CCR’s final tour documented on live double LP
For a time, Creedence Clearwater Revival was the hottest American band on the rock ‘n’ roll scene.
Between 1968 and 1970, anything that the Northern California quartet touched turned to gold. The band’s earthy, raw Cajun sound definitely struck a nerve (in a good way) with rock music fans. The group’s music still casts a deep shadow today.
But nothing is ever as good as it is perceived. Group co-founders and brothers John Fogerty and Tom Fogerty were always at odds. Tom invited his younger brother to join his band in the early 1960’s and John took control and became the sole creative force of CCR and he was largely responsible for the group’s sound, along with bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford.
It was painfully obvious that Tom was an inferior musician, songwriter and singer and playing second fiddle to John just wasn’t going to work for Tom, so he left and Creedence became a trio in 1971 with John, Stu and Cosmo.
And the first thing the group did without Tom (who was best friends with Fantasy Records executive Saul Zaents) was a live double album, CCR Live in Europe.
The album is one of two live CCR LPs. The Concert was recorded in Oakland in 1970 but it stayed in a vault for 10 years before finally being released in 1980. That album, also a double LP, was a much better representation of the group’s live show.
CCR Live in Europe was recorded in April, 1971 but it didn’t hit stores for more than two years. Zaents released the album over the objection of John Fogerty, who had released his first solo album The Blue Ridge Rangers on the label six months earlier.
The concert album was released, but it obviously faced adversity as it was the group’s live swan song. Tom had left (although his absence didn’t leave a huge void, seeing that he didn’t write or sing (except for live shows) and his rhythm guitar certainly wasn’t missed.
The tour promoted the group’s last studio LP, 1972’s Mardi Gras, which was an absolute mess.
After Tom’s departure, CCR became a democracy (which was what the guitarist, who died in 1990, always envisioned).
That formula didn’t work for critics or fans. John’s contributions, “Someday Never Comes,” “Sweet Hitch-Hiker and a cover of Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou,” were solid and honestly represented some of his best work. Clifford and Cook wrote and produced songs but most were forgettable.
The live work oversees obviously didn’t work either. But most of the classic are here and had John and Zaents not been at each other’s throats and had John continued to be the group’s leader, who knows what could’ve happened.
“Sweet Hitch-Hiker” and Cook’s “Door to Door” are on the LP, along with classics such as “Born on the Bayou,” “Fortunate Son,” “Hey Tonight,” “Bad Moon Rising” and others are on the setlist and they sound the way they’re supposed to sound, proving that Tom Fogerty was largely dead weight.
The feud between John and Tom continued until Tom’s death and the brothers never really settled their differences if John is to be believed.
Zaents and John Fogerty were bitter enemies at the time of Zaents’ death. After the European live album was released, John vowed never to sing CCR songs again, a promise he kept until 1987.
He ended his boycott unexpectedly at the Welcome Home Vets concert in Landover, Maryland. He came out and began playing “The Old Man Down the Road” before taking a knee and weeping and eventually breaking into “Born on the Bayou,” which opened both of CCR’s live albums.
CCR Live in Europe gets a bad rap. The music is good. The trio was tight but Creedence had obviously passed its prime. But CCR fans should give this one and The Concert a spin for old times’ sake.
