Since the 1972 disintegration of Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty has been engaged in a series of false starts and comebacks. Some, like 1985's Centerfield and 1997's Blue Moon Swamp, were more successful than others, but most have been characterized by an almost violent resistance against his past. The closest he's come to acknowledging his seminal CCR work is his hit "The Old Man Down the Road," and he was sued for that.
Which makes "Creedence Song" something of an exorcism. More than titling his latest album Revival, more even than his return to the label that he'd spent 30-plus years battling, it shows that he's ready to not only stop running away from his legacy, but also embrace it with enthusiasm. Spitting out some "Suzie Q" guitar over a "Green River" choogle, with dabs of "Travelin' Band" humor dropped in, Fogerty unabashedly returns to the sound that made his name and caused all that trouble in the first place.
Fogerty's lyrics show that it's not happenstance, but rather a deliberate move on his part. They're just snippets of moments, populated by folks who understand that the world would be a worse place without the music that he put his blood and guts into all those years ago. As he sings, it's possible to hear Fogerty start to realize it himself, and smile.
Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'
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