Creedence Clearwater Revival – 40th Anniversary Reissues Review

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 10.01.2008

Fantasy Records celebrates 40 years since John Fogerty and CCR gave us “Susie Q” and became America’s best answer to The Beatles…

My Story
I’m pretty sure that anyone who has ever had a subscription to BMG or Columbia House has been issued a copy of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Chronicle. That is to say, they’re part of American culture - the voice of John Fogerty is engrained as deep as baseball and apple pie. For a band with a relatively short history (just over four years from their debut to their break-up), Creedence made a lasting impression. So much so that there are more CCR compilations on the market than studio albums. However, with ex-frontman John Fogerty mending his relationship with CCR’s old label Fantasy last year, we’d best make room for some more. The first fruits of this relationship are a re-releasing of CCR’s first six albums with some bonus tracks. Will they be necessary Creedence listening or just a repackaging of the same old thing?

Their Story
In the late 50’s, Tom Fogerty and his teenage brother John were working in the band Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets. The Velvets, a pop jazz-oriented group, also included pianist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. Fogerty & The Blue Velvets were signed to indie jazz label Fantasy in 1964, but label execs gave the band a makeover in order to capitalize on the British invasion sound. The group was renamed The Golliwogs and they released a few singles for Fantasy over the next several months to little notice.

Despite the lack of success, several changes were occurring with The Golliwogs internally. By 1965, Stu Cook had switched to full time bassist and John had taken over as Golliwogs frontman (playing lead guitar and handling vocals), while Tom was relegated to rhythm guitar duties.

The Golliwogs were disrupted in the mid-60’s when both John Fogerty and Doug Clifford were called into the service. Following brief stints in the army reserve and coast guard both returned full time to the band. By that time, Fantasy Records was under new management. They also happened to be very keen on The Golliwogs, and offered to release a full album by the band on the condition that they change their name. Having never been fond of “The Golliwogs”, all four agreed.

Creedence Clearwater Revival released their self-titled debut album in 1968. The second single from CCR, “Suzie Q”, just missed the Top 10. “Suzie Q” was the epitome of Creedence’s first album – a nod to late 50’s dirty R&B (“Suzie Q” had, in fact, been a hit for rockabilly singer Dale Hawkins 10 years earlier) with a psychedelic flare.

Creedence got music critics buzzing, for sure, but it was 1969’s follow-up, Bayou Country, that announced CCR on the scene. CCR scored their first ever Top 10 hit with the #2 single “Proud Mary”. The rootsy Bayou Country went #7 on the album chart and would solidify the sound that CCR would become known for the rest of their career.

Creedence would release two more albums in 1969 – the #1 hit Green River and the nearly as successful follow-up Willy & The Poor Boys - all under the strong direction of John Fogerty, who was managing every aspect of the band at that point. With that pair, the band scored five more Top 40 singles, including two more #2s in “Bad Moon Rising” and “”Green River” and their first gold single “Down On The Corner”. Cosmo’s Factory, another #1 record, followed the next year.

1970 could be considered both a banner year and the beginning of the end for CCR. On the good side, by the end of that year Creedence had logged eight Top 10 singles, four of which were certified gold. All six of their albums also went gold by the end of that December.

Sadly, cracks in Creedence’s armor also began to show that year. The recording of their #5 hit Pendulum had left the other three members unhappy with John’s iron fisted leadership. Tom Fogerty left the band in early 1971, tired of not having what he felt was enough say in the band’s business decisions. In response, Fogerty informed the remaining two members that their next album would be recorded as a total democracy, with each band member contributing three songs. This put stress on Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, who actually didn’t mind Fogerty’s leadership in the studio and were more unhappy with his roll as the band’s business manager. John remained steadfast, though. Unfortunately, when 1972’s Mardi Gras hit stores, it was a critical failure and not up to par with the band’s previous sales. After the album’s second single, “Someday Never Comes”, failed to reach the Top 20, Fogerty decided that the tension among the band member’s (and a lousy relationship with Fantasy Records) had reached a boiling point. CCR played their final show in October of 1972 to a crowd of hecklers. At the time of their dissolution, the band had seven #2 hits, five Top 10 albums (including two #1s), five gold singles and seven gold albums.

