Creedence Clearwater Revival

[WD45]

Yeah, and the extended "I Hoid it Through the Grapevine" always gets cranked up in my car. In fact, I hate it when the radio doesn't play the whole thing! (There used to be a time when they did!)

Same here -- 12 minutes of delight!

I once heard that a station in Cali was changing formats and the stunt they opted for was to play the long version of I Heard it Through the Grapevine over and over for days. I could hang with that. :rsmile:

[Big Al]

"It Came Out of the Sky" has a funny reference to then gov Reagan.

'Ronnie the Popular' said "it was a Communist plot"

[EKE BBB]

Big fan of the CCR here!

I was kind of CCR freak about 20 years ago and, after more than 10 years of just jazz listening (and a bit of blues and classical), I put one of those Chronicle compilations on the car stereo the other day, and in just a few seconds I found myself shouting again like mad that "... there's a bathroom on the right" chorus [CCR freaks hint].

This has lead me to listen to their seven studio albums in a row, once again. Geez, they still have that energy.

Love them!

Edited January 2, 2009 by EKE BBB

[John L]

I liked them quite a bit back in the day. The rhythm was simple, but it felt good for dancing relative to most other rock. Say what you will about Fogerty, but he has a certain genuine soulfulness in him that can charge the music.

I don't listen to Credence much any more, but I perform regularly a bluesed-up version of Lodi with a local band that I moonlight in.

[Shawn]

Although not expressly mentioned, I have to give a shout out to "Fortunate Son", which to me is one of the best rock songs ever written.

I love Creedence, heard them constantly around the house growing up (my Mother was a huge fan). I guess some of the accent stuff is hokey, but for some damn reason it's appealing. Plus this music is absolutely timeless, hasn't aged a day.

[riverrat]

I'm a big fan. Bought Cosmos right when it came out and worked back from there.

I think the 20-bit K2 remasters sound pretty good, but I see what some people mean when they say they are mixed a bit too hot and bright.

I've read that the MFSL versions are definitive, but I can't say myself. I think Analog Productions did some too, which I bet sound pretty good.

[kh1958]

I could never stand CCR or the Beach Boys!

We are on the same page.

[Shawn]

I could never stand CCR or the Beach Boys!

We are on the same page.

I agree on The Beach Boys, I don't care how innovative it was...it's TOO DAMN HAPPY!!!!!

[JSngry]

Yeah, that damn "Caroline No" is just one bigass carousel ride...

[Shawn]

Yeah, that damn "Caroline No" is just one bigass carousel ride...

Okay, you caught me, I was generalizing.

[JSngry]

And up until mid-1965/early 1666, that generalization would be accurate!

[JSngry]

I mean, "When I Grow Up To Be A Man" only sounds "happy" until you actually pay attention to it (musically & lyrically). Then it gets kinda, uh....tense.

Brian Wilson, as we all now know, was a pretty disturbed cat even in the best of his times. I know that mileages vary widely and wildly on this, but even early on, with that irritating "dip" that he'd use to slide into pitches (which in retrospect sounds like the musical equivalent of try to duck a punch thrown by your father...), I'd always felt some sort of...something in his music, some kind of...depth of perception (and relative to his peers, any depth, even the most superficial, would be a difference...), that was totally lacking in other bands, like The Hondells, or Jan & Dean, or...you name 'em. And once you get to and past The Beach Boys Today, the whole "surf music" ethos pretty much becomes a non-issue.

Ok, I spent a few hours Thursday night playing Pet Sounds, trying not to get emotional at the same points I always get emotional at. I failed. Sure, the pain of lost innocence is pretty dumb to those who never had much (or any) to lose. But if you did, it's not a happy thing, ever, even after you grow up and realize that that's just how life is. Not for nothing is the theme of "paradise lost" one of the eternals.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

In '69 I was running a small record shop in a shopping mall and providing music for the mall's PA system. I played a lot of CCR; I could definitely stand it; people liked it; they didn't like Lonnie Smith's "Think" or Lou's "Say it loud" (or James Brown's); they'd have preferred Doors, the Mothers or MC5. So CCR was the best compromise available.

