The most striking thing about Creedence\u2019s debut was how unlike the music of the time it was, and how that was completely normal. <\/p>\n
One of the great things about late \u201860s music is the breadth of styles that were popular and the freedom of experimentation that the artists clearly felt. Not beholden to the three-minute single, artists could create all manner of sounds and play with song lengths, exotic instruments, feedback, side-length tracks, or the blending of two genres (rock and folk, rock and blues, R&B and everything, etc.). <\/p>\n
So Creedence arrived in the midst of this, and their hook was to create back-to-basics rock that sounded like it came from the Deep South \u2013 music with few pretentious flourishes that was uniquely American. Whether this was an affected pose for the California band or a genuine love affair remains debatable, but the truth was that little else sounded like this in 1968\u2026or to this day, to be fair. Like most debuts, the album sounds tentative, a bit underdeveloped, and in the context of what the quartet would do in 1969 and 1970, it has taken a backseat to the more famous albums and songs.<\/p>\n
Aside from the covers, the original songs are flawed but interesting gems for fans of the band, particularly those who enjoy deep cuts from later albums like \u201cEffigy,\u201d \u201cTombstone Shadow,\u201d and \u201cRamble Tamble.\u201d None of them stack up to those tracks, let alone the hits that would come in 1969 and 1970, but \u201cGloomy,\u201d \u201cPorterville,\u201d \u201cGet Down Woman,\u201d and especially \u201cThe Working Man\u201d are solid (albeit generic) raw material, the beginning elements that would coalesce into greatness soon enough. John Fogerty\u2019s righteous anger and ragged voice are evident from the outset and the band\u2019s tight interplay and fondness for jamming, especially on the closing \u201cWalking On The Water,\u201d are already set as well. <\/p>\n
The disc put CCR on the map because of its two major covers, \u201cI Put A Spell On You\u201d and \u201cSuzie Q,\u201d which transcend their originals and become of a piece with the rest of the album, as well as the band\u2019s entire output. Full of swampy menace and some excellent solo spots, both songs remain career highlights; the latter, in particular, also features the band\u2019s underrated ability to lock into a groove for long periods of time. Granted, the wordless vocals in the second half pad the track a bit, but Fogerty\u2019s ear-piercing guitar solo makes things right again. The third cover doesn\u2019t get as much recognition, but \u201cNinety Nine And A Half (Won\u2019t Do)\u201d is nearly as good and energetic, worth seeking out as a forgotten early track for fans.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d imagine the original copies of this disc have been supplanted by the 40th<\/sup> anniversary edition, which is preferred because of a couple of deep cuts (a cover of \u201cBefore You Accuse Me\u201d and the rarity \u201cCall It Pretending\u201d among them) and a smoking, groove-centric, 12-minute live version of \u201cSuzie Q\u201d that you should locate now <\/i>if you like this band at all.<\/p>\n Creedence Clearwater Revival <\/i>is a pretty unassuming debut, with all of the elements unique to CCR already in place but little to really recommend it outside of the hits and \u201cNinety Nine And A Half.\u201d Still, for a band that quickly tore through the charts and public consciousness for three brief years, it\u2019s interesting to hear the origin story, if not really necessary to understanding the band.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":32952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5749],"rating":[5619],"class_list":["post-44728","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-creedence-clearwater-revival","rating-rating-c"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44728"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44728"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}