The Creedence Clearwater Revival Revival(newyorker.com)
newyorker.com
The Creedence Clearwater Revival Revival
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-creedence-clearwater-revival-revival
107 comments
That song really started my love for the classic rock from the 60s and 70s. Heard it on Instagram and looked it up on Spotify, Spotify's recommendations did the rest and now my playlist for that genre is ~200 songs.
The music from that era seems timeless like almost nothing else after it. I love early 2000's Pop and Hip Hop but that's soley because I grew up during that time and it's very nostalgic. With CCR, Hendrix and others, the music is just really damn good and truly timeless IMO.
The music from that era seems timeless like almost nothing else after it. I love early 2000's Pop and Hip Hop but that's soley because I grew up during that time and it's very nostalgic. With CCR, Hendrix and others, the music is just really damn good and truly timeless IMO.
Love it.
I feel similarly about the quality (don't know what else to call it) of the many songs I listen to from that time, compared to similarly popular songs over the past decades.
Though for me they're also nostalgic in a way which clouds my judgement: I was introduced to vast amounts by my dad in the 90s.
I do think there's some selection bias when we sample tunes that already ran through the filter of their time and 50 to 60 more years of collective filtering.
One group I still didn't know much about and I think many people still don't (paradoxically so) was the Beatles.
When I was 18, a friend lent me every album from Revolver through Abbey Road.
If you haven't listed to those all the way through, you may be in for a treat.
Also, if you want to hear an incredible modern artist's own version of a protest song, check out Sturgill Simpson's Sea Stories. Dude was in the navy and wrote it as part of a concept album dedicated to giving his first child life advice.
I feel similarly about the quality (don't know what else to call it) of the many songs I listen to from that time, compared to similarly popular songs over the past decades.
Though for me they're also nostalgic in a way which clouds my judgement: I was introduced to vast amounts by my dad in the 90s.
I do think there's some selection bias when we sample tunes that already ran through the filter of their time and 50 to 60 more years of collective filtering.
One group I still didn't know much about and I think many people still don't (paradoxically so) was the Beatles.
When I was 18, a friend lent me every album from Revolver through Abbey Road.
If you haven't listed to those all the way through, you may be in for a treat.
Also, if you want to hear an incredible modern artist's own version of a protest song, check out Sturgill Simpson's Sea Stories. Dude was in the navy and wrote it as part of a concept album dedicated to giving his first child life advice.
Re: selection bias.
I remember FM radio in LA in the early 70s, there weren't really a lot of mediocre songs in the playlists. It wasn't just Classic Rock as we refer to it now, but a bunch of BB King and other blues artists, along with some of what you'd today call Country Rock.
But the "Country" Rock was Allman Brothers, CCR, The Band, and later ZZ Top, etc. The Blues were BB King, John Mayall, Hendricks, etc. The rock was Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, on and on. There was just so much that you didn't really need to fill out the playlists. And all of these bands were cranking out an Album a year in that 5-6 year period.
I remember FM radio in LA in the early 70s, there weren't really a lot of mediocre songs in the playlists. It wasn't just Classic Rock as we refer to it now, but a bunch of BB King and other blues artists, along with some of what you'd today call Country Rock.
But the "Country" Rock was Allman Brothers, CCR, The Band, and later ZZ Top, etc. The Blues were BB King, John Mayall, Hendricks, etc. The rock was Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, on and on. There was just so much that you didn't really need to fill out the playlists. And all of these bands were cranking out an Album a year in that 5-6 year period.
Fascinating.
Do you think (remember) that the incentives for bands were different? I know people listened to more full albums because it'd be tedious otherwise, but was consuming music more of a dedicated activity than it is today?
If so, with record sales being viable income streams, it'd make sense why it'd optimize for more varied, blended, complex, and interesting listens (indexing on FM play for comparison; we're awash with incredible music elsewhere).
I enjoy some music for accompaniment or sing alongs, and then some as a captivating experience (like a movie or even more so a roller coaster).
The blues, jazz, and fusion scenes were vibrant as well and had the same _music as activity_ feature distinct from a dance floor. The audience is expected to actively respond mid song to leads and fills that were moving.
(I know I riffed on my own question but it's not intended to be rhetorical)
Do you think (remember) that the incentives for bands were different? I know people listened to more full albums because it'd be tedious otherwise, but was consuming music more of a dedicated activity than it is today?
