A San Francisco Music Chronicle
A San
Francisco Music Chronicle
Discography
John Fogerty Discography
1973: The Blue Ridge Rangers.
1975: John Fogerty. 1984: Centerfield. 1986: Eye of the Zombie.
1997: Blue Moon Swamp. 1998: Premonition. 2004: Deja Vu All Over
Again.
John Fogerty has often been described as a nice, humble kinda
guy. But Fogerty's great sin may have been the sin of pride, as
he arrogantly carried himself as the spirit of rock past, which
seems the sin of a reactionary. Considering Fogerty as the leader
of the greatest American rock & roll band (circa the late
sixties) suggests that he was at least somewhat innovative,
perhaps even visionary, but both ideas are preposterous, even
though Fogerty was operating at a time when visionaries and
innovators abounded. The only visions Fogerty gleaned seem to be
those he'd found in his obviously interesting record collection.
Much has been made about Fogerty's avoidance of bad psychedelia,
but what he offered in its place was often just as meaningless.
Creedence's long string of gothic/voodoo songs influenced by the
blues giants - "Gloomy," "Walk on Water,"
"Graveyard Train," "Tombstone Shadow,"
"Bad Moon Rising," "Sinister Purpose,"
"Hideaway," "Rude Awakening," "Run
Through the Jungle," "Effigy," "I Put a Spell
on You" - are, for the most part, B-movie melodrama with
none of Fogerty's own blood in the tracks. "Bad Moon
Risin'" is the most overrated and only "Run Through the
Jungle," "Effigy" and "I Put a Spell On
You" rise above opportunist recasting by setting foot in the
real world of Vietnam, riots & political unrest (and thank
Screaming Jay Hawkins for the harrowing, violent edge of "I
Put a Spell on You," which, unlike the rest of Fogerty's
pseudo-superstitious gibberish, is grounded in human
interaction). Fogerty's assimilated personality carries over to
"Born on the Bayou" (he wasn't), "Green
River" (never been there), "Bootleg" (remember
bootleggers?), "Don't Look Now, It Ain't You or Me"
(speak for yourself, John). All of these songs could be passed
off as well-written fiction, if Fogerty's focus on songwriting's
bottom line allowed for the inclusion of details. "Proud
Mary" is an exception to a lightweight evocation of things
past; it's one of the few Fogerty songs that holds its own
against more imaginative historical musings on albums by the
Band, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Dylan, the Kinks, the Byrds,
Procol Harum, Fairport Convention, Randy Newman and others. Given
their skimpy narrative lines, Fogerty was smart enough to slur
vocals on songs like "Sweet Hitch-Hiker,"
"Chameleon," and "Have you Ever Seen the
Rain?" leaving at least an impression that something
interesting might be getting put across.
Rolling Stone Album Guide had the temerity (and the usual bad
taste) to call "Fortunate Son" and "Don't look Now
(It Ain't You or Me)" "the most convincing political
rock & roll done before the Clash." Anybody who has
actually listened to the music of the sixties will be able to
cite any number of convincing political songs written by bands
that were committed to causes, rather than shunning causes as
Fogerty did. "Don't Look Now" is an excruciatingly
patronizing song that equates Fogerty's own lack of working
credentials with what he presumes are everybody else's.
"Fortunate Son" is one of Fogerty's few classics, but
to believe it's credible simply because Fogerty wasn't a
millionaire until he was twenty-four years old is missing the
whole point of art and artifice, concept and action.
It should have been obvious during the paucity and repetitions of
Green River, Creedence's third album, that the band needed to
loosen up and invite some people over to the party. Fogerty's
lead guitar playing peaked on the first three songs on the first
album, and it hasn't been proven that he's learned any new licks
since then. In many of Fogerty's songs the flamboyance of a
simple overdub often called attention to itself next to the
poverty of the company it was keeping; and, despite Fogerty's
reputation for running a tight ship, his deconstructionist
tendencies left large holes in songs often less that three
minutes long. (Bruce Springsteen's description of Fogerty and CCR
as "no frills" rock and roll is perplexing given the
pointless wasted minutes of many of Fogerty's songs.) By the time
Cosmos Factory rolled around, riddled as it was with bad song
structures ("Ramble Tamble"), weak covers/filler
("Ooby Dooby," "My Baby Left Me." "I
Heard It Through the Grapevine"), and rehashed material
("Up Around the Bend" is a weaker
"Commotion"), it was probably inevitable that mutiny
would set in: after the Captain's First Mate (rhythm guitarist
Tom Fogerty) jumped ship, the deck hands (bassist Stu Cook and
drummer Doug Clifford) yearned to share the wealth.
To his credit, Fogerty can sink a mean groove, if not elaborate
from it. And at his best - on "Lodi," "Proud
Mary," "Fortunate Son," "Effigy,"
"Run Through the Jungle," "Someday Never
Comes," and "Looking Out My Back Door" - he gets
what he's aiming for: simple, perfect beauty. Which still leaves
Chronicle looking like a collection of good songs, not a
collection of great songs.
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