“Out of the west comes Creedence Clearwater Revival, a San Francisco band with a crunching R&B sound, a haunting manner with blues and durable rock repertoire.” That’s how Billboard mag introduced the band’s debut album in past due June 1968. Two weeks later, it was once launched, and, now not lengthy after, the self-titled album made its debut on america album chart. It climbed to No 52, propelled via unmarried “Suzie Q,” which made its personal adventure to No.11 at the singles chart. It was once in contrast background of restricted, however encouraging, good fortune that CCR started paintings on their follow-up, Bayou Country, at RCA’s Hollywood recording studio in October 1968.

The album was once finished prior to yr’s finish and hit shops on January 5, 1969. Forward of the album’s liberate, Fable Data put out unmarried “Proud Mary,” subsidized via “Born at the Bayou” in mid-January (are you able to consider making the latter track a B-side?!). Via the tip of the month, the double-sided unmarried had crashed onto the Billboard singles chart, the place it peaked at No. 2 for 3 weeks in March. It was once saved from the highest via Tommy Roe’s “Dizzy.”

Pay attention to Bayou Country at this time.

Every week after “Proud Mary” hit the shops, Bayou Country was once formally launched. With the momentum generated via the only, on February 8, 1969, Bayou Country started its secure climb at the album charts, and via early April, it made the highest 10, peaking at No.7 in Might. Coincidentally, this was once the similar week that “Dangerous Moon Emerging” entered the singles chart, putting in the band’s 3rd album, Inexperienced River, which might be launched two weeks prior to the band carried out on the Woodstock Competition that August.

“Born at the Bayou,” with its swamp-like really feel, is the outlet lower at the album, and it establishes the temper for the entire first aspect of the lengthy participant .“Bootleg” and “Graveyard Teach” each raise on that vibe of voodoo, New Orleans mysticism and an altogether other The usa from the towns within the North and the California coast. Now not everybody absolutely preferred the facility and attainable of those songs, alternatively. Critics had been lower than effusive. Even Rolling Stone wrote, “The just right cuts are superb; however the unhealthy ones simply don’t make it.” After all they might were proper, if there was once a nasty lower…

Sooner than the band went into document Bayou Country, John Fogerty had already written lots of the songs, together with “Proud Mary,” which he didn’t have a name for. “I’m going again to the song-title e book and ‘Proud Mary’ is sittin’ there, and dang if it didn’t sound like a paddle wheel goin’ round. I stated, ‘Guy, that feels like a riverboat!’ Now, that’s the magic, the parable, the voodoo of this entire deal. I started to jot down the track – the tale – of that boat, Proud Mary. It was once the central personality. That’s precisely the way it took place; it’s not more legendary than that.”

Unusually, in all probability, “Proud Mary” is positioned as 6th out of the seven tracks at the album; standard knowledge would say that isn’t the perfect position to place your most powerful track, but it really works. Aspect two opens with a canopy of Little Richard’s “Just right Golly Leave out Molly,” nevertheless it in point of fact isn’t a canopy in any respect; this can be a overall remodeling of the vintage rock-and-roller that will get the overall CCR remedy.

The blues of “Penthouse Pauper” precede “Proud Mary” – it’s every other very good track that has some searing lead guitar from John Fogerty towards the forged rhythm phase of Doug Clifford’s drums and Stu Cook dinner’s bass, serving as an indicator of the band and this album.

“Stay on Chooglin’” rounds the entire thing off with its Canned Warmth-like boogie, nevertheless it has a quintessential Fogerty lead vocal that propels the observe alongside, accompanied via his insistent guitar. It’s an excellent nearer for what’s a near-perfect album, however one who has had a lot much less consideration than it merits, in comparison with the band’s extra a hit albums.

By the point that CCR took the level at Woodstock, they had been with regards to the preferred band in The usa at the energy of “Proud Mary” and “Dangerous Moon Emerging.” All the way through their hour-long set on the competition, they performed each songs, together with “Bootleg” and “Stay on Chooglin’” from Bayou Country – and, consistent with its standing because the album opener, they started their set with “Born at the Bayou.”

We’ll let John Fogerty have the final word: “By the point we were given to Woodstock, I felt we had been the number-one band. Assuming that the Beatles had been God, I assumed that we had been the following factor underneath them.” He was once now not mistaken.

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Country can also be purchased right here.

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