John Fogerty -HooDoo

HooDoo

Hoodoo, John Fogerty's third solo album, was recorded in the late spring of 1976 but never released. After the John Fogerty solo album, Fogerty wasted no time in recording more material for a new album to be followed with a tour, which would be very low-key, with a small group of musicians. In April, 1976, he released a new single, "You Got the Magic" backed with "Evil Thing," which barely made it to the charts and did not sell a great deal.

Fogerty submitted Hoodoo to Asylum Records, which assigned it a catalogue number, 7E-1081. Shortly before shipment, however, Fogerty and Asylum's Joe Smith made a joint decision that the album didn't merit release. After several unsuccessful attempts to improve the album's quality, Fogerty began a nine-year estrangement from the music industry. He has confirmed in interviews that he instructed Asylum to destroy the master tapes, but bootleg copies are widespread.

John Fogerty

John Fogerty

John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and as a solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists at #40 and the list of 100 Greatest Singers at #72. The songs "Proud Mary" and "Born on the Bayou" also rank amongst the Greatest Pop songs ("Proud Mary," #41) and Guitar songs ("Born on the Bayou," #53).  Fogerty was almost drafted in 1966, instead joining an Army Reserve unit. He served at Fort Bragg, Fort Knox and Fort Lee. Fogerty was discharged from the Army in July 1967. In the same year, the band changed its name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

By 1968, things started to pick up for the band. The band released its first album, the self-titled "Creedence Clearwater Revival", and also had their first hit single, "Susie Q". Many other hit singles and albums followed beginning with "Proud Mary" and the parent album Bayou Country.

John Fogerty, as writer of the songs for the band (as well as lead singer and lead guitarist), felt that his musical opinions should count for more than those of the others, leading to resentments within the band.[4] These internal rifts, and Tom's feeling that he was being taken for granted, caused Tom to leave the group in January 1971. The two other group members, Stu and Doug, wanted a greater role in the band's future. Fogerty, in an attempt to keep things together, insisted bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford share equal songwriting and vocal time on the band's final album, Mardi Gras, released in April 1972, which included the band's last two singles, the 1971 hit "Sweet Hitch-Hiker", and "Someday Never Comes", which barely made it into the Billboard Top 20. Cook and Clifford told Fogerty that the fans would not accept "Mardi Gras" as a CCR LP, but he said, "My voice is a unique instrument, and I will not lend it to your songs." He gave them an ultimatum: either they would do it or he would quit immediately. They accepted his ultimatum, but the album received poor reviews. It was a commercial success, however, peaking at #12 and achieving gold record status. It generated weaker sales than their previous albums. The group disbanded shortly afterwards.

Their only reunion with all four original members would be at Tom Fogerty's wedding in 1980. John, Doug and Stu played a 45 minute set at their 20th class reunion in 1983, and John and Doug would reunite again for a brief set at their 25th class reunion in 1988.

www.johnfogerty.com

John Fogerty-Centerfield

Centerfield

John Fogerty was away from the centerfield of the music business for 11 years so it's no surprise that when he returned he hit a homerun with his album "Centerfield". Featuring three hit singles ("The Old Man Down the Road", "Rock 'n' Roll Girls" and the title track), this new edition sounds quite nice and features two b-sides that were on the singles from the follow up album "Eye of the Zombie"-"My Toot Toot" which had been a minor hit for Rockin' Sidney (Sidney Simien who wrote the song and appears on Fogerty's remake)and Queen Ida and Her Bon Temps (who revived it right around the same time and had a hit with the song as well) and "I Confess" by the Bay Area gospel group the Four Rivers. While both songs would have fit better on an "Eye of the Zombie" reissue (the latter was recorded with the band for "Eye"), the swamp rock vibe runs through both so they do sound quite nice here.

Universal if you're listening you should release "I Confess" (editing the first 33 seconds off the beginning)as a single for radio airplay--it's a killer, catchy track and it's a crime that it has been out of circulation for 24 years.

