Creedence Clearwater Revival: Box Set, 6 CDs (2001)

Amazon.com
Popular but not hip, basic but not shallow, rooted but not retro, Creedence Clearwater Revival distinguished themselves in the late 1960s and early 1970s through these contradictions. This six-disc set is the definitive Creedence collection, offering superbly remastered versions of all of their studio and live albums and adding a disc's worth of pre-Creedence material. The ultimate blue-collar rock band, John Fogerty and CCR found success by wholly giving in to their fascination with the American South (despite hailing from Northern California) and exploring the turf that connected R&B and country–the same turf that their heroes at Sun studios tilled at rock's birth. As the songs on the first disc prove, they hadn't always taken this approach though perhaps they should have: The first four songs from 1961 (by Tommy Fogerty and the Blue Velvets), original compositions in the classic '50s rock & roll style they loved, hold up better than subsequent Golliwogs tracks that attempt to replicate the British Invasion sound in vogue at the time. Still, the Golliwogs tracks offer hints of John Fogerty's menacing growl and biting guitar that would fully blossom later on.

When diving into CCR's entire body of work, many myths dissipate and a more well-rounded view comes into focus: the quintessential singles band that dominated AM radio was also quite an album band, releasing solid records from top to bottom even though half of the songs were saturating radio long before the LP would hit. Also, they weren't quite as far removed from their Bay Area brethren (who were reared on the same roots music) as is often stated, offering a number of long and loose jams that, while not overtly psychedelic, gave them and their fans a chance to stretch out. Without question, though, CCR were the kings of the three-minute rock single, and it's these now-ubiquitous gems–the consummate AM band now dominates FM radio–that will always define them. –Marc Greilsamer

Barnesandnoble.com
It was stripped down, it rocked and rolled, and amazingly, in an era when pop music grew more complex and seemingly more sophisticated with each passing month, the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival was also enormously popular. The underdogs of rock during the late '60s and early '70s, CCR had a series of consecutive hit singles and albums that may have been out of step with the era's AM radio blandness and pretentious prog-rock but nonetheless spoke directly to fans across the board. With guitarist, vocalist, composer, producer, and resident genius John Fogerty at the helm, the band combined the lean funk of R&B with the grit of the blues and the sweet soul of country, tying it all up with a tough-as-nails rock 'n' roll sound that had a direct lineage from Sun Studio rockabilly and Specialty Records-era Little Richard rave-ups. Creedence cut tunes that got to the point fast and then wrapped them up before they wore out their welcome. In the process they made classic music: "Born on the Bayou," "Proud Mary," "Green River" "Going up Around the Bend," "Fortunate Son," and plenty of others will live as long as rock 'n' roll does. And it all can be found on this comprehensive six-CD box set collecting the band's seven official studio albums (and one live recording) as well as a disc full of fascinating pre-Creedence material that will be an immediate draw to collectors and others already pulled into the CCR universe. But even casual listeners will appreciate the remastered sound, a remarkable sonic improvement over the previously available CDs that puts the band's righteous rockin' right in your face. The roots of the quartet's no-nonsense sound can be heard in the early, previously unreleased material: Within the Motown and British Invasion grooves pulse the economic, ultra-tight rhythm section and Northern California garage rock ethic that would define the band's mature style. The formula that Fogerty later conceived, and that CCR thankfully stuck with through its glory years – 1968 through 1970, covering the albums Creedence Clearwater Revival through Cosmo's Factory (the two final, problematic albums Pendulum and Mardi Gras, can also be examined for revisionist opinions) – still holds it own three decades after the band's dissolution. Creedence's influence may be even more strongly felt today: Try to imagine Americana rock without their grassroots kick as an example. A case can even be made that Creedence may be the most elemental of all American bands. The evidence is right here on this must-have set. The accompanying 72-page booklet features essays from noted music crits Ben Fong-Torres, Dave Marsh, Robert Christgau, and others. Each box is individually numbered, adding to the collectors' value. –Steve Futterman

# Audio CD (November 1, 2001)
# Original Release Date: October 2, 2001
# Number of Discs: 6
# Format: Box set, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
# Label: Fantasy
# ASIN: B00005OM4K

CD 1:

01 - Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets , Come On Baby
02 - Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets , Oh My Love
03 - Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets , Have You Ever Been Lonely
04 - Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets , Bonita

