1969 FIRST PRESSING
CREEDENCE
CLEARWATER
REVIVAL
USA - Fantasy Records - stereo -8387
.... CCR s most FIERY performance...
STILL IN FACTORY SHRINK WRAPPER
PLUS CUSTOM DESIGNED CREEDENCE CLEARWATER STICKER
Original 1969 first pressing of a sometimes forgotten album that set CCR s world on fire Here, a full tilt burner with thrilling energy plus....
The weight heavy full radial stereo DEEP GROOVE platter of the second album by CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL... hit the national spotlight with the smash hit Proud Mary and the album, arguably their best, so strong that Proud Mary is just an afterthought on the album, basically led by several garage-psyched hard blues scorchers.
Bayou Country opens with what could be CCR s signature track. Born On The Bayou is the quintessential swamp rock song awash with chugging muddy rhythms and plaintive guitar. Fogerty roars out the lyric like he was born in the Louisiana backwoods rather than the shores of San Francisco bay. At a time when the west coast of America was awash in psychedelia and expanding their minds, for a band to strip everything back to the basics and dip into the American blues roots was both novel and audacious.
Born on the Bayou is quintessential CCR as it evokes Louisiana, or more accurately Loo-siana. The opening feedback transports the listener through a mist while the slow vibrato of John s guitar slowly clears the air, revealing a porch in the backwoods on a warm, humid day. John regales you from his rocking chair with a story from his youth as you sway in the swing, both sharing some sweet tea. His gruff, ragged vocals sing out with such conviction that this has to be his story. He tells us about his ol hound dog chasin down a hoodoo and rollin with some Cajun queen, painting a clear, vivid picture of the areas even for those that had never been to bayou country. Doug adds cowbell to the back half of the song.
With Tom on acoustic rhythm guitar Bootleg builds on the Southern feel. Where the lyrics are supposed to be bootleg, bootleg, John sounds like he is instead speaking French Creole and singing boule boule , which had to be on purpose for effect.
The band plays a great, smoldering blues rhythm line on the over eight-minute epic Graveyard Train. John has an echo on his voice that augments the spooky mood as he sings about the car accident he was partially responsible for where thirty people lost their lives. The harmonicas add a haunting effect.
Another original is the Chicago blues-inspired Penthouse Pauper. John s guitar playing is fantastic as he alternates firing off notes and bending them notes to his will. The song fades out and one is compelled to hit repeat play.
Creedence takes us down the Mississippi as they tell the classic tale of Proud Mary. They take the beginning of this song and do it nice and easy and then do the finish the same way. John s guitar solo was intended to emulate Steve Cropper of the MGs. The single was the band s first top ten hit. It was paired with Bayou Country and reached 2 on the charts, which is as high as they ever got. In fact they have the most 2 singles of any artist that never had a 1,
The album proper closes with the long, intensely jammed, dirty blues rocker Keep on Chooglin that offers some great advice passed on by many musicians over the years, before and after: You got to ball and have a good time. While John gets to shine with his great guitar work and harmonica solo, here and throughout, it s easy to overlook the talents of the rest of the band. They are consistent and unwavering regardless of the song s length as they allow John to venture out and soak up all the limelight. The entire Bayou Country sounds so good it had to be blaring out of the cars of all the cool kids 40 years ago. It still should be today. Plan a trip there real soon.
Side one
CONDITION: The cover: is solid, rated MINT in factory cellophane with RARE custom desined CREEDENCE sticker ...all stiff and well handled from 47 years ago, the colors are strong...no delete marks, no bends, no seam splits, no writing...
The vinyl: all glossy clean on both sides...rated: near M- this is a weight-heavy pressing, not the thin flexible issue... and contains clean Fantasy labels...
A cool addition to anyone s music library
SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for head people...
EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING
All imperfections are noted both cover record