If so, with record sales being viable income streams, it'd make sense why it'd optimize for more varied, blended, complex, and interesting listens (indexing on FM play for comparison; we're awash with incredible music elsewhere).
I enjoy some music for accompaniment or sing alongs, and then some as a captivating experience (like a movie or even more so a roller coaster).
The blues, jazz, and fusion scenes were vibrant as well and had the same _music as activity_ feature distinct from a dance floor. The audience is expected to actively respond mid song to leads and fills that were moving.
(I know I riffed on my own question but it's not intended to be rhetorical)
I do agree and I also think that bands played to their listeners more rather than being employees of their producers like was more common earlier in the 60s. The bands in the later 60s played their music and then found their fanship, discovering their fame as opposed to having it designed in by the producers.
And as you mention, people used to hang out and listen to records together as a social activity. People cared about what they thought of as truth in music, so you would have arguments about Beck vs. Clapton vs. Hendricks from various standpoints, not just pure talent but honesty, faith to the material, etc.
Not to say that doesn’t happen today, people are still seeking that just as much, it’s just that the industry has changed to relagate music into just another form of “content” to market for ad revenue.
And as you mention, people used to hang out and listen to records together as a social activity. People cared about what they thought of as truth in music, so you would have arguments about Beck vs. Clapton vs. Hendricks from various standpoints, not just pure talent but honesty, faith to the material, etc.
Not to say that doesn’t happen today, people are still seeking that just as much, it’s just that the industry has changed to relagate music into just another form of “content” to market for ad revenue.
It was 4 years from their first records of blues influenced pop to Sgt Peppers, then 3 more years till they spun apart. There’s a density of creation and artistic evolution there that is incredibly rare.
And my favorite album, Abbey Road, was composed right before the crash. The concluding medley may only exist because they were spinning out.
RIP George Martin, you gave us much.
RIP George Martin, you gave us much.
Your not trying hard enough if you believe timelessness in music stopped in the late 60’s. Every decade since has produced timeless pop music.
Despite the text-not-subtext political message, it still somehow occasionally gets willfully misinterpreted. Trump, of all people, came out to it in rallies in 2020 (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-fogerty-c...).
That’s like Reagan using Born in the USA, a song critical of America, as a campaign theme.
It's a bit different.
First, Reagan only referred to Springsteen as a hopeful songwriter in a speech on the campaign trail, and that was about it, since Springsteen didn't authorize use of the song on the trail. It should also be noted that the incident came in the context of a presidential campaign ('84) in which Reagan likely would've gotten reelected doing anything short of using the Soviet national anthem in his ads. Second, "Born in the USA" wasn't critical of Reagan (or Reagan-like figures) specifically.
Meanwhile, Trump used the song without asking (of course) and received a cease-and-desist, in the context of a very close election campaign, and as a "Fortunate Son" that dodged the draft for the exact war the song was written about.
First, Reagan only referred to Springsteen as a hopeful songwriter in a speech on the campaign trail, and that was about it, since Springsteen didn't authorize use of the song on the trail. It should also be noted that the incident came in the context of a presidential campaign ('84) in which Reagan likely would've gotten reelected doing anything short of using the Soviet national anthem in his ads. Second, "Born in the USA" wasn't critical of Reagan (or Reagan-like figures) specifically.
Meanwhile, Trump used the song without asking (of course) and received a cease-and-desist, in the context of a very close election campaign, and as a "Fortunate Son" that dodged the draft for the exact war the song was written about.
I don't know what songs Biden chose, but he dodged the draft as well.
The song is a fairly important part of the equation - because it’s the hypocrisy part of it. To be privileged isn’t necessarily wrong - it’s usually something that you didn’t have control over and its hard to fault an 18 year old kid from choosing school over war - even if many others couldn’t afford that choice. To claim you’re not privileged (“it aint me”) when you clearly are… that’s wrong.
Was Trump a "Fortunate Son" during the Vietnam War? Most likely he was.
Was he a "Fortunate Son" during the 2016 election, with all of the establishment Republican party, 90% of the media, big tech etc against him? It's arguable that he was not.
Was he a "Fortunate Son" during the 2016 election, with all of the establishment Republican party, 90% of the media, big tech etc against him? It's arguable that he was not.
