John Fogerty – Revival

John Fogerty – Revival / 2007 Fantasy / 12 Tracks / http://www.johnfogerty.com /

I was never that big of a fan of Credence Clearwater Revival, but both my mother and my significant other are huge fans.  What Fogerty did back in the seventies was simply not my thing, but the revival of the style, infused with a few other elements, is something much more near and dear to me. Fogerty is yet another individual from the sixties and seventies that is able to successfully reinvent eirself. Apparently, other individuals agree with me, as “Revival’ has pushed through quite a few copies in the short time that it has been out. The disc starts out with “Don’t You Wish It Was True”, a track that acclimates individuals to a Fogerty style that is much more close to the sound that Creedence left off with when they disbanded in 1972 than any prior solo Fogerty work.

Fogerty throughout the entirety of “Revival” does not feel ashamed to go back into the fault and come out with songs that either directly reference the work of CCR (“Credence Song”) directly or indirectly (“Broken Down Cowboy”, “Somebody Help Me”). At some point during the later years of a star’s career, it becomes important to balance equally the most major contributions with current wants and desires. Where some individuals tend to break away completely from the style and approach that made them big in the first place, Fogerty’s return to the CCR influence and sound fold is perfectly linked with an acute attention on the politics of the day.  

The balance of current and timeless themes during “Revival” is perfect, and it ensures that individuals that just want to hear a reinterpretation of the music they first heard thirty-five years ago do not have to wade through too much in the way of political tracks and burns against the current group in the White House (although, these pointed statements are common during this disc). While Fogerty’s 1997 album “Blue Moon Swamp” may have won the Grammy for best rock album, I feel that the evolution of Fogerty’s style in the years since then have made this a much more solid. Despite the fact that there are a number of single-worthy tracks on “Revival”, each of the tracks join together to create something that is decidedly more than the sum of its constituent parts. For fans of CCR and of rock music in general, “Revival” should be seen as one of the twenty-five best rock albums of the year.

Top Tracks: Credence Song, Long Dark Night

Rating: 7.2/10