138. Credence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country (January 1969)

1. Born on the Bayou*

2. Bootleg*

3. Graveyard Train

4. Good Golly Miss Molly

5. Penthouse Pauper

6. Proud Mary*

7. Keep On Chooglin'

***

As someone who grew up listening to classic rock radio, back in the good old days when stations like Gold FM still played music from before 1983, I of course have a fondness for CCR. Not enough to bother engaging with their albums much, but I enjoy their singles and have a mild respect for John Fogerty as a singer and songwriter. So it's good that this project is going to force me to listen to a bunch of their stuff. What isn't especially good is this album.

Don't get me wrong - there are some good songs here, and the approach and sound of CCR is a breath of fresh air after being pounded with self-indulgent acid rock for several albums now. The band have a simple, effective formula. Come up with a rock solid groove, and then have Fogerty growl and moan over the top of it. Mix in some nonsense about the Deep South to make it all sound mysterious and cool and swampy and "authentic" (even though the guys were from California). Throw in a Little Richard cover for good measure. It's a fun album. 

The problem is that a couple of songs on this album take the "groove and growl" formula to an extreme it can't support. "Graveyard Train" is literally just a single bass line and a plodding drum beat. It lasts eight minutes. The lyrics, about ghosts or something, are kind of cool, but the song is monotonous. And "Keep On Chooglin'" is just terrible. Even the title is annoying. It would probably go over well live, but on the album it left me cold. Throw in the Albert King-esque "Penthouse Pauper" and that's three mediocre songs on a seven song album. 

The other stuff, though, is really pretty cool. Of course everyone knows "Proud Mary". It kicks arse. The cover of "Good Golly Miss Molly" is solid, even if it doesn't really add anything to the original. The songs that really got my attention, though, are "Born on the Bayou" and "Bootleg". They're built around driving, minimalist grooves, feature a propulsive rhythm section, and are generally awesome. I guess part of why this album didn't wow me that much is just because those first two songs sound so cool and vital, and killing the momentum with the ponderous "Graveyard Train" is a mistake the album can't really come back from. 

This is a good, if minor, album, and I know that CCR would go on to bigger and better things. At this point in their career, though, they were basically just the world's best bar band. Except for "Proud Mary". That song still sounds like nothing else.