of Ricochet

August 18th marks Ricochet's first new album in over a decade with Ricochet Then And Now... The Hits & More. The project celebrates the 90s country band's 30th anniversary of the band's formation in 1993 with newly recorded renditions of six of their classic hits along with eight new songs.

The group is best known for their chart-topping, gold-selling single, "Daddy's Money," Top 10 hits, "What Do I Know," "Love Is Stronger Than Pride," and the Top 20 "He Left A Lot To Be Desired," and are among the re-recorded tracks. We are premiering the new version of "Love Is Stronger Than Pride," which can be seen below.

Wright joins us to discuss the project, the band's role in the 90s country resurgence, and how re-recording their biggest hits can be a double-edged sword.

"When somebody would go in and re-record songs, after you've done a song on the road for several years, you tend to get a little bored with it, you start changing it," frontman Heath Wright tells The Music Universe. "And as an audience, as a fan of country music, that always bugged me, because I want to sing along. I want to sing along the way I remember hearing it on the radio. I told the guys, 'We're gonna go in and we're gonna re-record these songs. We're gonna do them exactly note for note the way they were recorded the first time.' So that's what we did. We went in and re-recorded everything, kind of gave everything a little bit of a facelift."

Despite the change in band members throughout the years, Ricochet still possesses their trademark harmonious vocal sound and is considered one of the hardest-working bands in the business. For nearly two decades, original lead vocalist Heath Wright has maintained the group’s legacy and fan base with a hefty tour schedule. Besides Wright on lead vocals and guitar, current band members are Chris Hempfling on vocals and drums, Rick Toops on vocals and keys, Bruce Bennett on vocals and bass, and Larry Hight on vocals, rhythm/lead guitar, steel, dobro, and saxophone.