I own both Chronicle CDs & The Concert. Is that pretty much all I need or do I need to seek out the individual releases?
He's probably pulling a leg. If you dig what you're hearing then you'll want all the albums. That's what I did about 15 years ago, I started with the Chronicles but there's plenty of great album tracks as well. I strongly maintain that CCR were not a simply a singles band.
If you are into sound quality you may want to check out these done by our host. Bayou Country Analogue Productions SACD CAPJ 8387 SA Willy & The Poor Boys Analogue Productions SACD CAPJ 8397 SA Cosmos Factory Analogue Productions SACD CAPJ 8402 SA Pendulum Analogue Productions SACD CAPJ 8410 SA Mardi Gras Analogue Productions SACD CAPJ 9404 SA
If my math is correct you are missing 24 studio tracks (not counting any bonus tracks) and two live albums.
Depending on how serious you are, all the individual releases are excellent, save Mardi Gras which you can probably skip. Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968) Bayou Country (1969) Green River (1969) Willy and the Poor Boys (1969) Cosmo's Factory (1970) Pendulum (1970)
Get Chronicle 2, or Cosmo’s Factory. Maybe both. The two Chronicles overlap with Cosmo’s a bit, but Cosmo’s is an amazing album. It also has the essential “Ramble Tamble” on it. Both Chronicles are fantastic. The only downside is the splitting up of “Suzie Q” between the two albums. Good reason to get the first album. Honestly, they’re all good. Oh, and the recent Woodstock release is worth it too.
All of them except for Cosmo's Factory are available for $30 each from Acoustic Sounds (who I believe are also the manufacturer/distributor). Cosmo was available until just a few months ago, presumably they sold through their back-stock. Each one is listed as "limited quantity remaining", so you may want to grab them sooner rather than later! Shipping (in the US) is free with orders more than $49. IMO these sound fantastic and are well worth the money. Vinyl Records, SACDs, DVD Audio, Audiophile Equipment|Acoustic Sounds I'm also of the mind that Mardi Gras is a fine album. "Sweet Hitch Hiker" and "Someday Never Comes" are the ones everybody points to, but I think "Need Someone To Hold" and "What Are You Gonna Do" are great little songs as well. Stu's voice takes some getting used to, and a handful of the songs are no great shakes, but I think the whole album gets a bad rap. Give it another chance.
CCR has a small studio album discography... well worth checking them all out if you enjoy what you've heard thus far... go the chroniclogical route for maximum effect.
One thing I know is that between the 3 CCR releases I own, don't none of them have "Bootleg". How was that great tune left off the Chronicle albums?! Also, why is "Born On The Bayou" on Vol. 2?
Ha! I initially picked up Chronicle because I loved "Bayou" so much. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered it was missing! But, that led me to collect the albums, and once I did, I was totally hooked. One of the best bands in history. Creedence were pretty unique for a '60s band in that they didn't have any stray B-sides or non-album singles that require a compilation to obtain; if you buy the seven albums (I posted a link to the best-sounding digital versions), you'll have everything. The 2008 40th Anniversary Edition CDs have some bonus content, both live and studio, but that was all previously unreleased. The sound quality is no great shakes on those 2008 CDs; not brickwalled, but pretty compressed, to the detriment of the music. The SH/KG SACDs are wonderful.
Oh yes, and to answer your question from post #1 - as someone else mentioned, you need to get Cosmo's Factory at the very least. "Ramble Tamble", IMO, is their single best song, head and shoulders above the rest - and that's saying something! When that piano comes in and it builds on that same epic riff for three straight minutes... YES!!!
Probably gonna pick up Bayou Country & Cosmo's Factory & take it take it from there. Would be nice if they were available on a single disc. Years ago I remember seeing Bayou Country for $5 on the music rack of a grocery store I went to. Can kick myself now for not snagging it!
If you've got the money, get Bayou Country on the SACD mastered by Steve Hoffman. I posted a link earlier in the thread. You can get free shipping if you throw in another - my personal recommendation would be Green River (as Cosmo is sold out, sadly). I'm not sure how much shipping costs, so that may not be a tremendous deal. Another great song that nobody seems to mention is "Walk On The Water" from the debut; the closest CCR ever got to psychedelic, and yet, at the same time, isn't that riff kinda reminiscent of a famous punk tune? And aren't both of them about the end of the world? Hmm...
Why not check out the others? Essential band. Pendulum is highly underrated and the first disc of the Box Set featuring pre-Creedence Polliwogs tracks is one of favorite Sunday morning discs. Mojo had a great feature on them a couple months ago that gave a good over view of the bands history.
If you dont want to spring for the box, it's worth checking out the recently released pre-CCR compilation of The Golliwogs called Fight Fire 1964-1967. And as someone else noted, the new Woodstock set is worth owning.
Pick up Willy and the Poor Boys for Effigy alone. The rest of the album is really good, but Effigy is a haunting masterpiece.
I personally love Mardi Gras but I'm having a great laugh at this - taking it as the little joke that it is.