Tracks 1 to 4 are recordings of Tommy Fogerty & The Blue Velvets

05 - Golliwogs , Don't Tell Me No Lies
06 - Golliwogs , Little Girl (Does Your Momma Know)
07 - Golliwogs , Where You Been
08 - Golliwogs , You Came Walking
09 - Golliwogs , You Can't Be True
10 - Golliwogs , You Got Nothin' On Me
11 - Golliwogs , I Only Met You Just An Hour Ago
12 - Golliwogs , Brown-Eyed Girl
13 - Golliwogs , You Better Be Careful
14 - Golliwogs , Fight Fire
15 - Golliwogs , Fragile Child
16 - Golliwogs , She Was Mine
17 - Golliwogs , Gonna Hang Around
18 - Golliwogs , Try Try Try
19 - Golliwogs , Instrumental #1
20 - Golliwogs , Little Tina
21 - Golliwogs , Walking On The Water
22 - Golliwogs , You Better Get It Before It Gets You
23 - Golliwogs , Tell Me
24 - Golliwogs , You Can't Be True #2
25 - Golliwogs , Action USA Promotional Spot

Tracks 5 to 24 are recordings of The Golliwogs



CD 2:

01 - Call It Pretending

Track 1 is a recording of The Golliwogs, and B-side of CCR first single

02 - I Put a Spell on You
03 - The Working Man
04 - Susie Q
05 - Ninety-Nine and a Half
06 - Get Down Woman
07 - Porterville
08 - Gloomy
09 - Walk on the Water

Tracks 2 to 9 are from Creedence Clearwater Revival

10 - Born on the Bayou
11 - Bootleg
12 - Graveyard Train
13 - Good Golly Miss Molly
14 - Penthouse Pauper
15 - Proud Mary
16 - Keep on Chooglin'

Tracks 10 to 16 are from Bayou Country



CD 3:

01 - Green River
02 - Commotion
03 - Tombstone Shadow
04 - Wrote A Song For Everyone
05 - Bad Moon Rising
06 - Lodi
07 - Cross-Tie Walker
08 - Sinster Purpose
09 - The Night Time Is The Right Time

Tracks 1 to 9 are from Green River

10 - Down On The Corner
11 - It Came Out Of The Sky
12 - Cotton Fields
13 - Poorboy Shuffle
14 - Feelin' Blue
15 - Fortunate Son
16 - Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)
17 - The Midnight Special
18 - Side O' The Road
19 - Effigy

Tracks 10 to 19 are from Willy and the Poor Boys



CD 4:

01 - Ramble Tamble
02 - Before You Accuse Me
03 - Travelin' Band
04 - Ooby Dooby
05 - Lookin' Out My Back Door
06 - Run Through The Jungle
07 - Up Around The Bend
08 - My Baby Left Me
09 - Who'll Stop The Rain
10 - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
11 - Long As I Can See The Light

Tracks 1 to 11 are from Cosmo's Factory

12 - Pagan Baby
13 - Sailor's Lament
14 - Chameleon
15 - Have You Ever Seen The Rain
16 - (Wish I Could) Hideaway
17 - Born To Move
18 - Hey Tonight
19 - It's Just a Thought

Tracks 12 to 19 are from Pendulum



CD 5:

01 - Molina
02 - Rude Awakening #2

Tracks 1 and 2 are from Pendulum

03 - 45 Revolutions Per Minute (part 1)
04 - 45 Revolutions Per Minute (part 2)
05 - Lookin' for a Reason
06 - Take It Like a Friend
07 - Need Someone to Hold
08 - Tearin' Up the Country
09 - Someday Never Comes
10 - What Are You Gonna Do
11 - Sail Away
12 - Hello Mary Lou
13 - Door to Door
14 - Sweet Hitch-Hiker

Tracks 5 to 14 are from Mardi Gras

15 - Born on the Bayou
16 - Green River
17 - Tombstone Shadow
18 - Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me)
19 - Travelin' Band
20 - Who'll Stop the Rain
21 - Bad Moon Rising
22 - Proud Mary
23 - Fortunate Son
24 - Commotion

Tracks 15 to 24 are from The Concert



Cd 6:

01 - The Midnight Special
02 - The Night Time Is The Right Time
03 - Down On The Corner
04 - Keep On Chooglin'

Tracks 1 to 4 are from The Concert

05 - Born On The Bayon
06 - Green River - Susie Q
07 - It Came Out Of The Sky
08 - Door To Door
09 - Travelin' Band
10 - Fortunate Son
11 - Commotion
12 - Lodi
13 - Bad Moon Rising
14 - Proud Mary
15 - Up Around The Bend
16 - Hey Tonight
17 - Sweet Hitch - Hiker
18 - Keep On Chooglin' #2

Tracks 5 to 18 are from Live in Europe