Is there anybody out there who agrees with me that all Creedence Clearwater Revival live albums are nothing more than a bunch of low-quality bootlegs? The worst: Live in Europe/various bonus tracks on their remastered studio albums. This one is beyond a head scratcher. How can this even be considered for release. It was probably a contractual obligation but have some dignity and honor your studio albums which are mostly world class! The marginal: The Concert is an acceptable live album if you lower your standards considerably and keep it in your collection as the one Creedence live document. The one that should have stayed in the vaults: Yes, John Fogerty was 100% right to refuse the release of the band's Woodstock performance at least that was his opinion as the leader of the 4-piece band, pre-Sanz ordeals, pre-everything that changed his attitude towards everything, and he became this self-centered ass he is now. And of course, "Now" is when he signed off on the release of this low fidelity piece of mediocracy. I should add that nothing in this thread criticizes or praises the quality of the performance - they were one of the hottest bands in the world around 69/70 - only the sound quality that ruins every listen to these shows. The latest installment of low sound quality serving: No way, Albert Hall is just as bad as Woodstock and only John's greed allowed this to happen. I fell for it, bought it, popped it in my decent home stereo and WTF is this? Shame on you Fogerty. If you don't have anything better in the vault, let it be. I wanted to make a Live Creedence playlist culled from Oakland, Woodstock and RAH. The set lists are almost identical (another added flaw), but there is nothing there in the Woodstock & RAH shows that I would include in that playlist. There is no best of live Creedence possible in my opinion. Please give me your honest assessment and opinion as a fan of rock music, Creedence, John Fogerty and your sense of value of these releases.
I listened to the streaming of Albert Hall last weekend and the audio quality leaves a bit to be desired, but there’s a nice rawness to the performances if nothing else.
I am grateful for my years of listening to tapers, live shows, and bootlegs. Because, honestly, I enjoy both Woodstock and Albert Hall. I'll turn in my audiophile card at the door (which let's be honest, I never owned anyway)...
I positively love the sound and the quality of the recording of the Woodstock performance. You've lost me on that one.... That whole side of "Keep on Chooglin'" is terrific! Only Santana and Joe Cocker come to mind as possibly better performances than CCR at Woodstock.
I think when it comes to CCR, we (or at least "fans",) should be happy to get whatever is officially released at this point. This is live stuff, so I don't set the bar too high as far as sound quality expectations. The energy and performance is what makes it worthwhile (imo). I bought both the Woodstock and Albert Hall cds, and certainly do not feel "ripped off".
I like the CCR live show from fillmore closing night with my favorite Sweet Hitchhiker!! What steered me away from the RAH was not only the sound but it was like they were playing on speed......waaaaaay too fast.
I liked the Netflix movie on my tv, but didn’t consider getting this release just because their live shows do lack proper quality even if they are playing great.
I only have The Concert and highly enjoy it. Early on it was represented as The Royal Albert Hall show....and I didn't know the difference...glad it was ironed out...and yes...as I said, enjoyable live Creedence !
I thought the latest Woodstock records sounded pretty good. I mean, this was a live recording from the 60's. This band played well, IMO.
I have an ongoing live Creedence thread somewhere. You can vote for your favorite live CCR album and talk about anything on your mind!
I like them all. Europe is power trio heaven. I actually probably listen to that one the most,even though I certainly miss Tom. Woodstock is one of my favorite live albums. In Concert is the OG , can't get enough of that one. Royal Albert Hall features turbocharged performances by four guys who wanted to show that they're the greatest rock and roll band around.
Who’ll Stop the Rain is my favorite Creedence song so I also like “The Concert “. Don’t need Good Golly Miss Molly” thats for sure. Woodstock and Royal Albert Hall could have used better song selection. Although I do realize Rain hadn’t been released at the time of those concerts. Side one "Born on the Bayou" – 5:14 "Green River" – 3:00 "Tombstone Shadow" – 4:05 "Don't Look Now" – 2:05 "Travelin' Band" – 2:18 "Who'll Stop the Rain" – 2:31 "Bad Moon Rising" – 2:16 "Proud Mary" – 3:09 Side two "Fortunate Son" – 2:22 "Commotion" – 2:36 "The Midnight Special" (Traditional, arr.by John Fogerty) – 3:48 "Night Time Is the Right Time" (Nappy Brown, Ozzie Cadena, Lew Herman) – 3:29 "Down on the Corner" – 2:44 "Keep on Chooglin'" – 9:09
This is a band I love, so less than optimal is fine with me. We can discuss the quality and relative merits of their live recordings without the thread's fundamental premise being that they are all sub-par. To me, Woodstock is fantastic. Play it loud!
I’m with @lucan_g, I’ve listened to and loved some pretty rough sounding bootlegs in my day. RAH is not that. Is is a bit and I mean a bit lo fi , well yes, but that’s the charm of it. If you’re looking for pristine quality, you’ll have to look elsewhere. I’m very happy to have both Woodstock and RAH. It’s either that or nothing, I’ll take what I can get.
But ok i’ll bite. Woodstock. Once you get past Born On The Bayou (where the initial tech difficulties hasn’t yet been ironed out), it is a FANTASTIC live album. Royal Albert Hall. Well it is a sixties live recording. Sounds better than many other still. The balances are fine, they play great. The Concert. Good performances, though John is a tiny bit flat in his pitch on much of the songs. Could REALLY do with i remix to get rid of that annoying echo that the latter half of the album is smeared with. Live In Europe. CCR without rhythm guitar, just don’t appeal to me. It’s not that it is bad on any level, it’s just my preference that isn’t being met, that’s all.
