Creedence Clearwater Revival
Bayou Country
Green River
Willy and the Poor Boys
Cosmo's Factory
1968
First album for CCR, and it took a while for them to really come into their own. I don’t hear much of the swamp sound here, as several songs on here are closer to the blues than anything else. And coming out in 1968, there are some scant traces of psychedelia in places, mostly in “Susie Q.” So from the outset, they appeared to be just some bluesmen from the Frisco bay. Not until the next album and “Born on the Bayou” would they start to perpetuate that great Southern myth.
Only eight songs here, and three of them are covers, including their first two singles “I Put a Spell on You” and “Susie Q.” “Spell” does sound vaguely swampish, but is a natural choice for an opener: right from the start, Fogerty could really make his geetar talk. Plus, I’m glad to hear that Fogerty didn’t try to emulate Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to a tee, he’d probably sound foolish. “Susie Q” was their first big tune, as they stretch out the old blues number to 8 minutes. Besides some more guitar heroics, some psychedelia sticks out on here, including a whole verse filtered through some speaker, and a few backwards-sounding ‘oooooh's.’ The Stax-Volt cover “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” is more forgettable, however.
The original songs...well, you can’t always be perfect at something from the get-go. Fogerty was mostly relying on blues cliches in the lyrics, and didn’t have the everyman sentiments found on later albums. “Working Man” is actually really solid for a original blues piece, distinguished by a clever descending guitar riff, which Fogerty echoes a few times in the midsection. The closing “Walk on the Water” is another showcase for jamming, and although it doesn’t match the menace of “Run Through the Jungle,” it’s still pretty creepy if you’re in the mood.
I don’t really care about the rest. The band steps into pop territory in “Porterville,” and while it certainly lacks the polish and hooks of most anything on Chronicle, I don’t share the same derision that fellow WRC members seem to have for this song. The dark track “Gloomy” doesn’t do much for me, and “Get Down Woman” is as generic as generic blues can be. Not a bad start for CCR, but this self-titled album shows that they didn’t realize themselves right away. Which is forgivable. We all got to start from somewhere.
1969
Here’s the Creedence we know and love! Their debut album was mostly about Fogerty trying to find his niche as a songwriter, and the two hit singles were both covers. From here on out, CCR’s all about the Southern swampy atmosphere and their original pop singles, which they had in spades in just two years. Even so, the boys may have short on material on Bayou, because two songs out of the seven here are padded past seven minutes, a length neither song really merits. But let’s get to those later.
If there was ever a prophetic opener, it has to be the wonderful “Born on the Bayou.” CCR does a magnificent job in creating that Southland vibe; Fogerty’s vocals come into their own and the repetitive guitar riff never gets old. Not bad for San Fran boys, eh?? For all that, it was only a B-side. Good thing its A-side was their first big single “Proud Mary,” an improvement over their first pop stab “Porterville.” I don’t need to describe it, but that song is primarily to blame for my impressions of Fogerty saying every other vowel as ‘oi’ (‘big wheel keep on toinin’/Proud Mary keep on boinin’).
The rest of Bayou mostly holds up well: the acoustic shuffling “Bootleg” is a load of fun and the Little Richard cover “Good Golly Miss Molly” works as their own interpretation, which it wouldn’t have if Fogerty tried really hard to sound like Richie. Luckily he doesn’t; that’s just his normal screaming voice. Fogerty’s “Penthouse Pauper” is a mighty powerful blues track, with just great guitar-playing all around. When I first heard it I assumed it was an old blues tune, but nope, Fogerty penned it. Pretty damn impressive for him, the lyrics sound authentic.
As I said in the intro, the long jams on the other two tracks are the biggest bringdowns on Bayou. “Graveyard Train” would have been a decent 3 and a half-minute slow track, but it goes on for 5 more minutes with just the same ole riff and some uninspired harmonica wailing. The upbeat “Keep on Chooglin’” (er, I mean “Keep on Choo-glain”) isn’t one of their better tracks; it doesn’t have a great hook, just Fogerty saying ‘choo-glain’ over and over, so I really don’t need it extended to 7:41. That’s about 30 seconds longer than “Hey Jude”! What gives?! Oh well, despite that, Bayou Country is better than the debut. Only “Chooglin’” wouldn’t have been a good song, and its overlong nature only hurts. They find their style here, and that’s what counts.
