Rarely in rock and roll history has there been so close a relationship between creative achievement and audience response as with Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969 and 1970, the years when they were without question the most successful and exhilarating band in America. Making music against the grain of the post-San Francisco pop music of the Sixties, Creedence struck a true chord with records that were clean, demanding, vivid, and fast--with what might be called straightforward lyricism. Single by single, they said their piece and got out. Because of the total absence of gimmicks, posing, and prettifying, their records stand up today far better than almost anything else made at the time. The tracks are deceptive: beautifully lovingly made, they sound about as contrived as the weather.
It is taken all at once, miraculous stuff. At least four tunes here--"Proud Mary," "Green River," "Fortunate Son," and "Up Around the Bend"--literally define rock and roll--as a musical form, as a recurring event, as a version of the American spirit. Few good bands go so far, even once.
Creedence believed that the music they made would always sound different from--in opposition to--whatever else was in fashion at the time, whatever the time might be. They were right. Were "Green River" on the radio today it would jump right off it, something else entirely, just as it did in its heyday. Like the other 19 tracks on Chronicle, it is rock and roll with no excuses given, no questions asked. There has never been much of that around, and never more of it collected in one place than here.
--Greil Marcus, 1976
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Of the singles released during their remarkable career, 15 of the tunes were in the Top Ten of the trade charts. One tune in this collection, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," was released as a single in January 1976. As an 11-minute-plus cut on CCR's greatest-selling LP, Cosmo's Factory, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" earned enormous airplay throughout the world, and is one of Creedence's greatest hits.
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Chronicle
1967 - December: Creedence Clearwater Revival formed by John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford, who had been performing together under various names since 1959.
1968 - June: First album, Creedence Clearwater Revival, released, earns CCR first gold record with sales in excess of $1 million. First two singles, "Susie Q" (parts 1 and 2) and "I Put a Spell on You/Walk on the Water," also released.
1969 - January: Second album, Bayou Country, released, sells over one million copies, earning CCR first platinum record award. "Proud Mary/Born on the Bayou" also released, first gold single. April: "Bad Moon Rising/Lodi" released, second gold single. July: "Green River/Commotion" released, third gold single. August: Third album, Green River, released, earns second platinum record award. October: "Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son" released, fourth gold single. November: Fourth album, Willy and the Poorboys, released, third platinum record award.
Awards: Top Singles Artists of 1969, Billboard; Trendsetter Award, Billboard; Best American Band, Rolling Stone.
1970 - January: "Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop the Rain" released, fifth gold single. April: First European tour, CCR earns unprecedented praise and acclaim from European press and public. "Up Around the Bend/Run Through the Jungle" released, sixth gold single. July: Fifth album, Cosmo's Factory, released, sells over three million copies, fourth platinum record award. "Lookin' Out My Back Door/Long as I Can See the Light" released, seventh gold single. December: Sixth album, Pendulum, released.
Awards: Outstanding Contribution Award, Soul Magazine; Artists of the Year Award, Music Operators of America; Top Album Artists of 1970, Billboard; Top International Pop Group, New Musical Express Reader's Poll (England); Top Pop Group in U.S., England, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Norway, and Israel, Billboard International Poll; Top Gold Record Artists of 1970, RIAA; Musikmart Award, Golden Otto Award, Germany; Golden Clover Award, Mexico; Top Selling Artists of 1970, NARM Convention; Top Male Pop Group, Record Mirror Reader's Poll (England); Best Foreign Group, Italian Critic's Poll.
1971 - January: "Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight" released, eighth gold single. February: Tom Fogerty leaves group for solo career. July: "Sweet Hitch-Hiker/Door to Door" released, eleventh single. CCR begins begins major U.S. tour. October: Second European tour.
1972 - February: Tour of Australia and Japan. March: Last single released, "Someday Never Comes/Tearin' Up the Country." April: Seventh and final album, Mardi Gras, released. July: Creedence Clearwater Revival disbands.
1993 - January: Award---Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation inducts CCR into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME.
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A CCR Discography (as of the printing and release of this particular version of Chronicle)
1. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL**
I Put a Spell on You, The Working Man, Susie Q, Ninety Nine and a Half, Get Down Woman, Porterville, Gloomy, Walk on the Water
Originally released July 1968 as Fantasy 8382...
