John Fogerty recently got the rights to his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs back, and he's in the mood to celebrate. We know this, because he told us multiple times over the course of a concert at the Hollywood Bowl that genuinely felt more like a party.
And we celebrated with him. We celebrated the fact that his "unstoppable" wife Julie played a massive part in getting those rights back, not taking no for an answer from a string of lawyers. We also celebrated the fact that Julie was able to get Fogerty's guitar back--the one that he played at Woodstock and on a number of CCR classics, before giving it to a 12-year-old 44 years ago while "down in the dumps."
We celebrated the fact that Fogerty turned 80 in May, and that he has a new album out this year called Legacy: The Creedance Clearwater Revival Years, which sees the main man re-record CCR tunes with new musicians, including his sons.
Above all, we simply celebrated the music. Fogerty has written some of the greatest songs ever recorded, blending rock 'n' roll and country in a manner that always felt entirely natural, never forced. And we heard a whole lot of those songs in Hollywood.
The setlist was as close to perfect as one could reasonably expect. "Bad Moon Rising" went straight into the bonafide masterpiece that is "Up Around the Bend" (that guitar riff never lets up). Then "Green River," then "Born on the Bayou." "Who'll Stop the Rain" saw the great man reminisce about Woodstock, and then we're back for more CCR gems such as "Lodi," "Run Through the Jungle," and "Hey Tonight."
We got a couple of solo tunes, including an awesome "Centerfield," and "The Old Man Down the Road." But this night did feel like we were celebrating Fogerty's CCR legacy. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" got everyone singing along, then the closing one-two-three of "Fortunate Son" (one of the great protest songs), "Travelin' Band" and "Proud Mary" was simply immense.
Why wouldn't we celebrate this?
Photo credit: Timothy Norris Courtesy of the LA Phil