They were very good at what they did.

MG

[riverrat]

I could never stand CCR or the Beach Boys!

Please don't lump these two bands together. They are different as night and day.

I could take or leave the Beach Boys- mostly leave them- but CCR is sacrosanct!

[Hot Ptah]

I listened to all of the CCR albums with my son a few years ago. Except for Cosmos Factory, I thought that their albums were inconsistent, with the hits, a few other good songs, and a bunch of filler that was not all that good.

I liked "It Came Out Of The Sky" and "Don't Look Now" the best of all.

[BFrank]

I grew up with those guys on the radio - constantly - drove me up the wall. I've tempered on them a bit over the years, but don't think I could take an entire concert of Fogerty even now.

The only album of theirs I've ever owned is "The Royal Albert Hall Concert" (renamed "The Concert" when it was found to have been recorded in Oakland). Good collection of their hits - with better energy.

[BruceH]

To me, CCR was and is a prime example of one of those bands that's "better than you think." To be specific, "despite being played to death on the radio they were actually remarkably good, even great." One of those. In order to recognize their worth, I had to try to listen to them with (at least partially) fresh ears. Discount all the times I've heard them on radios and at parties, discount the phony/hokey sounding lead vocals, and just zero in on the tight song structures, economical guitar solos, the rock'n'roll grooves and catchy melodies. Once you manage to do that though, you realized that they churned out a hell of a lot of good songs, no way around it.

And trying to mentally step back and listen to anything with fresh ears is a very useful exercise.

[EKE BBB]

I listened to all of the CCR albums with my son a few years ago. Except for Cosmos Factory, I thought that their albums were inconsistent, with the hits, a few other good songs, and a bunch of filler that was not all that good.

I liked "It Came Out Of The Sky" and "Don't Look Now" the best of all.

In my opinion, and except for the Mardi Gras disc (a very poor epitaph), every track in their albums WAS a potential hit.

[EKE BBB]

I listened to all of the CCR albums with my son a few years ago. Except for Cosmos Factory, I thought that their albums were inconsistent, with the hits, a few other good songs, and a bunch of filler that was not all that good.

I liked "It Came Out Of The Sky" and "Don't Look Now" the best of all.

In my opinion, and except for the Mardi Gras disc (a very poor epitaph), every track in their albums WAS a potential hit.

I've yet to find a rock group with six consecutive albums as consistent as CCR + Cosmos Factory + Bayou Country + Green River + Willy And The Poorboys + Pendulum (listed in random order).

Just my two cents.

[Hot Ptah]

I listened to all of the CCR albums with my son a few years ago. Except for Cosmos Factory, I thought that their albums were inconsistent, with the hits, a few other good songs, and a bunch of filler that was not all that good.

I liked "It Came Out Of The Sky" and "Don't Look Now" the best of all.

In my opinion, and except for the Mardi Gras disc (a very poor epitaph), every track in their albums WAS a potential hit.

I hear the later tracks on each LP side of their albums very differently, except for Cosmos Factory. That's O.K. We don't have to agree.

[Big Al]

I'm in that distinct (and tiny) minority who actually enjoys Mardi Gras. It certainly isn't a GREAT album by any standards, but it is a GOOD one, with Doug and Stu showing some promise. I really like "Sail Away," "Need Someone to Love," and "Take it Like a Man."

And a HUGE AMEN to Bruce's post above! Every single word of it!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

There is, of course, one HUGE facet to the work of this band - that is that the profits (plus a few films) enabled Fantasy to buy Prestige, Riverside, Pablo, Contemporary, Specialty, Milestone, Stax etc etc, thus assembling the greatest bunch of black music under one roof. Fantasy RIP.

MG