Artist: Fogerty, John
Label: Geffen Records
Released: 1998
(reissue, 2004)
Most music fans know John Fogerty as the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, who racked up a whopping eight gold records and nine Top 10 singles in just two years of existence – no small feat in the late sixties…
CCR broke up in 1972 over internal feuds, and John Fogerty put out his self-titled debut in 1975, but right up until the mid-nineties he never played his old band’s songs live. In 1985 he released the hugely well-received “Centerfield” and then, in 1997, Blue Moon Swamp, and when he hit the road that same year, he was playing his CCR-era songs live again for the first time in almost thirty years.
And it was on that very tour that the live album “Premonition” was born. It first came out in 1998, and in 2004 Fogerty released it once more – probably mostly to get people’s attention for his new, upcoming studio album “Deja Vu (All Over Again)”.
And even though John Fogerty was already fifty at the time, he sounds incredibly fresh on the record, and if you ever got to see footage from that tour, you know he looks pretty spry and bouncy too. Two thirds of the record are CCR songs, including the everlasting classics Born On The Bayou, Green River, Susie Q., I put a spell on you with an outstanding solo section, plus Who’ll Stop The Rain, Bad Moon Rising, Fortunate Son, Proud Mary, Down On The Corner and Travelin’ Band.
The renditions of Premonition, Almost Saturday Night and my personal favorite, The Old Man Down The Road, are excellent too, and Centerfield, Swamp River Days and Rockin’ All Over The World are of course well worth a listen. All the rest complement those songs nicely while reminding us just how many one-of-a-kind songs Fogerty has created.
The record is a cross-section of Fogerty’s outstanding career, whether you mark it by one of the best lineups of the sixties or by his solo run, and it also shows, of course, that this excellent singer-songwriter is in top form – and it’s a great overture to the gentleman’s new studio album, released in 2004, “Deja Vu /All Over Again)”.
Lineup
John Fogerty – vocals, guitar
Johnny Lee Schell – guitar, backing vocals
Mike Canipe – guitar
Julia Waters – backing vocals
Maxine Waters – backing vocals
Oren Waters – backing vocals
Bob Glaub – bass
Kenny Aronoff – drums
Production
John Fogerty & Elliot Scheiner
Track list
1. Born On The Bayou
2. Green River
3. Susie Q
4. I Put A Spell On You
5. Who’ll Stop The Rain
6. Premonition
7. Almost Saturday Night
8. Rockin’ All Over The World
9. Joy Of My Life
10. Down On The Corner
11. Centerfield
12. Swamp River Days
13. Hot Rod Heart
14. Old Man Down The Road
15. Bad Moon Rising
16. Fortunate Son
17. Proud Mary
18. Travellin’ Band
