There's nothing fancy about it, yet it still immediately summons dark images of the deep south. Taken together with Fogerty's unique voice — which is basically equal parts bluesy drawl and twangy wail — the whole thing percolates like that particular region's finest tasting gumbo. John Fogerty's guitar and voice are the spice in this particular soup, with brother Tom providing the seasoning with his rhythm guitar. Holding down this essential groove fell to the rhythm section of Cook and Clifford, who did so with the hypnotic precision of one of those hoodoo shamen.
There's nothing remotely suggesting late sixties San Francisco about it.
That alone would be enough, but on songs like his first great single, "Proud Mary," Fogerty matches those images of the deep south with his words.
With its lyrical images of "big wheels that keep on turning," "riverboat queens," and above all, "rolling on the river," Mark Twain himself couldn't paint a much more descriptive picture. The thing is, that great song would prove to be but the tip of the iceberg when it came to Fogerty's knack for writing unforgettable songs in the same way, and with the same frequency, that you or I might change our socks.
Indeed, the great songs kept coming on 1969's Green River. Many believe Creedence's third album to be their best, although that spot changes for me almost as often I change my own... well, you know. But there is simply no denying that title track, where against all odds of probability, Fogerty's guitar actually outswamps some of the songs on Bayou Country.
Released as a double A side single with "Commotion," the two songs together kick Green River off with an unstoppable, one-two punch. Where "Green River" is still anchor deep in the Mississippi swamp, "Commotion" chugs along with a twang that owes as much to the country of Johnny Cash as it does to the rock of Chuck Berry. Likewise, "Lodi" brings to mind what Hank Williams Sr. might sound like backed by the Tennessee Three.
But on Green River, Fogerty's lyrics were also branching out from the riverboat themes into the broader arena of social concerns. "Bad Moon Rising" would in fact foreshadow such still-to-come songs as "Who'll Stop The Rain" and "Fortunate Son."
On "Bad Moon Rising," Fogerty weds the darker images of the swamp with those very concerns in lines like "I see a bad moon rising, I see trouble on the way." Although the lyric seemed ambiguous at the time, there is little doubt what he meant when taken in retrospect. Elsewhere on this great album, Creedence offers up takes on Dixieland and gospel ("The Night Time Is The Right Time") and blues-based rock ("Tombstone Shadow").
Article comments
1 - Joanne Huspek
What a blast from the past! I remember Creedence with fondness, too. I learned to play guitar by them. Their songs were the easiest to play, all nice three-chord progressions that could be spiced up by even a dummy like me with just a twist of the wrist.
I'm going to have to get this one!