“Out of the west comes Creedence Clearwater Revival, a San Francisco band with a crunching R&B sound, a haunting way with blues and sturdy rock repertoire.” That’s how Billboard journal introduced the band’s debut album in late June 1968. Two weeks later, it was launched, and, not lengthy after, the self-titled album made its debut on the US album chart. It climbed to No 52, propelled by single “Suzie Q,” which made its personal journey to No.11 on the singles chart. It was in opposition to this background of restricted, however encouraging, success that CCR started work on their follow-up, Bayou Nation, at RCA’s Hollywood recording studio in October 1968.
The album was accomplished earlier than yr’s finish and hit shops on January 5, 1969. Forward of the album’s launch, Fantasy Information put out single “Proud Mary,” backed by “Born on the Bayou” in mid-January (are you able to think about making the latter tune a B-side?!). By the top of the month, the double-sided single had crashed onto the Billboard singles chart, the place it peaked at No. 2 for 3 weeks in March. It was saved from the highest by Tommy Roe’s “Dizzy.”
Hearken to Bayou Nation proper now.
Per week after “Proud Mary” hit the shops, Bayou Nation was formally launched. With the momentum generated by the one, on February 8, 1969, Bayou Nation started its regular climb on the album charts, and by early April, it made the highest 10, peaking at No.7 in Could. Coincidentally, this was the identical week that “Bad Moon Rising” entered the singles chart, establishing the band’s third album, Inexperienced River, which might be launched two weeks earlier than the band carried out on the Woodstock Pageant that August.
“Born on the Bayou,” with its swamp-like really feel, is the opening lower on the album, and it establishes the temper for the entire first aspect of the lengthy participant .“Bootleg” and “Graveyard Train” each stick with it that vibe of voodoo, New Orleans mysticism and an altogether completely different America from the cities within the North and the California coast. Not everybody absolutely appreciated the facility and potential of those songs, nonetheless. Critics had been lower than effusive. Even Rolling Stone wrote, “The good cuts are very good; but the bad ones just don’t make it.” After all they might have been proper, if there was a nasty lower…
Earlier than the band went into file Bayou Nation, John Fogerty had already written most of the songs, together with “Proud Mary,” which he didn’t have a title for. “I go back to the song-title book and ‘Proud Mary’ is sittin’ there, and dang if it didn’t sound like a paddle wheel goin’ around. I said, ‘Man, that sounds like a riverboat!’ Now, that’s the magic, the myth, the voodoo of this whole deal. I began to write the song – the story – of that boat, Proud Mary. It was the central character. That’s exactly how it happened; it’s no more mythical than that.”
Surprisingly, maybe, “Proud Mary” is positioned as sixth out of the seven tracks on the album; typical knowledge would say that’s not the best place to place your strongest tune, but it really works. Facet two opens with a canopy of Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly,” however it actually isn’t a canopy in any respect; it’s a complete transforming of the basic rock-and-roller that will get the complete CCR therapy.
The blues of “Penthouse Pauper” precede “Proud Mary” – it’s one other wonderful tune that has some searing lead guitar from John Fogerty in opposition to the stable rhythm part of Doug Clifford’s drums and Stu Cook dinner’s bass, serving as a trademark of the band and this album.
“Keep on Chooglin’” rounds the entire thing off with its Canned Warmth-like boogie, however it has a quintessential Fogerty lead vocal that propels the observe alongside, accompanied by his insistent guitar. It’s an ideal nearer for what’s a near-perfect album, however one which has had a lot much less consideration than it deserves, in contrast with the band’s extra profitable albums.
By the point that CCR took the stage at Woodstock, they had been nearly the most well-liked band in America on the power of “Proud Mary” and “Bad Moon Rising.” Throughout their hour-long set on the competition, they performed each songs, together with “Bootleg” and “Keep on Chooglin’” from Bayou Nation – and, in line with its standing because the album opener, they started their set with “Born on the Bayou.”
We’ll let John Fogerty have the final phrase: “By the time we got to Woodstock, I felt we were the number-one band. Assuming that the Beatles were God, I thought that we were the next thing under them.” He was not mistaken.
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Nation might be purchased right here.
