John Fogerty's Post CCR-Legacy Opinions

There are a few threads here discussing CCR and different bandmembers contribution to the bands sucess. Somehow I get the feeling many believe Johns Fogertys post-creedence work is far inferior than the work of CCR. Of course their legacy and sucess during a few short years are unique but I personally have enjoyed some of his solo-stuff just as much. Unfortunately writers block, personal issues and legal battles have made the solo-stuff rather thin when it comes to quantity but there is lot s of quality stuff within these legacy. In the following I will try and rank and give some impressions of the albums. I grade them from 1-5
Blue Ridge Rangers 4- A cover album where John does it all himself. I have always liked this album-one that turned me on to american roots music. Still think it s a very good album
J C Fogerty 5- another do it all yourself album that for me belongs to the top of everything John ever did-including CCR. Contains some classic songs like Rockin all over the world and Almost saturday night and a few others that should be classics. Unfortunately out of print and largely forgotten
Centrefield 4-The big comeback and contains at least one big hit. The good stuff there are really good classic Fogerty like the title track, Old man and Big wheels from Memphis. Also contains some more generic stuff
Eye of the Zombie 3- A very dark, angry and political albums. Contains some brilliant stuff but unfortunately also some lesser ones plagued by that eighties sound
Blue Moon Swamp5- Imo Johns best solo-album, one of the best rock-albums of the nineties and just as good as CCR-s album. Great songs and great guitars all over the place. Hot Ros heart, A hundred and ten in the shade, Southern streamline and Swamp river days are all examples of american rock at it s very best
Deja Vu all over again4- The title song is one of Johns best ever-brilliant to the bone. Otherwise perhaps a bit if to many style to sence a real direction. But whats good is good and certanely some of Johns happiest songs like Sugar Sugar and Rhubarb Pie
Revival 4-Sounding more like Creedence than ever. It s a brilliant rock-album with mostly great songs.
Some more average stuff prevents me from giving it 5
The Blue Ridge Rangers rides again 3-A late follow up that is pleasant but not much more. A nice version of Rick Nelssons Garden Party though
Wrote a song for everyone 5- Usually I don t like duets albums but this one is truly great. Creedence classics, solosongs and some great new songs performed with a legion of other artists. It s a brilliant listening from start to finish

All in all there s obvious there are lot s of stuff here to like-at least for me. Would be fun to see if there are others who also value this stuff

 

Overall assessment: John Fogerty has always been stuck between major bravado and complete lack of confidence and direction, and his discography has a very poor flow. That said, I still adore him.

Blue Ridge Rangers - A musical triumph for the man. Not his most enjoyable work overall, but it's impressive what he was able to do alone. A decent way to say goodnight to the CCR days.

John Fogerty - This one has some real classics on it. It's the first time John went pop, and it's tragically underrated.

Hoodoo - My favorite of John's work. It was far too short and deserved to be scrapped for that reason alone, but I'm still praying for a lost tape of it somewhere. "On the Run" has slowly become my favorite of all his (solo) songs.

Centerfield - Classic 80s pop fun without sacrificing quality. Some of his best lyrical moments ("I Saw It on T.V."), and definitely the better companion to Born in the USA.

Eye of the Zombie - I wish I could love this album but I just don't. Apart from "Change in the Weather" and "Knockin' On Your Door," I find most of this one somewhat forgettable. "Soda Pop" is horrendous.

Blue Moon Swamp - Country-pop with a shine in the production over it-- it's a bit brash and loud in some parts, but it's an absolute delight to listen to. "Blue Moon Nights," "Southern Streamline," and "Hot Rod Heart" stand-out to me.

Deja Vu - N/A (Have not heard all the way through, but I LOVE the title-track).

Revival - It's okay, and I love the fire in his belly. Quite an angry album full of hot rage. Not as good as BMS, but still good.

BRR Rides Again and Wrote a Song for Everyone - Have not heard. I have no interest in these.

 

Perhaps you should try Wrote a song for everyone. So much better than ventures like that usually is, Alllen Toussaints horn-arrangement to Proud Mary worth the price of admission itself

 

I'm sure I'll hear it eventually for the new song. I just don't like it when artists re-record their old material. So far, only Alanis, Joni and Carly have been able to truly do that successfully.

I wonder why Tina didn't do the vocal for the new Proud Mary. That would have pushed me to buy it.

