Fogerty returns with his best set of songs since the Nixon Presidency John Fogerty has had a career unlike most musicians, after a creatively fertile period where he wrote and performed songs that would become not just rock and roll classics but practically American Standards he found himself legally cut off from his own sound. Every time Fogerty tried to return to his famous "swamp rock" sound, Fantasy records would sue him for, well, sounding like John Fogerty. It's no wonder the guy developed writers block that would haunt him periodically for years, he had to keep thinking of ways to sound different than what came natural to him.
Which is why his new disc Revival (2007) is such a surprise. Following the haphazard Deja Vu album (2004) that seemed to fall apart after the title track ended, Revival is a full fledged return to the sound that made Fogerty great. The twangy guitar licks, clapboard drums and distinct howl of Fogerty's voice reach back 40 years to the old Creedence Clearwater Revival days. For the first time since those glory days, Fogerty sounds relaxed as he reclaims what he once owned.
Revival intentionally harks back to that time, particularly on the decidedly unsappy "Summer of Love". In addition to the album title, Fogerty revels in his return with "Creedence Song" with the quote "You can't go wrong / playing that Creedence Song." The rest of the disc is packed with highlights that recall the past without mimicking it. Fogerty's politics are just as pronounced as on the previous album as he takes shots at war and conservatism.
It's rare a disc exceeds my expectations, though the previous album did bring my standards down a little in what I thought Fogerty could do. You still can't top his mountain of hits, but for a single disc of material this is the best I've ever heard him sound. A first rate album.
John Fogerty - "Don't You Wish It Was True"
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