EDMONTON -- A deluxe edition of Hemi-Vision by Big Sugar is going to be released next month to celebrate 25 years since the group went into the studio to record it.

The platinum-selling record was nominated for Best Rock album at the 1997 Juno awards and features the popular singles “If I Had My Way” and "Diggin' a Hole”.

Alberta-born lead singer, Gordie Johnson says they enjoyed playing the songs off the record at every show.

“If we didn’t feel like playing “Diggin’ a Hole”, we just didn’t play it. But we always played it because we always felt like playing it,” said Johnson.

The deluxe version of Hemi-Vision will be available digitally on CD, and on vinyl, for the first time ever, which is something Johnson is especially excited about.

“So now it feels like it’s ok. Now we’re actually in the game here because you put it out in vinyl it seems real.”

The package will also include rare photos and extensive liner notes and previously unreleased tracks.

“There’s a Beatles cover we did that we intended to put on a record and it just never came out,” says Johnson.

Johnson says the edition is intended to give fans a look at what into the making of the record, which he says shows the “evolution of our musical recipe at that time.”

Part of the ingredients for the sound on the record was the double neck guitar Johnson played. It was a gift from Alex Lifeson of Rush, and Johnson writes about that experience in the extensive liner notes.

“It was this amazing validation to have your hero hand you Excalibur and say, ‘Go slay dragons with this.’ And we really did slay dragons with that guitar,” says Johnson.

Johnson says he is eager to share the memories of Hemi-Vision, an album that meant a lot to him and his bandmates. He says it’s something worth celebrating beyond its 25-year history.

“As long as they can wheel me out there, I’ll go and do it. If I have a walker, a cane, I can do it from my hospital bed if I have to. I’ll still want to make that music.”

Hemi-Vision deluxe will be released Sept. 25.