 

Well if you listen I hope you enjoy-I certanely do

 

I'm not a big fan of duet tribute albums, but 'wrote a song for everyone' has some real killer tracks on it.
John singing as good as ever, some of the other artists not quite up to par, but still well recorded and interpreted.

 

Hoodoo is the greatest thing that John has ever done. I give it 25 out of 5 stars. It angers me to this day that a record company suit convinced him that it wasn't good. It angers me even more that John went and destroyed the Masters afterward. What could have been with this album...

 

I think John himself realized that fact on his own too. It wasn't just the record company guy. John was NOT happy with the Hoodoo album either.

 

Hoodoo was a great LP, but still flawed in its extraordinarily short playing time. John was just in a such a terrible state of mind. I read the Hoodoo section in John's book, and it hurt to see him trash "You've Got the Magic." That song is so sexy and nasty. I blame the album's cancellation on that song's relative failure on the charts, though. The label never would have given him the option of shelving if it were a hit.

 

I did not include Hoddoo in my exposé since it never got released. Some good stuff there-lost forever

 

An observation:

Usually as a singer gets older, his or her voice gets raspier or lower. BUT in John's case, as he has aged, his vocals have gotten higher, lighter, and even sweeter (almost squeaky at times). This doesn't apply as much in a live setting, when he can still put out gruffier, more powerful vocals, but I definitely hear a lighter tone on his vocals in his studio work post-CCR.

 

I'm a big fan of the John Fogerty solo album from 1975. Definitely underrated. It needs to be reissued with some bonus tracks like the non-LP "Comin Down The Road" and "Ricochet" (only released on a 45 single).

 

It's both saddening and frustrating to think that "Hoodoo" may never see an official release. Although the original tapes were apparently destroyed, I've often wondered if someone out there has better-sounding copies in existence.

 

I saw a review a while back of Fogerty's post Creedence work that said (kindly, not unkindly) he still made a great record every decade. It kind of summed up my view without giving it too much thought. I enjoy Centerfield and Revival, but maybe I need to dig a bit deeper based on reviews above.

 

Hoodoo is a minute or two longer than CCR's Green River.

 

It s one of my all-time favourites. It s a shame it s out of print and almost forgotten.

 

You defitively should give Blue moon Swamp a go

 

Good news is-John still is a great singer. The missing link between Little Richard and John Lennon

 

Yes, that is the main reason -- and his guitar playing too --- why I still go see him live when I get the chance.

 

Overall, I'm not as positive for much of John's solo work. For me, I've been relatively disappointed with a good amount of John's solo output. As mentioned, the 1975 John Fogerty album is tops for me, and I like Blue Moon Swamp and Revival. But much of his other stuff, in my opinion, is lacking. The Centerfield album has some good songs, but suffers with John's doing all the instruments and the weak 80s production.

Here's one example of some things that I dislike from John:



It's sort of a generic Ramones-type song. To me, it's not bad; it's not good. It's a type of song that a million other performers could do. And I don't know why John bothers. But that's just my opinion.

 

There are numerous live performances of post-CCR John Fogerty which sound great and need to be officially released. His touring band is tight and very energetic, so even a modern performance would suffice.

 

In my neck of the woods John Fogerty's solo career is almost as well-known and liked as his Creedence material. Blue Moon Swamp and Premonition, I never knew anybody whose dad did not have these albums in their collection. Absolutely wonderful stuff, well written, well performed, absolutely on par with the best of the Creedence stuff in my mind.

There was a time in late 2007 when three of the older, established acts came out with killer albums; Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II, Springsteen's Magic and of course Fogerty's Revival. Saw him in concert in the summer of 2006, it was absolutely incredible and wildly energetic, changed guitars about a thousand times, Aronoff actually cracking a hi-hat (!) and a superbly put together set list that included both Creedence and solo material.

So in short my humble opinion on Fogerty's post-CCR legacy is that he carries on wonderfully. Blue Moon Swamp is probably one of my desert island discs.

 

An excellent non-LP 45 single released as the Blue Ridge Rangers from 1973: "Back in the Hills"/"You Don't Owe Me":

 

And especially this one:

 

Agree about that

Agree about that "punk-track". But on the same slbum you find this treasure-one of Johns-best and an anti-war song of sorts
John Fogerty - Deja Vu (All Over Again).wmv »