If you’re running for president backed by one of the two parties, you’re a fortunate son.
You’re buying into an underdog narrative that doesn't match with the facts. Also the media may have been “against” him but they gave him thousands of hours of free coverage. “Big tech” may have been against him, but they handed him his platform in the first place.
You’re buying into an underdog narrative that doesn't match with the facts. Also the media may have been “against” him but they gave him thousands of hours of free coverage. “Big tech” may have been against him, but they handed him his platform in the first place.
>> If you’re running for president backed by one of the two parties, you’re a fortunate son.
Agreed, but it's all relative :-) Would have been more or less favoured than Jeb Bush, for instance?
>> "Big tech” may have been against him, but they handed him his platform in the first place.
They definitely ripped that back off him.
Agreed, but it's all relative :-) Would have been more or less favoured than Jeb Bush, for instance?
>> "Big tech” may have been against him, but they handed him his platform in the first place.
They definitely ripped that back off him.
After he incited an insurrection while attempting to overturn an election
Yes, boomers taking selfies in a government building certainly qualifies as an Insurrection.
Attempting a crime is punishable, even if it is a bad attempt.
Someone clearly didn’t watch the videos
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I think Trump was intoning that he was just a regular guy, not part of the elite - so I'm not sure it qualifies as "misinterpreted" as opposed to simply a lie.
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And yet … the boomer generation that grew up loving it learned nothing.
Sounds as though Fogerty is finally getting the rights to his songs back from Fantasy records and the publicity is now ramping up.
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-fogerty-creedence-clear...
Interesting Fantasy Records' head Saul Zaentz isn't mentioned anywhere in the New Yorker article.
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-fogerty-creedence-clear...
Interesting Fantasy Records' head Saul Zaentz isn't mentioned anywhere in the New Yorker article.
Vanz can’t dance but he steal your money,..
He’s been dead for 10 years.
So he definitely can't dance, then?
John Fogerty is alive.
I think the subject of the sentence was probably Saul Zaentz
@acheron means Saul Zaentz of Fantasy records.
Creedence Clearwater Revival may never be endlessly talked about like Hendrix or the Beatles or the Stones but their music will probably outlive most of their 60s contemporaries.
First, everyone loves Creedence and their music crosses the political spectrum big time. Fogerty might be a liberal Democrat but his music hits big with conservatives. This is where the more conservative approach in lyric writing the article points out works in their favor. CCR never really wrote a drug song except for maybe "Lookin Out My Back Door" and that is hardly explicit. "Fortunate Son" isn't anti-war by being against the war, its anti-war by pointing out the injustice of the elite, the powerful, and the decision makers of America not having to put their own children on the line and deal with the consequences of their decision to go to war with Vietnam. The love for CCR is so widespread that Donald Trump used "Fortunate Son" in a campaign rally, unaware of the irony considering he got out of the draft.
Second, most of their songs are pretty easy to pick up and play. And because of the first point, they're all crowd pleasers. I'm in my mid-20s and when I picked up the guitar some of the first songs I learned once I got my chords down were "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and "Bad Moon Rising". Why? Because everyone knows those songs and my dad get a kick out of it.
Maybe Creedence Clearwater Revival will never hit the philosophical or virtuoso depths of some of its contemporaries, but there is enough substance there to not just be a generic commercial pop song. Yet they are simple and universal enough to enmesh themselves into our American culture.
First, everyone loves Creedence and their music crosses the political spectrum big time. Fogerty might be a liberal Democrat but his music hits big with conservatives. This is where the more conservative approach in lyric writing the article points out works in their favor. CCR never really wrote a drug song except for maybe "Lookin Out My Back Door" and that is hardly explicit. "Fortunate Son" isn't anti-war by being against the war, its anti-war by pointing out the injustice of the elite, the powerful, and the decision makers of America not having to put their own children on the line and deal with the consequences of their decision to go to war with Vietnam. The love for CCR is so widespread that Donald Trump used "Fortunate Son" in a campaign rally, unaware of the irony considering he got out of the draft.
Second, most of their songs are pretty easy to pick up and play. And because of the first point, they're all crowd pleasers. I'm in my mid-20s and when I picked up the guitar some of the first songs I learned once I got my chords down were "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and "Bad Moon Rising". Why? Because everyone knows those songs and my dad get a kick out of it.
