Right from the first song of the disc there is something new happening. "Don't You Wish It Was True" is a wistful song, with lyrics that describe an ideal world. The music has a light pop sound with an almost Hawaiian quality. But John's voice provides an echo of his older songs, with his particular cadences and distinctive tone putting his indelible stamp on the new one.
But it's a trio of songs in the middle of the album that really show the differences from his earlier work. "River Is Waiting," "Long Dark Night," and "Summer Of Love" each carry a new and distinctive sound and make John Fogerty much better for it. Hard as it may be to believe, "River Is Waiting" almost has a reggae feel. With a beautiful, haunting melody, it's about getting on with your life and finding reasons to keep on living. Listening to it makes you wonder if John has recently started to lose people he's loved.
"Long Dark Night" on the other hand is a hard rock song, more reminiscent of Neil Young and Crazy Horse than anything that came out of the swamp. It's all about Georgie who wants your children so he can have a war, with all his little buddies taking what they can while the taking is good.
But if you thought that was a surprise, with its hard edge and genuine anger, "Summer Of Love" will blow your mind. It's a great acid rock song with a mixture of Jimi Hendrix and Cream guitar work, blasting with anger about the hope that was never realized from the late '60s. In fact, 40 years later, America is again bogged down in a war that the public want less and less, and that the government has continually lied about.
Listen to the way he sings the song's beautiful chorus. "Reach Out your arms / Touch the moon touch the sky / Face to the wind / To be Free." There's bitterness in his voice that belies the meaning of the words and communicates his anger about the way things have turned out. He sounds like he doesn't believe a word of it.
Article comments
1 - Jon Sobel
I might just have to buy this on the strength of your review! It's interesting that you found the politically directed anger surprising, though... remember "Fortunate Son?" That was a very angry anti-war song, and could have been written just for Shrub!
2 - JC Mosquito
Just caught Fogerty on Letterman - yep - might have to buy this one too. He looks & sounds just like... John Fogerty - go fig.
3 - John Tonin
Although Revival has its moments it ultimately fails to satisfy. John Fogerty has turned up the volume and gain on his guitar sound but has lost the ringing melody that was a feature in almost every great Creedence song. His guitar playing here sounds tired and uninteresting. There are some nice songs but for the most part I think he would benefit by collaboration with an outside producer like Nick Lowe or Jeff Lynn or Tom Petty. These guys would make sure to reference the magic that was John Fogerty's Creedence legacy.