Creedence Clearwater Revival

It was in 1968 that the classic southern rock legends Creedence Clearwater Revival (C.C.R. for short) released their debut album, which was self-titled. Although the members of the band had been recording material as early as a decade before the release of the album, this was the band that was going to bring them the fame and fortune they deserved. But how does the band's debut album measure up? Is it a masterpiece of an album, well ahead of its time, or is a rough and uneven debut? Read on for my review.

Although this is Creedence Clearwater Revival's first album, it doesn't really sound any better or worse than the band's future releases. It's very rare that a band gets their sound right on their very first album, but Creedence pulls it off. The album combines cover songs with original compositions. The cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put A Spell On You is nothing short of excellent. It's hard to believe the band could take a song that predated rock and roll, and make it better, but they do! John Fogerty's vocals here are priceless. Another cover song worth mentioning is Susie Q. They breathe new life into the song, and it shows - this became their most popular cover song by far. And this album is the only place where you can find the full-length uncut version (hits compilations usually butcher this one down to about half the original length.) And, of course, who could forget their cover of Ninety-Nine And A Half? The band's blues rock sound on this song is nothing short of excellent. Any band that can take old songs like these and make them better than the originals is an instant classic rock legend, in my eyes. But let's not forget about the band's original compositions! The Working Man is NOT the same song Rush would record about six years later - this is a VERY DIFFERENT song. It's probably the song most listeners can relate to - A man works so hard that he's never experienced anything else in life. The slower-paced and appropriately-titled Gloomy is also excellent. The band closes the album with Walk On The Water, one of their finest compositions. You should always end an album with a memorable song so that you may leave a lasting impression - and here Creedence does just that.

It's very rare that a band gets their sound right from the very beginning, but Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the few. And this was only the beginning of things to come for the soon-to-be classic rock legends. Although their career would be short, they would release a number of excellent albums, all of which would be well-received by their fans. If you're into classic southern rock, this album is essential.


Su disco menos "Creedence"   January 9, 2004
Muchos dicen que los primeros discos son los mejores. No en el caso de los grupos de la primera mitad de los 60, eso esta claro, pero la afirmacion se cumple en un buena cantidad de ejemplos. El debut discografico de Creedence es su album mas sicodelico, con mayor influencia blues, con mayores dosis de exhibicion por parte de John Fogerty y su guitarra, y por sobre todo todo el menos representativo de su trayectoria.

Es clara la influencia de San Francisco en el sonido del grupo, desde la obligada portada de la epoca (con unos Fogerty de irreconocible apariencia) hasta cierta acidez en la guiatarra, sobre todo en la espectacular Gloomy, un tema inexplicablemente desconocido que resalta ademas por sus marcados cambios de ritmo. Quizas demasiado avanzado para los Creedence maniacos. El blues mas ortodoxo pero no necesariamente aburrido se refleja en The Working Man y Get Down Woman, por su parte Walking on the Water destaca por sus efectos, algo impensado en los Creedence posteriores.

En cuanto a los covers, Ninety-Nine and a Half es bueno, pero no se compara con la demoledora interpretacion de I Put a Spell on You, donde una vez mas Fogerty demuestra lo buen guitarrista que es. Al igual que en la extensa Suzie Q, con una segunda parte instrumental en el tono del sonido San Francisco. Definitivamente hay mas que explorar del grupo aparte de las antologias y recopilaciones, y en este caso lo mejor seria empezar por el primero.


A great start   September 21, 2003
Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae)
Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1968 debut mixes covers and original material, and while it doesn't contain any of John Fogerty's best-known songs, there is more than enough here to make it worth your while.

"Creedence Clearwater Revival" opens with the band's first single, a powerful rendition of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You", followed by the Fogerty original "The Working Man", and a tough eight-minute take on Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q".

CCR also covers the Steve Cropper-Wilson Pickett classic "Ninety-Nine And A Half (won't do)", and John Fogerty plays some of the greatest blues guitar of his career on the highly underrated gem "Get Down Woman", one of the few real blues songs Fogerty has written. The opening twelve-bar solo is one of the greatest I've ever heard laid down by a white guitar player, and the simple but highly effective 24-bar solo between the second and the third verse smoulders as well.

And then there's "Porterville", a raw, menacing rock song with great hooks and a powerful lead vocal by Fogerty, and the funky blues-rock of "Gloomy" (with some weird backward guitars).

The album closes with the only Creedence song credited to Tom Fogerty, "Walk On The Water", which begins well, before fading out with a somewhat tedious, directionless jam session.

But it takes more than a couple of minutes of awkward jamming to ruin an otherwise fine rock n' roll record.
Creedence's sound on this their first album is lean and muscular, dominated by John Fogerty's less-is-more lead guitar and the busy drumming of Doug Clifford. It may be slightly more primitive and not quite as original as their later records, but it towers above the rock n' roll of its time.