ALBUM: John Fogerty (1976)
MVC Rating: 4.5/$$$$
This is Fogerty’s first album after splitting with the outrageously sucessful Creedence Clearwater Revival. The first tune,’Rocking All Over the World,’ is a riff-laden anthem that sounds like — hmm who could it be? — Oh yes: Creedence.-
Much of the album, for that matters, sounds like CCR. Although I can’t put my finger on it, there seems to be slightly less ‘choogling’ energy in the songs as I remember was in the CCR recordings. It could be my imagination. I’m talking about some of that soulful oooomph that you hear in ‘Long as I See the Light or the forlorn traveling musician song, Lodi.
‘The Wall’ and ‘Traveling High’ are throwaway rockers — Fogerty does his vocal thing but the songs are just not too strong — relatively speaking.
Jackie Wilson’s ‘Lonely Teardrops’ sounds like it was more fun for Fogerty than the listener. It’s not a bad cover but this is one of those times where I say, let the 1959 version stand. Fogerty does inject with some nice retro guitar sound.
‘Amost Saturday Night’ is the other rocking standout in this group. Catchy, another CCR sounding song that you’d expect to hear on the radio.
And as much as I thought the ‘Teardrops’ cover was unnecessary, I really enjoyed the Sea Cruise cover. Go figure.
Overall, great stuff, especially for CCR fanatics — of which I am — or used to be anyway. They were one of my first favorite bands. I was about 10. So I have just about run my time with them. But every now and then (on Halloween?)) I like to put out some CCR and cranik it up because Fogerty could sing it.
“I see a bad moon a-rising, I see trouble on the way.’