Maybe Creedence Clearwater Revival will never hit the philosophical or virtuoso depths of some of its contemporaries, but there is enough substance there to not just be a generic commercial pop song. Yet they are simple and universal enough to enmesh themselves into our American culture.
> except for maybe "Lookin Out My Back Door"
According to Wikipedia,
> Fogerty, however, has stated in interviews that the song was actually written for his then three-year-old son, Josh.
According to Wikipedia,
> Fogerty, however, has stated in interviews that the song was actually written for his then three-year-old son, Josh.
I can't hear that song without thinking of the alternate lyrics:
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hopping' down the bunny trail
Hippity-hop, Easter's on the way
Bringing every girl and boy
Baskets full of Easter joy
Do do do lookin' out my back doorI'm unaware of any contemporary of Creedence Clearwater Revival that had greater philosophical or virtuoso depth.
The interesting thing I came to realize after (unironically) listening to CCR for several years is that most of what John Fogerty was singing about was a 60s California kid's Tolkienesque fantasy of what life in the south would be like in some undefined golden era. Green River and Proud Mary are epitomes of this. Did John Fogerty ever have a hound dog or see the Mississippi before traveling there to play a concert? I'm not saying it's bad music, but his work was far more fantasy than autobiography.
The funny thing is, I've seen southern 'react' kids (Andy and Alex) listen to Born On The Bayou for the first time.
If you know the song you know what's gonna happen and you can't wait, but even then it's a delight: you know from the first downbeat it's got you, but seeing these kids light up and lose their minds over how good it is, that's something special.
It so doesn't matter that John Fogerty was singing a fantasy: real Southern kids connected to the reality of what Fogerty was doing, what he and the band were making. There's nothing inauthentic about 'Born On The Bayou'. It's made out of love and it's real and sincere. Maybe if you actually got born on the bayou you'd take it for granted and would never be able to express so deep a love, and you'd be singing about coding in silicon valley?
If you know the song you know what's gonna happen and you can't wait, but even then it's a delight: you know from the first downbeat it's got you, but seeing these kids light up and lose their minds over how good it is, that's something special.
It so doesn't matter that John Fogerty was singing a fantasy: real Southern kids connected to the reality of what Fogerty was doing, what he and the band were making. There's nothing inauthentic about 'Born On The Bayou'. It's made out of love and it's real and sincere. Maybe if you actually got born on the bayou you'd take it for granted and would never be able to express so deep a love, and you'd be singing about coding in silicon valley?
A friend once summed it up nicely this way: "I love CCR but dude I was so bummed when I learned they weren't actually swamp people, they just wrote songs about being swamp people."
On the other hand, you don't necessarily have to see something first hand in order to be able to channel its energy into art. There are plenty of great paintings based on secondhand descriptions of events and locations. Or consider the song "Country Roads"!
On the other hand, you don't necessarily have to see something first hand in order to be able to channel its energy into art. There are plenty of great paintings based on secondhand descriptions of events and locations. Or consider the song "Country Roads"!
It’s not too far from El Cerrito to the swamps of the San Joaquin/Sacramento River delta.
Which admittedly could have inspired the stories he sang about, but even so there were no paddlewheel steamships in that river when he was there. If there was a "river culture" he didn't give us a clear accounting of it. Maybe it was a metaphor for more landlocked counterculture society at the time?
And "Green River" was about Putah Creek which drains from Berryessa.
Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead?
Aware harder. CCR is part of a larger whole. A whole with depth and breadth. By the early 80’s The Minutemen recognized CCR and Bob Dylan in there political song writing, But there were other contemporaries of CCR as well with philosophical and virtuoso depth
Maybe John Prine, but he did come along slightly later.
I had never heard of John Prine until he died of covid -- I think obscurity to that degree rules him out.
He was far from obscure. Granted he never had the same success as CCR, but he was popular for decades.
Several come to mind: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Ralph McTell. The list tends towards singer-songwriters, though. Bands? Maybe Procol Harum.
Jim Morrison.
ideamotor(3)
Pendulum was the first album I ever owned. My mom bought it for my birthday when it was first released. Turns out it was one of their weaker albums but its still my favorite since it brings back such great memories.