2. BAYOU COUNTRY***
Born on the Bayou, Bootleg, Graveyard Train, Good Golly Miss Molly, Penthouse Pauper, Proud Mary, Keep On Chooglin'
Originally released January 1969 as Fantasy 8387...
3. GREEN RIVER***
Green River, Commotion, Tombstone Shadow, Wrote a Song for Everyone, Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Cross-Tie Walker, Sinister Purpose, The Night Time Is the Right Time
Originally released August 1969 as Fantasy 8393...
4. WILLY AND THE POORBOYS***
Down on the Corner, It Came Out of the Sky, Cotton Fields, Poorboy Shuffle, Feelin' Blue, Fortunate Son, Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me), The Midnight Special, Side o' the Road, Effigy
Originally released November 1969 as Fantasy 8397...
5. COSMO'S FACTORY***
Ramble Tamble, Before You Accuse Me, Travelin' Band, Ooby Dooby, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Run Through the Jungle, Up Around the Bend, My Baby Left Me, Who'll Stop the Rain, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Long as I Can See the Light
Originally released July 1970 as Fantasy 8402...
6. PENDULUM**
Pagan Baby, Sailor's Lament, Chameleon, Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, (Wish I Could) Hideaway, Born to Move, Hey Tonight, It's Just a Thought, Molina, Rude Awakening #2
Originally released December 1970 as Fantasy 8410...
7. MARDI GRAS*
Lookin' for a Reason, Take it Like a Friend, Need Someone to Hold, Tearin' Up the Country, Someday Never Comes, What Are You Gonna Do, Sail Away, Hello Mary Lou, Door to Door, Sweet Hitch-Hiker
Originally released April 1972 as Fantasy 9404...
8. CHRONICLE***
Susie Q, I Put a Spell on You, Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Green River, Commotion, Down on the Corner, Fortunate Son, Travelin' Band, Who'll Stop the Rain, Up Around the Bend, Run Through the Jungle, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Long as I Can See the Light, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, Hey Tonight, Sweet Hitch-Hiker, Someday Never Comes
Available as Fantasy Compact Disc FCD-CCR2-2... Also available on 24-Karat Gold Compact Disc CCGCD-22-2.
9. CHRONICLE, Volume Two**
Walk on the Water, Susie Q (Part 2), Born on the Bayou, Good Golly Miss Molly, Tombstone Shadow, Wrote a Song for Everyone, Night Time Is the Right Time, Cotton Fields, It Came Out of the Sky, Don't Look Now (It Ain't You or Me), The Midnight Special, Before You Accuse Me, My Baby Left Me, Pagan Baby, (Wish I Could) Hideaway, It's Just a Thought, Molina, Born to Move, Lookin' for a Reason, Hello Mary Lou
Available as Fantasy Compact Disc FCD-CCR3-2... Also available on 24-Karat Gold Compact Disc CCGCD-23-2.
CREEDENCE CLEAWATER REVIVAL IN CONCERT
1. THE CONCERT**
Born on the Bayou, Green River, Tombstone Shadow, Don't Look Now, Travelin' Band, Who'll Stop the Rain, Bad Moon Rising, Proud Mary, Fortunate Son, Commotion, The Midnight Special, Night Time Is the Right Time, Down on the Corner, Keep on Chooglin'
Originally released October 1980 as Fantasy 4501...
2. LIVE IN EUROPE
Born on the Bayou, Green River/Susie Q, It Came Out of the Sky, Travelin' Band, Fortunate Son, Commotion, Lodi, Bad Moon Rising, Proud Mary, Up Around the Bend, Hey Tonight, Keep on Chooglin'
Originally released October 1973 as CCR-1...
*** certified Multiplatinum ** certified Platinum * certified Gold
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The original Creedence session recordings of the late 1960s and early '70s were the starting point of this audiophile project. The playback equipment used was a Studer A-80 VU, with custom electronics. In creating this master, meticulous care was taken to establish the alignment of all the equipment in the signal path. The result, in our opinion, is the finest master recording yet produced of this material.
The same attention to detail was present during the production of the glass master, which was produced directly from Fantasy's 1630 master in a real-time transfer. No interim masters were made, and no high-speed transfers occurred. In short, the highest level of quality control was in effect throughout the Gold CD manufacturing process. The 24-karat Gold coating produces a highly reflective surface for the laser signal. In fact, the Gold CD is the ultimate experience in recorded music.
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