Bob Ludwig's remaster sounds a lot like the previious remaster but lacks some of the dyanmic range of the first edition mastering of this album on CD. The real reason to get this though is to have the b-sides that have been added. The one flaw I found with "Centerfield" was the fact that Fogerty didn't have a real band playing on the album; while his one man band approach had served him well on "John Fogerty" and "Blue Ridge Rangers", the material here would have benefited from a full band AND a real drummer playing REAL drums. It's a minor quibble for an otherwise strong album.

The album got considerable acclaim at the time noting that John Fogerty was in prime form and while the album has been criticized in hindsight as revisiting themes that Fogerty had tackled before, the sheer joy of hearing John play again and ENJOYING himself made up for any short comings of some of the lesser material included on the album. I also imagine that it would be impossible to include the original "Zanz Kant Danz" because of legal issues but it would have been nice to have a bonus DVD with the music videos for the three hit singles (particularly the claymation version of the last song which is a chuckle). Perhaps we'll get a DVD of his music videos and appearences from the time (including the concert he put on for veterans) some time down the road if so I'm hoping that it will be exhaustive and include those uncut videos.

The CD comes in a digipak with a booklet that includes an essay on the making of the album, clippings about the lawsuit against Fogerty for "stealing" his own riffs and style on "The Old Man Down the Road" and song lyrics. Fogerty is well known for destroying alternate takes/mixes of his stuff which is too bad--it would have been interesting to hear Fogerty's earliest demos as bonus tracks here compared to his later stuff.

John Fogerty-Blue Ridge Rangers

Blue Ridge Rangers

This is John Fogerty's legendary One Man Band (meaning he played all the instruments and sang all the vocals) album from 1973 entitled "Blue Ridge Rangers." Back when it was released in 1973, Creedence Clearwater Revival had just broken up and he had to fulfill his contract with Fantasy with 1 more album and this is the album that he not only recorded to do that and that he couldn't sing the Creedence hits legally at the time, but it also is an album that pays tribute to his influences by singing covers of many country classics with gospel and blues mixed in for good measure. The Top 20 hit, Jambalaya, is performed here in a rousing arrangement. Some of the other highlights include the top 40 minor hit cover of "Hearts of Stone" which had been recorded by a few country artists and in the pop world, the Fontaine Sisters, The Webb Pierce/Mel Tillis classic "I Ain't Never", Working on a Building, Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again," Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, the George Jones hit "She Thinks I Still Care," Jimmie Rodgers's "California Blues (Blue Yodel #4)" and You're The Reason. If he would have recorded "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (appears on the Big Mon tribute to Bill Monroe) at the time this was recorded, it would also appear on this album. The sound quality is excellent and the music is timeless. Country fans, Fogerty fans, CCR fans, folk fans, blues fans, gospel fans, rock and roll fans should definitely pick up this album. From the first twang of that banjo, I knew I was in for something different here. While some artists in 1973 were rediscovering 50's rock & roll, John Fogerty looked back and paid tribute to 50's country western & gospel! My faves include "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues", "You're the Reason", "California Blues", "Workin' On A Building", "Please Help Me, I'm Falling", "I Ain't Never" and "Today I Stared Loving You Again" (there's one I can relate to way too much). But they're ALL good ones. Some have become standards, done by many artists over the years, like "She Thinks I Still Care" (George Jones, Cher, Michael Nesmith) and "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)" (Hank Williams, Jo Stafford, Carpenters-- probably my favorite, Buzz Zeemer, and Dash Rip Rock-- probably the WILDEST) but Fogerty does each in his own style. I'd love it if he did another one like this, as I can listen to this over and over-- and have been.

John Fogerty- Revival

Revival

Fogerty goes back to basics & sounds incredibly fresh and relevant. Irma Thomas recorded "River Is Waiting" on her Simply Grand CD. The track perched at #1 in my personal top ten this year. Four of John's tracks are my very favorites. The opener "Don't You Wish It Was True" has an infectious beat and spins a smile with its good time feeling, "An angel took my hand, said you don't have to hurry, got all the time in the world, don't worry." "Creedence Song" boogies to a swamp groove, "Daddy had a band, played him a little guitar, traveled in a band, living that rock & roll, night after night, people coming up to the bandstand saying you can't go wrong if you play a little bit of that Creedence Song." "Broken Down Cowboy" is a sweet slower song with Fogerty's classic vocals, half snarl, half heartache, "You never can trust your luck, he's bad news in a pickup truck." The under two-minute "It Ain't Right" bursts like old time Chuck Berry. There are no weak songs on the disc. While the minute-and-a-half political eruption "I Can't Take It No More" doesn't bother me, it's so brief that it flies by. "Revival" highlights John Fogerty at the top of his game. This is a must-have CD! Enjoy!