Following the end of Creedence, John Fogerty decided to continue his career solo, which is still visible to this day. While John has scored several big singles, his output has been sporadic, partially because of constant issues with Fantasy Records, who at one point even sued John because his solo output sounded too much like Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Amazingly, John Fogerty resigned with a revamped Fantasy in 2005. A Creedence Clearwater Revival reunion is highly improbably, though, with Tom Fogerty’s death due to AIDS in 1990. While Cook and Clifford were close with Tom before his death, it’s believed that the issues between the brothers were never resolved.

With Fogerty back under the Fantasy umbrella, the re-release of CCR’s material was inevitable. Afterall, Creedence’s albums had moved over 25 million copies in the US, and 8 million of those were from the Chronicle hits compilation alone. And thus the 40th Anniversary Edition reissues of Creedence’s first six studio albums were released in late 2008.

The Album
On September 30, 2008, Fantasy Records released the “40th Anniversary Editions” of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s first six studio albums: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country, Green River, Willy & The Poor Boys, Cosmo’s Factory and Pendulum. All were released between 1968 and 1970. The only studio album to not be reissues, 1972’s Mardi Gras, did not feature the original quartet. The albums are each remastered with new liner notes and contain bonus tracks.




The Band: 10.0
John Fogerty: lead guitar, Hammond B-3, vocals, producer
Stu Cook: bass, background vocals
Doug Clifford: drums, background vocals
Tom Fogerty: rhythm guitar, background vocals

If you’ve never heard Creedence Clearwater Revival before this review, I would think that reading this would be useless, as you’re obviously an alien without grasp for the human language. However, on the off chance that you’ve managed to translate our language without being exposed to any of our best music, let me at least try.

CCR took the basic building blocks of rock ‘n’ roll and rearranged them. They essentially reinvented rock ‘n’ roll in their own image, ten years after it had been born. John Fogerty, the band’s leader, was a library of classic R&B chestnuts (think the Stax era), rockabilly, raw gospel and early rock ‘n’ roll. He was so adept at arranging these elements that even some of his original compositions could easily be mistaken for long forgotten AM radio classics. Not to mention that he was a most unique singer – a bluesy growl mixed with a gospel holler, all held together by that desire to make big hits.

Of course, none of this would have been near as memorable if he hadn’t had such an amazing rhythm section under him. Sure, John wrote the songs in his head, but Stu, Tom and Doug brought them to life. These guys were expert musicians, not much unlike the MGs under Fogerty’s hero Booker T. Tom Fogerty’s shuffling rhythm, Stu Cook’s funky bass buzz and Doug Clifford’s swampy backbeat defined CCR just as much as John’s signature vocal work.

For a brief period as the 60’s gave way to the 70’s, Creedence was America’s band – our answer to the Beatles. And these albums show that they were nearly as influential and vital.

The Songs: 8.0

Creedence Clearwater Revival
1. I Put A Spell On You
2. The Working Man
3. Susie Q
4. Ninety-Nine And A Half
5. Get Down Woman
6. Porterville
7. Gloomy
8. Walk On Water
9. Call It Pretending
10. Before You Accuse Me (1968 Outtake)
11. Ninety-Nine And A Half (Live At The Fillmore, San Francisco, 3-14-69)
12. Susie Q (Live At The Fillmore, San Francisco, 3-14-69)

Bayou Country
1. Born On The Bayou
2. Bootleg
3. Graveyard Train
4. Good Golly Miss Molly
5. Penthouse Pauper
6. Proud Mary
7. Keep On Chooglin’
8. Bootleg (Alternate Take)
9. Born On The Bayou (Live In London, England, 9/28/71)
10. Proud Mary (Live In Stockholm, Sweden, 9/21/71)
11. Crazy Otto (Live At The Fillmore, San Francisco, 3/14/69)

Green River
1. Green River
2. Commotion
3. Tombstone Shadow
4. Wrote A Song For Everyone
5. Bad Moon Rising
6. Lodi
7. Cross-Tie Walker
8. Sinister Purpose
9. The Night Time Is The Right Time
10. Broken Spoke Shuffle
11. Glory Be
12. Bad Moon Rising (Live In Berlin, Germany, 9/16/71)
13. Green River/Susie Q (Live In Stockholm, Sweden, 9/21/71)
14. Lodi (Live In Hamburg, Germany, 9/17/71)

Willy And The Poor Boys
1. Down On The Corner
2. It Came Out Of The Sky
3. Cotton Fields
4. Poorboy Shuffle
5. Feelin’ Blue
6. Fortunate Son
7. Don’t Look Now
8. The Midnight Special
9. Side O’ The Road
10. Effigy
11. Fortunate Son (Live In Manchester, England, 9/1/71)
12. It Came Out Of The Sky (Live In Berlin, Germany, 9/16/71)
13. Down On The Corner (Jam with Booker T. @ Fantasy Records)

