Creedence Clearwater Revival

I vote for Green River. It's perfect

 

Green River yo

 

Willy, with Cosmo a close second.

 

Pendulum

 

Cosmo has my favorite songs, but Green River is the best overall.

Laugh if you want, but I also love Mardi Gras.

 

CCR are, by far, my favorite American band of all time. There were clearly other bands made up of superior musicians with some long winded music that exemplified that musicianship but the excitement generated by CCR's records is something that stayed with me over time since first going after their hit singles as a 7th grader. For me, everything they stood for in terms of quality (yet extremely accessible) songwriting combined with great cover versions culminated with Cosmo's Factory (I also think it's their best *sounding* album; retains their inherent textural "roughness" while being recorded well, throughout...Pendulum goes too far in the other extreme...sounds overly 'clean") .

As with many great albums, there's usually that *one* track which you may be inclined to skip over on occasion. CF is the CCR album which does not contain that "one track". Always a fan of John Fogerty's guitar style and sound from those days, I think he's at his peak (far as the CCR days) on this album; the same goes for his vocals and the consistent, supportive grit of the band. I happen to have a personal "top 10 albums" list which I've adhered to overt the last 20 years or so and CF sits at number 10 also containing my favorite album track of theirs (Ramble Tamble) and my two favorite single tracks (Who'll Stop The Rain and Lookin' Out My Back Door). Until CF came out, I was mainly into their singles. Upon borrowing the album from a school friend (a couple of years after its' release), I instantly became mesmerized by it and quickly concluded that it was time to play "catch up" with the albums I had missed. My numbers two and three would probably be Willy and Bayou Country respectively but CF will always sit very comfortably at the top of my list.

 

Sweet Hitchhiker is their most overlooked and underrated single, IMO. If you ignore the general greatness of the previous albums, Mardi Gras overall, isn't all *that* horrible as most people make it out to be. But its' real saving grace for me is SH.

 

Duh. Willy and the Poor Boys. Come up with a better sequencing to that album.

The bare bones aesthetic of Willie... Boys to the country humoresque diddy of It Came Out of the Sky to the labor ballad of Cotton Fields (great Minutemen cover) to the Dust Bowl instrumental feel of Poorboy Shuffle and finally the sloppy blues-funk that is Feelin Blue.

And that's just Side One....

(drops mic)

 

That was pretty good man, you came close to convincing me....but I still gotta go with Green River. (I think)

 

Blasphemy! No. Just kidding. Very similar as far as quality material but the main reason it's better (for me is) how WATPB flows. The sequencing totally makes that album. But if you tie me a post and torture me I will admit that Green River probably has more "hits."

 

They really were such a great band and they're secret weapon was really Fogerty's voice. I mean OMG that guy, especially back in the CCR days, had such an unbelievably powerful voice! There's hardly anyone that was even in his league. Just wow, what a singer.

 

Cosmo's Factory. Remarkable that they released their first 6 albums in a 2 1/2 year time frame.

 

Pendulum

I love the ambitious nature and experimentation of the album. Favorite tracks:

Born To Move
Pagan Baby
Have You Ever Seen The Rain
It’s Just a Thought
Molina
Hey Tonight
Rude Awakening #2

 

I went with an underdog...Bayou Country...which, to me, is their nastiest and swampiest album (all in a good way). I think Graveyard Train is one of their overlooked masterpieces. So heavy and deep. Plus, it has two of their biggest hits on it, so I guess it can't be that much of an underdog!

My second choice is probably Cosmo's Factory. There are times when I feel like Grapevine overstays its welcome just a bit, but it's otherwise pretty much a perfect album.

 

Green River

 

Excellent flow, yes.
Well the stuff was recorded around the same time, and they're both pretty short albums, so I'll just stick 'em together, Willie and The Green River Poor Boys..

 

They were so good it's far easier to pick my least favorite.

 

Cosmo's Factory with Willy second because of Fortunate Son and It Came Out of the Sky.

 

Recently I’ve been grooving to “Live in Europe”
Very underrated live LP

 

Cosmo's Factory for me.

 

You’re all correct, by the way.

 

All of them are the best. Mardi Gras included

 

Green River.

 

Willy and the Poor Boys.

Green River and Cosmo’s Factory are exceptional albums, true classics. But nothing tops Willy

 

They released three albums, nearly half their total output, in one year 1969!