John Fogerty 1975

John Fogerty 1975

This is really an underappreciated record. It rocks harder than most Creedence material, and three or four of these songs rate among Fogerty's best output, most notably the classic "Rockin' All Over The World" (here in its tough original rendition).

The melodic "Almost Saturday Night" and "Where The River Flows" should have been hits as well, and John Fogerty's renditions of "Lonely Teardrops" and "You Rascal You" are very good.

If you are a Creedence fan, this set won't disappoint you, and casual listeners should find a lot to like as well. The sound is a litle less "swampy", perhaps, but the qualities than made Creedence Clearwater Revival the #1 American band of the late 60s are certainly here. John Fogerty plays every instrument himself, and his guitar playing is particularly raw and gritty.

John Fogerty- Blue Moon Swamp

Blue Moon Swamp

John Fogerty comes out hiding every couple of years and releases a new album. The Grammy winning "Blue Moon Swamp" is a delightful album full of great songs touching on blues, country, rock and gospel over the course of its 14 songs. 14 songs you ask?Yep. The album has been reissued with two solid tracks recorded during the original sessions. "Endless Sleep" and "Just Pickin'" aren't as essential as the other tracks on the album but they are a nice bonus for fans that may not have purchsed the album before or are replacing it.

The two bonus tracks clock in at less than 5 minutes. As I said if you have the previous edition they aren't essential. With the switch of Fogerty's solo stuff (all except his Fantasy releases)to Geffen Records the label thought it would be wise to reissue this album with bonus tracks to entice buyers again. The same original master created by Bob Ludwig is used so it doesn't really sound different.  I keep coming back to this record, and it always does the trick.
It's got all the things I love about CCR, the Country, the Rock a Billy, and the Rock & Roll that Fogerty brought to us in his great 60's work.
Sort of a comeback record at the time, his last disc was probably 10 years earlier, but the fire was still burning, and I'm sure glad he keeps fanning the flames.
A great American songwriter, and gifted multi-instrumentalist, deeply rooted in the traditional, but with enough Rock and Roll, rebel spirit
to please those who may not own a pair of Cowboy boots.

John Fogerty - Blue Ridge Rangers Ride Again

The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again

Many folks forget that when the original album was released in 1973, it was not a John Fogerty album. The band was "The Blue Ridge Rangers"(no reference to Fogerty at all), the songs were all covers, and CCR was nowhere to be found. It was not promoted as a Fogerty project. I won't go into the well-known contract hassles and history of Fogerty, Fantasy and CCR, or why this was so. It really doesn't matter here. What does matter is that the original album was a brilliant effort entirely crafted by John Fogerty and it was clearly a love letter to the music that inspired him. Yet, when it was released, he was completely absent despite the fact that the record yielded two hit singles. No glory, no spotlight, nothing. The cover showed the band in silhouette standing on a ridge with the sun setting behind them. To make such an obviously personal record, a record that required an extraordinary effort in engineering and recording talent and technique, and then release it under the name of a fictitious band is hard to imagine even today.

What a record that first Blue Ridge Rangers album was. When I hear the loose gospel harmonies, accompanied by a tentatively rattling tamborine, at the beginning of "Workin' On A Building" I get goosebumps. This was not the era of ProTools and digital recording. This was John Fogerty going into the studio with tape and reel and creating an aural movie. All by himself he became a gospel choir, riffing and rolling, clapping and stomping. You close your eyes and you are in the dream. There is John, sweat and passion, harmonizing and jamming with himself on the resonator slide. It is an absolute masterpiece. Listen to John drag the beat in "Blue Yodel #4," listen to the Dixieland breakdown in the solo. Listen to the pedal steel and piano intro to "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" and you are belly-up-to-the bar in a dusty roadhouse calling for a cold beer and a shot. The original album is literally a one-man history lesson in American roots music, from string band, to gospel, to blues, to country.