1969
Hey now! This is even better! The boys don’t feel the need to extend any songs here, and they decide to add more songs in lieu of those jams. Unfortunately, even with more songs than on Bayou, Green River as a whole is 5 minutes shorter. It doesn’t even break the 30-minute mark!! That complaint aside, Fogerty’s craftsmanship grows and grows, the sound is a little more diverse (it’s still the signature swampland sound, but a few new wrinkles are in the mix), and only the final two songs don’t work.
The singles are still top-notch, they are. The opening title track is like a more concise “Born on the Bayou,” it paints another swamp scene but is faster and shorter, making it radio-ready. I’m not saying any is better, they’re both awesome. The B-side “Commotion” ain’t no slouch, as Fogerty foams at the mouth over the hectic state of the world over their fastest tempo to date. Another big single is “Bad Moon Rising,” which merges ominous weather/apocalypse warnings with a lightweight riff and feel. This time, the B-side may be superior: the ballad “Lodi” is not played as much as many other of their singles, which makes it underrated. I really love Fogerty’s frustrated/tired tone here, and the music matches his weary mood. Well done.
Elsewhere, Fogerty has yet another tasty original blues tune in “Tombstone Shadow,” this time memorable for its nagging one-note guitar solo. “Cross-Tie Walker” sounds exactly like “Bad Moon Rising,” except the lyrics aren’t threatening and it has one of the coolest effects in the entire CCR catalogue: a descending bass-line and two drum crashes. They show up after lines in each verse, but not all of them, they space it out enough so to not wear out its welcome. So cool!! The other ballad “Wrote a Song For Everyone” is the longest on Green River, but never feels too long. There’s no way I can resist Fogerty’s sincere musings of how he can express himself to his audiences but can’t do so to the one he loves. I think I have the opposite problem, but that’s another story.
What keeps the album from getting a 10 are the final two numbers: “Sinister Purpose” has some good vocal/guitar parts, as they sing the same melody simultaneously at times, but sounds confused. Is it trying to be creepy, or romantic? Because either way it doesn’t work. The closing cover “Night Time is the Right Time” is shockingly sloppy, in both vocals and band performance. I don’t fault the song, I still adore the Ray Charles original, but CCR butchers it big time. But the strength of the first seven tracks are enough to warrant Green River a solid 9. It’s their most consistent and solid album to date, only to be one-upped later.
1969
Yes, this would be the third album CCR released in the year 1969. And unfortunately, it’s a step down. Everyone says this is a concept album, about America or more specifically rural America, so that’s why it’s gotten quite a bit of acclaim. Leave it to us folks at WRC to actually listen to the songs. And I will have to agree with them, some of these songs aren’t that great. It makes for one inconsistent listen, whereas Green River was very consistent up until the end.
Let it be known that I will never, ever diss hit single “Down on the Corner.” It’s their catchiest, fun songs ever, and it introduces us to Willy and his Boys of Poor Stature. You gotta love this song even if you don’t like CCR. Its flipside “Fortunate Son” is more notorious, more than ever now due to its ‘inclusion’ on a jeans commercial. Just like Reagan did to “Born in the U.S.A.,” the nitwits at Wrangler made it out to be a patriotic song by virtue of its ‘some folks are born to wave the flag’ line. In reality, it’s an angry protest against jingoism. Ironic, eh? Musically, it’s the angriest rock in CCR’s catalogue, and I love it. Love that guitar line.
Also worthy of props would be the funny little rocker “It Came Out of the Sky,” dealing with both a U.F.O. sighting and everyone’s different reactions to the event. “Don’t Look Now” is another contrast in simple acoustic rhythm mixed with downbeat lyrics, this time dealing with future generations. The cover “Midnight Special” is so much cooler than Johnny Rivers’ lite version that I hear more often on the radio. I’m not so wowed on the other cover, Leadbelly’s “Cotton Fields.” They do a pleasant job with it, but they repeat the same verse/chorus throughout the song. I’ve heard the Beach Boys’ version, it’s not as authentic but they sing the whole song, right?