Your experience brings up an interesting concept: the general idea that certain songs/pieces of music will only sound amazing under certain circumstances.
That is, a piece of music won’t “hit you” if the conditions aren’t right (you can’t hear the words, you’re not doing something that matches the song, you’re just not in the mood).
That is, a piece of music won’t “hit you” if the conditions aren’t right (you can’t hear the words, you’re not doing something that matches the song, you’re just not in the mood).
This is exactly why I never thought stuff like "concert violinist plays his Stradivarius in the subway and barely anyone listens, even though it would cost hundreds to attend a concert" is surprising, or says anything other than "you can only appreciate music if in the right context".
Music is how I know that I'm in the doldrums, or depressed -- it stops sounding good to me.
It still blows my mind that these guys weren't Southern boys but from California.
Ramble Tamble remains one of my most earliest memories listening to my dad play CCR's Cosmos Factory from a cassette tape as a kid, and still one of my favorite rock songs and albums.
Ramble Tamble remains one of my most earliest memories listening to my dad play CCR's Cosmos Factory from a cassette tape as a kid, and still one of my favorite rock songs and albums.
Same. I always picture them as some band playing out of Alabama/Georgia.
I guess it's not unheard of. Dwight Yoakam is from Kentucky but made all his money doing Honky Tonk in Los Angeles of all places...
I guess it's not unheard of. Dwight Yoakam is from Kentucky but made all his money doing Honky Tonk in Los Angeles of all places...
If you're a fan, check out their recently rereleased and remastered recordings under their original name, The Golliwogs [1]. They hadn't found their distinctive swampy sound yet but there are some great songs.
[1] https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wXS9h753O6M5oOvdbPMQr
[1] https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wXS9h753O6M5oOvdbPMQr
College freshman roommate had a CCR box set on CD and I ripped it and played it constantly. Just my small personal story to say: not underappreciated by me. Even some of the more obscure tracks get me to sing along.
Also reminds me of my friend’s freshman roomate was a pothead hillbilly who blasted Cripple Creek every single day when he got back from class. My friend can’t listen to CCR to this day.
That's The Band, not CCR, if I recall correctly. Great song
Yes I misremembered the story. Probably because the title has so many C’s and R’s in it.
To be fair, it’s probably the most CCR-like song The Band recorded.
The song is "Up on Cripple Creek" by The Band.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_on_Cripple_Creek
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_on_Cripple_Creek
I thought Cripple Creek was The Band? Or did CCR cover it?
I think that for a band with that short lifespan and that success.., it cannot be underppreciate, it only talks about how great it is that someone thinks that must to have more recognition than they have. They deserve more?, could be. But we are talking about them almost 60 years after the dissolution and that was almost 20 times more than the band life.
And almost everyone can recognize one or two tracks of them, even if they were born years after the dissolution.
And almost everyone can recognize one or two tracks of them, even if they were born years after the dissolution.
In my teens, I did a student exchange; I went to school in Germany for two weeks. My fellow students were cool, but objected to my taste in music; they said that CCR were "primitive", and "derivative". They favoured what they called "progressive" music. I was hurt, and questioned my tastes.
I still love CCR. The bandleader seems to have been a dick though.
I still love CCR. The bandleader seems to have been a dick though.
The scene in Die Hard 4 with the computer nerd and McClane did a lot to establish CCR for milenials
https://youtu.be/BefcIPHuoRI
What if this world is a simulation created for the purpose of generating puns?
Grew up listening to CCR, had all their LPs, bought all the CDs, and have those all ripped onto my iPhone. Out of all the great bands from those years, the Beatles, the Stones, CSNY, only they give me a strong wayback feeling to those years and the great times we had whenever I hear one of their songs.
What kind of revival are they really looking for? They were super popular, and are still in heavy rotation on classic stations. Sure some critics could write some glowing retrospectives, but no one cares about that.
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Plus you gotta factor in Gen Z's love of all things boomer. Legendary take.
The late 60s (and especially 1969) was just a very great time for music, perhaps because the boomers were coming of age, but anyone of any gen can enjoy it. The only time in my life that competes, and even then not anywhere near as much, is the early 90s (incidentally, inspired a lot by the late 60s).
