Creedence Clearwater Revival (album)
Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 1968 | |||
Recorded |
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Studio | San Francisco) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:17 | |||
Label | Fantasy Records | |||
Producer | ||||
Creedence Clearwater Revival chronology | ||||
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Singles from Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
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Creedence Clearwater Revival is the debut studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in July 1968, by Fantasy Records in the US.[2] Featuring the band's first hit single, "Susie Q", which reached number 11 in the US charts, it was recorded shortly after the band changed its name from the Golliwogs and began developing a signature swamp rock sound.
Background
While "
Composition
"Porterville", which was the last single released by the band under the name the Golliwogs in November 1967,[3] was included on the band's debut album and revealed singer/guitarist John Fogerty's nascent songwriting talents. The song was a breakthrough of sorts for Fogerty, who stated to Tom Pinnock of Uncut in 2012, "It's semi-autobiographical; I touch on my father, but it's a flight of fantasy, too. And I knew when I was doing it, 'Man, I'm on to something here.' Everything changed after that. I gave up trying to write sappy love songs about stuff I didn't know anything about, and I started inventing stories." The album also includes the only co-write between John and his brother Tom Fogerty (who had been the original lead singer in the group) to appear on a Creedence album: "Walk on the Water". The song had already been released in 1966 under the Golliwogs name. The album features three other Fogerty originals: "The Working Man", "Get Down Woman", and "Gloomy".
Creedence Clearwater Revival is best remembered for the band's first hit single "Susie Q", which had been a hit for
It established how we would work for the next few years. After we finished recording our parts, the other guys hung around while I mixed. The problem was they were making all these comments like, "Well, that won't work. This won't work." You know, they were having a great time laughing...And that was the very last time I ever allowed them to be around when I mixed a record...Basically, we'd go in, we'd record the band, and then I'd throw them out of the studio. I just couldn't have them around while I was doing overdubs or when I was mixing, because they weren't very constructive.
The other single from the album was also a cover: "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Released as a follow-up to "Susie Q" in October 1968 with "Walk on the Water" as the B-side, it peaked on the U.S. charts at #58.
The album was remastered and reissued on 180 Gram vinyl by Analogue Productions in 2006.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
Rolling Stone | (negative) [6] |
While the band did gain success with their chart debut, critics initially denied the band respect.[7] Barry Gifford writing in Rolling Stone at the time stated, "The only bright spot in the group is John Fogerty, who plays lead guitar and does the vocals. He's a better-than-average singer (really believable in Wilson Pickett's "Ninety-Nine and a Half"), and an interesting guitarist. But there's nothing else here. The drummer is monotonous, the bass lines are all repetitious and the rhythm guitar is barely audible." Time has been far kinder to the album, although critics note that Fogerty's songwriting talent had yet to truly blossom as it would on the band's future albums and singles.
On AllMusic the album received 4 stars (out of 5), with Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating: "Released in the summer of 1968 - a year after the Summer of Love, but still in the thick of the Age of Aquarius - Creedence Clearwater Revival's self-titled debut album was gloriously out-of-step with the times, teeming with John Fogerty's Americana fascinations." He also noted that the album "points the way to the breakthrough of Bayou Country, with "Porterville" being "an exceptional song with great hooks, an underlying sense of menace, and the first inkling of the working-class rage that fueled such landmarks as 'Fortunate Son.'"[4]
The album was first certified Gold by the
Track listing
All songs except bonus tracks written by John Fogerty, except where noted. All tracks recorded February 1968, except where indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "I Put a Spell on You" | Screamin' Jay Hawkins | 4:30 |
2. | "The Working Man" | 3:03 | |
3. | "Susie Q" | Dale Hawkins, Eleanor Broadwater, Stan Lewis | 8:35 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " The Golliwogs) | 2:19 | |
4. | "Gloomy" | 3:48 | |
5. | "Walk on the Water" (this track is a remake of "Walking on the Water", a recording released by the band as a single in 1966 while they were still known as The Golliwogs) | John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty | 4:35 |
No. | Title | Length |
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9. | "Call It Pretending" (B-side of "Porterville") | 2:10 |
10. | "Before You Accuse Me" (1968 outtake) | 3:26 |
11. | "Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do" (live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California, March 14, 1969) | 3:45 |
12. | "Susie Q" (live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California, March 14, 1969) | 11:45 |
Personnel
- maracas, wind-up toys
- Tom Fogerty – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Stu Cook – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Doug Clifford – drums, backing vocals
Charts
Chart (1968) | Peak position |
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Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] | 92 |
US Billboard 200[12] | 52 |
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
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Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[13] | 29 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[8] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ "American album certifications – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Creedence Clearwater Revival". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780028648705.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review "Creedence Clearwater Revival"". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Gifford, Barry (July 20, 1968). "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Creedence Clearwater Revival Album, 40th Anniversary Edition, Fantasy records, liner notes.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Creedence Clearwater Revival". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ISBN 978-1-55652-661-9.
- ^ Fogerty, J, 2015. Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. 1st ed. U.K.: Hachette.
- ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Creedence Clearwater Revival Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Creedence Clearwater Revival". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
External links
- Creedence Clearwater Revival at Discogs (list of releases)
- Infosite