There is a moment in this show, filled with a large amount of Vietnam Veterans on this Independence Day, where John tells the crowd that he has "gone through about twenty years of pain" but has finally decided to face it, and as he says, "drop it." It seems he has finally settled his difference with his old bandmates and Zaentz and has decided to move on and embrace his legacy.
It is the heavier songs that carry the most punch. Songs like the aforementioned "Bayou," "Bad Moon Rising" and "Up Around the Bend" rock it like a full-forced gale and never let up. However on the softer songs that incorporate a lead line on piano or acoustic guitar there is a bit of let down in the quality. The playing is still good on these songs, but the sound just doesn't quite cut it. Likely this comes from playing in a large arena where the sound needs to reach a big audience and thus manages to lose the subtlety needed in songs such as "Down on the Corner" and "Who'll Stop the Rain." One last note on the sound: for some unfortunate reason on "Fortunate Son" John's voice has some kind of delay on it so that it sounds as if it is overlapping on itself. Maybe this was a neat trick in the day, but now it sounds simply lousy.
The songs are all played well and with gusto. The band is in fine form. It is full of energy (at one point John exclaims "this feels so good!") but pretty by-the-numbers in terms of arrangements and structure. There is very little extemporaneous jamming, and the songs stick pretty close to the way they sound on the albums. This is forgivable as they hadn't been played in over a decade, but also amounts to a less than a memorable bootleg.
Download the concert: Intro, "Old Man Down the Road," "Born on the Bayou," "Down on the Corner," John Talking, "Who'll Stop the Rain?," "Up Around the Bend," "The Midnight Special," "Bad Moon Rising," "Fortunate Son," "Proud Mary."
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Glad to the column is your back. With all that has gone on, I need to see if there's a really good book on Fogerty/CCR. Those reissues really impressed me and raised my estimation of the band. I don't know why Chronicle was enough. Hopefully in Jan. I can finish the last two albums. Off to d'load those tracks
2 - Mat Brewster
Thanks. It has been a long while since I wrote one of these, and it feels good to be back. yeah, those reissues are smoking. I'm kind of amazed I never paid more attention to the band other than the greatest hits package. Enjoy the songs.
3 - Glen Boyd
Great stuff Mat. I rediscovered CCR a bit with this year's reissues myself (not that I ever stopped appreciating Fogerty). Nice to see you back in Bootleg Country. You were missed.
-Glen
4 - Donald Gibson
I remember seeing Fogerty on some VH1 documentary, saying that he ultimately came to a point when he realized that no matter who "owned" the CCR songs he'd written, they belonged to his audience.
When fans see him in concert, singing "Who'll Stop The Rain" or "Fortunate Son," they don't usually think, 'I wonder who's getting royalties off this stuff?'
Fogerty finally, and fortunately, figured that out.
5 - Mat Brewster
Thanks Glen, hopefully I'll keep it up.
How wrong you are Donald, whenever I hear anybody sing any song the first thing I wonder about is the royalties check :)