CCR Put a Spell On You

[liebzz]

I wanted a quick and easy album journey, so I am going to hang out with CCR this week. As we are aware, Credence Clearwater Revival pumped out an exceptional amount of material in a very short period of time, and is highly heralded by one Jeff Lebowski.

Credence Clearwater Revival - their debut sets the table for their swampy style of blues rock. It’s a template for southern rock despite originating in San Francisco. But its inspired down home vibe brings to mind hot and humid days where you can lose 5 pounds of water weight just sitting still - a perfect match for the weather here in the northeast Unites States this week. The groove and intensity for them is consistently around 90 degrees. On this album, I Put a Spell On You immediately clues you into this, with John Fogerty playing the perfect part with his voice. The extended (not single) version of Suzie Q is a reminder just how solid this band was, as is Walking on the Water. Ninety-Nine and a Half Won’t Do and Gloomy were two other big highlights for me. Definitely a strong start to this journey as the temperatures rise.

[doug rr]

fun ride....it's just a thought on pendulum is one of my all time favorites...

[bada]

They might be the best American rock band...maybe....

[tragabigzanda]

[liebzz]

Another one of those bands where the best of is perfect, and I’ve never gone much further

Me too. So now’s the time.

[liebzz]

Bayou Country - CCR’s second album really ups the ante on their sound and closes in on some of the more popular elements of their style. It doesn’t hurt that stone cold classics like Proud Mary and Keep On Chooglin’ are here. Born in the Bayou has always been one of my favorite songs of theirs and is the perfect opener here. This album feels country but plays rock perfectly. Some of the extended jams here are just awesome between Keep On Chooglin’ and Graveyard Train with a great baseline that just leads Fogerty and the band into great places while the song maintains a foreboding mood. Bootleg is also fantastic and a highlight I wasn’t previously familiar with, as was their swampy cover of Good Golly Miss Molly. A near perfect album here for this mood. I’m pretty sure I broke a sweat listening to this one.

[Birds in Hell]

Another one of those bands where the best of is perfect, and I’ve never gone much further

Man, the albums are so great!

So many killer songs not on Chronicle, or the other common comps:

[bart]

Effigy is so good

[i got bugs]

Ramble tamble isn't on chronicle

[Birds in Hell]

If trag hasn't previously heard Ramble Tamble, he should definitely think about dropping anything else he's currently doing and do that instead.

[bodysnatcher]

i just ordered the 50th(!) anniversary half-speed Cosmo's Factory. my current copy is fairly scratched up copy i got from a flea market, figured it was time for an upgrade. CCR was THE band as i was growing up.

[evenslow]

They might be the best American rock band...maybe....

[liebzz]

Green River - on this third album, the trajectory of the band continues to rise. This one is anchored by some serious classics, like Bad Moon Rising (“there’s a bathroom on the right”), Lodi, and Green River. The one-two-three punch of Green River, Commotion, and Tombstone Shadow is maybe my favorite run so far - that riff in Tombstone Shadow is irresistibly cool. My other favorites here had to be Cross-Tie Walker, Sinister Purpose (which actually sounds sinister), and The Night Time is the Right Time which somehow melds their swampiness with a 50s pop sound and ends up being one of my favorites - kind of what seems like the end goal of what Pearl Jam’s “Let the Records Play” was aiming for but couldn’t quite grasp. This band was remarkably consistent at least through album #3.

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[Birds in Hell]

This band was remarkably consistent at least through album #3.

And all released within the space of 15 months (May '68 to Aug '69) with one more to come before the end of 1969, making for four albums in two years!

[liebzz]

Willy and the Poor Boys - another few months go by and another classic album by CCR. Fortunate Son is maybe THE protest song of protest songs. Down on the Corner is a perfect and right down home classic. Feelin Blue is a moment of nice loose blues rock on a very tight album. Midnight Special is so great. Another of my favorites that is not necessarily considered among their most classic songs but just encapsulates the soul end of what they did. We are also treated to two instrumentals here in Poorboy Shuffle and Side O’ the Road. The album closes with the longest song on the album, and one that smolders in Effigy. 1969 was quite a good year for this band since all three albums are nearly perfect.

[bada]

The Uncle Tupelo cover of Effigy is a rager.

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[liebzz]

Cosmo’s Factory - as I sit here listening to this album, I keep thinking “wow, this is the album where they really put it all together,” except I think I thought that at the close of every one of their albums. Nearly all of these first 5 albums are solid A albums. This is A+. Ramble Tamble is an epic throwdown of all things CCR. That jam in the middle is hands down their best moment so far. Add to that basically an album that plays like a greatest hits - hell you can call this Chronicle and you’d basically get the same thing it seems like. Traveling Band, Lookin’ Out My Back Door, Run Through the Jungle, Up Around the Bend, Who’ll Stop the Rain, Long As I Can See the Light - all big time classics. Ooby Dooby and My Baby Left Me catchy as hell. Heard It Through the Grapevine is one of the greatest covers of all time. This album is just bonkers great.

[liebzz]

Pendulum - after the barn burner that was Cosmo’s Factory, Pendulum comes across more like a slow burn, which is certainly not a bad thing when it comes to CCR. Most of their best songs are really the ones where they stretch out a bit - which is exactly the reason why it is worth it to take this journey rather than rely on Chronicle for your CCR needs. They were a great band with exceptional chemistry. Case in point for Pendulum is Pagan Baby, Chamelion, and (Wish I Could) Hideaway. The band finds a lot of new places to roam on this one, nothing maybe more experimental in their entire catalogue than the instrumental album closer Rude Awakening #2, perhaps the lone foray into psychedelia. And if you are looking for that classic sound, Have You Ever Seen the Rain and Hey Tonight scratch that itch. I might not take this over some of the others, but it’s still a very solid showing.