Cosmo’s Factory
1. Ramble Tamble
2. Before You Accuse Me
3. Travelin’ Band
4. Ooby Dooby
5. Lookin’ Out My Back Door
6. Run Through The Jungle
7. Up Around The Bend
8. My Baby Left Me
9. Who’ll Stop The Rain
10. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
11. Long As I Can See The Light
12. Travelin’ Band (Remake Take)
13. Up Around The Bend (Live In Amsterdam, Holland, 9/10/71)
14. Born On The Bayou (with Booker T. & The MGs at Fantasy Studios, 1970)

Pendulum
1. Chameleon
2. Molina
3. It’s Just A Thought
4. (Wish I Could) Hideaway
5. Pagan Baby
6. Sailor’s Lament
7. Born To Move
8. Have You Ever Seen The Rain
9. Rude Awakening #2
10. Hey Tonight
11. 45 Revolutions Per Minute (Part 1)
12. 45 Revolutions Per Minute (Part 2)
13. Hey Tonight (Live In Hamburg, Germany, 1971)

The point of these reissues isn’t really the remastered audio – all of Creedence’s albums were remastered and released in an eponymous box set five years ago. This move seems to attempt to shine the spotlight on Creedence as an album-oriented group, something they were rarely given credit for in their heyday. Maybe it was because they had so many big hit singles, or maybe it was because they had so many cover songs, but critics and music fans tended to gravitate towards CCR on the radio rather than CCR in the album bin. This could even be backed up by record sales – while all of the albums in this series were certified platinum or multi-platinum, none come close to comparing to the 8x platinum hits compilation Chronicle. Hell, half of the band’s domestic sales are accounted for on compilations. But here’s another more astonishing figure – 40 of the 55 songs Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their original studio albums can be found on the two Chronicle sets.

So are these new single album reissues necessary? If the intent is merely to refocus attention on CCR as an album band, then yes, each of these records do that quite nicely. Even with a healthy knowledge of the hits (and they are plenty, spread out relatively evenly across each album), you’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re missing out on gems like “Effigy”, “Wrote A Song For Everyone” or “Bootleg”.

That said, for a newcomer fan (and let’s face it, there are new fans every generation), each of these albums are just as sound a purchase as a greatest hits set. But what about the longtime Creedence follower? What does this series offer you?

Not much, unfortunately. Each album is bolstered with a handful of bonus material. There are 22 extra tracks in all. Three of them – the Golliwogs single “Call It Pretending” and “Revolution #9”-inspired “45 Revolutions Per Minute” parts - are available on the aforementioned box set. “Call It Pretending” is definitely worth hearing, though, as CCR was just on the cusp of fully realizing its sound there.

The other extra stuff is mostly throwaway. Nine of them are live cuts recorded for the Live In Europe album but unused. These songs were played on the band’s very last tour after Tom Fogerty had parted was with the band. As the band’s only post-Tom album, Mardi Gras, was omitted from this reissue series, these cuts seem like an odd choice. Never mind the fact that they just don’t sound like CCR at their peak. Then you have a pair of scratch instrumental tracks that are anything but riveting.

There are some good moments in the other bonus cuts though. A pair of songs recorded in studio with Booker T. & The MGs in 1970 are nice for historical perspective, though the audio quality is so poor that the true depth of John Fogerty and Steve Cropper getting together on guitar is lost. There are also three live cuts from Creedence in their prime and playing their hometown, which is a fun listen but only shines a light on how ragged the group was sounding at the end of its life. The best moment of the new stuff, however, is an alternate take of the band’s scorching “Bootleg”, jammed out nearly twice as long as the final cut.

The 411: The Creedence Clearwater Revival reissues are nice to find in the CD bin in the future, when CCR fans-to-be are going to be discovering the magic of John Fogerty and his band for the first time. For the here and now, however, they seem just a little unnecessary. If you’re any sort of Creedence collector, there’s nothing new to draw you in minus a good version of “Bootleg” and some stuff with Booker T. & The MGs. If anything, the 40th Anniversary Editions seem to signify that there is precious little left in the Creedence Clearwater Revival vaults. Not that CCR had anything left to prove anyway.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]