With the unrivaled track record of eight consecutive gold singles (”Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Green River,” “Down on the Corner,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Up Around the Bend,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”) and seven consecutive gold albums (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys, Cosmo’s Factory, Pendulum, and Mardi Gras), it could be argued that any definition of rock and roll which fails to mention Creedence Clearwater Revival is, quite simply, incomplete. It could also be argued that John Fogerty was CCR. If we accept both of those arguments, then transitive logic suggests that John Fogerty is rock and roll. Personally, I am prepared to accept that.

I am in a little bit of a nostalgic mood today, and while I was listening to Bad Moon Rising, the CCR Best of collection, I remembered John had released a new record a few months back to rave reviews, so I heading on over to Amazon mp3 and bought it.

I’ve been a little let down by John’s previous post-CCR efforts, also by his steadfast intent on distancing himself from CCR and their sound. Revival, on the other hand, marks his first album since settling the long bitter feud with CCR and his third since reuniting with his former CCR label, Fantasy Records. Add all of that to seeing that there was a shout out to his own past, “Creedence Song,” on the album and my hopes were up. After a couple listens, I can emphatically say that Revival met and exceeded those expectations. I’m not gonna lie, I wanna hear John Fogerty doing that politically charged, stripped-down swamp rock he did with CCR. Fuck “Centerfield”, gimme “Bad Moon Rising”…and that is what Revival delivers in spades.

John Fogerty - Creedence Song
John Fogerty - Long Dark Night

John Fogerty’s Official Site, John Fogerty on myspace, Buy Revival