I’m not too fond of the rest of Willy. There’s really no reason for the brief harmonica shuffle “Poorboy Shuffle,” except one can argue they’re channeling any street band. Whatever. “Side O’The Road” is more in CCR territory, but not much more substantial. “Feelin’ Blue” is the first CCR song I can say truly sucks . The body of the song isn’t bad, another blues working that doesn’t hold a candle to “Penthouse Pauper” or “Tombstone Shadow.” But that chorus is horrible, one of the dumbest I’ve heard in a while. I don’t even wanna recreate it. While the rest of the WRC saves their venom for “Porterville,” mine goes here.
Now what about that closer “Effigy”?? Seems too heavy-handed for me, it’s supposed to be some statement about the dark side of the Southland, which kind of throws a wrench in the theory of Willy celebrating rural America. The song itself is long and drawn out, mostly made up of dissonant, angry passages over and over. Their wall-of-sound is all right, but “Ramble Tamble” would beat it out a year later. The closer, two useless instrumentals, and one atrocity bring down the proceedings on Willy, and CCR found themselves in a little rut. But they would respond very well the next year. You’ll see.
1970
Nice! Fogerty and company tried a little too hard on their ‘concept album’ Willy, so they loosened up a little bit and ended up with this awesome album. What makes Cosmo’s better than the rest, save for Green River? The group’s jamming skills come into fruition, as when they stretch out a song, they don’t just play the same bars over and over with no progression (“Feelin Blue,” “Graveyard Train,” etc.). They add dynamics and/or the best guitar passages John’s ever played. Plus, their pop sense is stronger than ever, as over half of this album got radio airplay for good reason.
So why no 10, you ask?? Answer is: too many roots-rock covers. I would be perfectly fine with one or two, but three is a little too much. CCR could have found better Roy Orbison tracks to cover than “Ooby Dooby,” and Elvis’ “My Baby Left Me” is just as much of a throwaway. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t ruin them like they massacred “Night Time is the Right Time,” they’re just...not essential. The old blues cover “Before You Accuse Me” is better since I’m not all that familiar with it. Since I never heard Clapton’s version, I can’t say they sound the same.
But wow, when they do the jamming thing, the results aren’t boring!!! The opening “Ramble Tamble” starts as your typical fast-tempo CCR rant thing like “Commotion,” and then it turns into a slow, tense jam consisting of four chords over and over. Except this time, the whole band tightens up and builds up the tension with a progressively larger wall-of-sound until you’re ready to choke...at which point they go back to the fast tempo. Only “Effigy” tried something like this before, but that was more pretentious.
“I Heard it Through the Grapevine” on its own is CCR’s very best cover, as they take Marvin Gaye’s classic and make it their own. After the normal part of the song, the band jams for a good 8 minutes. Whereas other bands would splatter the scene with endless guitar noodling or showiness, Fogerty shows great restraint in his passages, from almost mimicking the main melody at the start to his subtle, thoughtful progressions all throughout. I’m not as wowed as everybody else, but I’m rarely bored when I listen, which really is saying something.
The rest of Cosmo’s reads as a mini-greatest hits collection. Only the soulful closer “Long as I Can See the Light” kind of passes me by, as Fogerty oversings. But the rest? “Traveling Band” is full-on retro, with more energy than any of the roots covers elsewhere on Cosmo’s. Listen to Fogerty scream, man! The lightweight “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” is too fun for words, with all those tambourines and elephants in the band! “Up Around the Bend” might be a lesser track, but I can’t resist that fun vibe or the piercing riff. However, not all is happy and whee. “Who’ll Stop the Rain” is one of the most emotional tunes in the CCR catalogue, with heart-wrenching Fogerty vocals and a subtle raining feel. The swampy “Run Through the Jungle” stands as their creepiest tune, it makes “Walk on the Water” and “Sinister Purpose” seem forced. It’s so immaculate that Fogerty tried it again in the mid ’80s, retitling it “Old Man Down the Road.”
Cosmo’s definitely shows CCR at their most mature as musicians, as both the extended passages and the concise pop tunes are awesome. Only little problem is there’s a little too much reliance on roots covers, inoffensive though they are. Still, Cosmo’s a very good album, and if you only want one CCR album, this would be your best bet, as you get all sides of CCR better than Green River.