There's a series on Apple TV "1971" which was also a great year. The movie gives just way too much airtime to Sly and the Family Stone and Gil Scott-Heron, though. Not that they weren't important, but there are a whole lot of other groups they don't mention at all.
>Plus you gotta factor in Gen Z's love of all things boomer.
it's called musical stockholm syndrome.
it's called musical stockholm syndrome.
Boomer here. They were, and are, great songs and fully deserve to have a revival.
Hot take:
One gets tired of them, in a way that you don't of John Mellencamp songs (came along slightly later, I know). In fact, if I ask which 70s male megastars still hold up (Tom Petty? Bruce Springsteen? Bob Seger?), Mellencamp is the only one.
There aren't too many songs that, after you've heard them a bazillion times, you're still up for one more. CCR hits are not those.
Hot take:
One gets tired of them, in a way that you don't of John Mellencamp songs (came along slightly later, I know). In fact, if I ask which 70s male megastars still hold up (Tom Petty? Bruce Springsteen? Bob Seger?), Mellencamp is the only one.
There aren't too many songs that, after you've heard them a bazillion times, you're still up for one more. CCR hits are not those.
Seriously? I've never even been able to enjoy a Mellencamp song once all the way through, much less on the daily. I get tired as you say, less than halfway through most of them. All the others you mention also would trigger fatigue as well, but I could at least funish the album then enjoy it again a month or two later.
70s music that doesn't ever get old for me: First two sabbath albums Floyd until they went all experimental. Folksy john denver (as opposed to country)
70s music that doesn't ever get old for me: First two sabbath albums Floyd until they went all experimental. Folksy john denver (as opposed to country)
Floyd until they went all experimental
When did they get more experimental then their debut album "the piper at the gates of dawn"?
When did they get more experimental then their debut album "the piper at the gates of dawn"?
Ummagumma is a pretty wild ride
I think their early stuff (Piper, Saucer) had a structure of sorts, but it was kinda out there and probably only Syd really understood it
Ummagumma was throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck, and by Meddle they started actually developing a marketable formula (I'd say Atom Heart Mother is somewhere in the middle)
Then after Dark Side, they started their real structure and had piles of success until Waters was myopic enough to kick out the only person in the band that mattered
I think their early stuff (Piper, Saucer) had a structure of sorts, but it was kinda out there and probably only Syd really understood it
Ummagumma was throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck, and by Meddle they started actually developing a marketable formula (I'd say Atom Heart Mother is somewhere in the middle)
Then after Dark Side, they started their real structure and had piles of success until Waters was myopic enough to kick out the only person in the band that mattered
Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, Meddle…
'fraid so.
I think the Mellencamp lyrics have a universality that's lacking in most rock, which is largely teen-age and young adult themes. I'm thinking especially about "Little Pink Houses."
He's a Midwestern boy. What can I say?
I think the Mellencamp lyrics have a universality that's lacking in most rock, which is largely teen-age and young adult themes. I'm thinking especially about "Little Pink Houses."
He's a Midwestern boy. What can I say?
That explains it. I can never manage to understand the lyrics in music. So I respond almost entirely to melody and rythm. I think it's also why I enjoy country and rap less than other music.
Mellencamp line which sticks with me:
I knew this would happen, but I was hopin' not today.
So many things we know will happen eventually, but please, NOT today!
I knew this would happen, but I was hopin' not today.
So many things we know will happen eventually, but please, NOT today!
first four sabbath albums always give me chills. First two are phenomenal, but I like all four
Paranoid is one of the best rock albums ever recorded. Not a bad track on it and all the songs hold up in a way that most of their contemporaries can't hold a candle to. Ozzy himself is a living legend and his output is remarkably consistent (obviously some stinkers but still, to be in Sabbath and then go on to such a successful 'solo' career is a hell of a run.)
The production of Mellencamps songs is too clean for me. It takes all of the rock energy out of them.
Reading this comment makes me want to say “OK Boomer” for the first time (I am an old Gen X person). I can’t think of a single time since the 80’s that a Mellencamp song has had any value or impact. CCR songs keep surfacing in interesting places.
"OK Boomer" is only relevant when the person doesn't disclose it. Pretty meaningless here.
I don’t know CCR all that well but I just realized who John Fogerty is and he’s touring right now. He’s coming to my town soon.
Plus that opening… could recognize it in an instant.