Original released on LP Fantasy 8382
(US 1968, July 5)
Released in the summer of 1968 - a year after the summer of love, but still in the thick of the Age of Aquarius - Creedence Clearwater Revival's self-titled debut album was gloriously out-of-step with the times, teeming with John Fogerty's Americana fascinations. While many of Fogerty's obsessions and CCR's signatures are in place - weird blues ("I Put a Spell on You"), Stax R&B (Wilson Pickett's "Ninety-Nine and a Half"), rockabilly ("Susie Q"), winding instrumental interplay, the swamp sound, and songs for "The Working Man" - the band was still finding their way. Out of all their records (discounting Mardi Gras), this is the one that sounds the most like its era, thanks to the wordless vocal harmonies toward the end of "Susie Q," the backward guitars on "Gloomy," and the directionless, awkward jamming that concludes "Walking on the Water." Still, the band's sound is vibrant, with gutsy arrangements that borrow equally from Sun, Stax, and the swamp. Fogerty's songwriting is a little tentative. Not for nothing were two of the three singles pulled from the album covers (Dale Hawkins' "Susie Q," Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You") - he wasn't an accomplished tunesmith yet. Though "The Working Man" isn't bad, the true exception is that third single, "Porterville," an exceptional song with great hooks, an underlying sense of menace, and the first inkling of the working-class rage that fueled such landmarks as "Fortunate Son." It's the song that points the way to the breakthrough of "Bayou Country", but the rest of the album shouldn't be dismissed, because judged simply against the rock & roll of its time, it rises above its peers. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)
DISCOGRAPHY
Formed 1967, El
Cerrito, CA, United States
Disbanded October 1972
John Fogerty (born 1945): vocals, guitar
Stu Cook (born 1945): bass, piano
Doug Clifford (born 1945): drums
Tom Fogerty (born 1941 > died 1990): rhythm guitar, vocals
1968 Sg (US Scorpio 412): A. Porterville;
B. Call It Pretending
1968-06-15 Sg (US Fantasy 616):
A. Suzie Q (part 1); B. Suzie Q (part 2)
1968-07-05 LP CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL (US
Fantasy 8382): A1. I Put a Spell on You; A2. The Working Man; A3. Suzie Q; B1.
Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do); B2. Get Down Woman; B3. Porterville; B4. Gloomy;
B5. Walk on the Water
1968-10 Sg (US Fantasy 617):
A. I Put a Spell on You; B. Walk on the Water
1969-01-05 LP BAYOU COUNTRY (US Fantasy 8387):
A1. Born on the Bayou; A2. Bootleg; A3. Graveyard Train; B1. Good Golly Miss
Molly; B2. Penthouse Pauper; B3. Proud Mary; B4. Keep on Chooglin’
1969-01-15 Sg (US Fantasy 619):
A. Proud Mary; B. Born on the Bayou
1969-04-15 Sg (US Fantasy 622):
A. Bad Moon Rising; B. Lodi
1969-07 Sg (US Fantasy 625):
A. Green River; B. Commotion
1969-08-03 LP GREEN RIVER (US Fantasy 8393):
A1. Green River; A2. Commotion; A3. Tombstone Shadow; A4. Wrote a Song For
Everyone; B1. Bad Moon Rising; B2. Lodi; B3. Cross-Tie Walker; B4. Sinister Purpose;
B5. The Night Time Is the Right Time
1969-09-19 Sg (US Fantasy 634):
A. Fortunate Son; B. Down on the Corner
1969-11-02 LP WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS (US Fantasy
8397): A1. Down on the Corner; A2. It Came Out of the Sky; A3. Cotton Fields;
A4. Poorboy Shuffle; A5. Feelin’ Blue; B1. Fortunate Son; B2. Don’t Look Now
(It Ain’t You or Me); B3. The Midnight Special; B4. Side o’ the Road; B5.
Effigy
1970-01-02 Sg (US Fantasy 637):
A. Travelin’ Band; B. Who’ll Stop the Rain
1970-04 Sg (US Fantasy 641):
A. Run Through the Jungle; B. Up Around the Bend
1970-07 Sg (US Fantasy 645):
A. Lookin’ Out My Back Door; B. Long as I Can See the Light
1970-07-25 LP COSMO’S FACTORY (US Fantasy
8402): A1. Ramble Tamble; A2. Before You Accuse Me; A3. Travelin’ Band; A4.
Ooby Dooby; A5. Lookin’ Out My Back Door; A6. Run Through the Jungle; B1. Up
Around the Bend; B2. My Baby Left Me; B3. Who’ll Stop the Rain; B4. I Heard It
Through the Grapevine; B5. Long as I Can See the Light
1970-12-09 LP PENDULUM (US Fantasy 8410): A1.
Pagan Baby; A2. Sailor’s Lament; A3. Chameleon; A4. Have You Ever Seen the
Rain; A5. (Wish I Could) Hideaway; B1. Born to Move; B2. Hey Tonight; B3. It
Just a Tought; B4. Molina; B5. Rude Awakening #2
1971-01 Sg (US Fantasy 655):
A. Have You Ever Seen the Rain; B. Hey Tonight
1971-06-30 Sg (US Fantasy 665):
A. Sweet Hitch-Hiker; B. Door to Door
1972-04 Sg (US Fantasy 676):
A. Someday Never Comes; B. Tearin’ Up the Country
1972-04-11 LP MARDI GRAS (US Fantasy 9404):
A1. Lookin’ For a Reason; A2. Take It Like a Friend; A3. Need Someone to Hold;
A4. Tearin’ Up the Country; A5. Someday Never Comes; B1. What Are You Gonna Do;
B2. Sail Away; B3. Hello Mary Lou; B4. Door to Door; B5. Sweet Hitch-Hiker
1973-12 LP LIVE IN EUROPE (US Fantasy
6009): A1. Born on the Bayou; A2. Green River/Suzie Q; A3. It Came Out of the
Sky; B1. Door to Door; B2. Travelin’ Band; B3. Fortunate Son; B4. Commotion;
B5. Lodi; C1. Bad Moon Rising; C2. Proud Mary; C3. Up Around the Bend; C4. Hey
Tonight; C5. Sweet Hitch-Hiker; D. Keep On Chooglin’
