Recollection

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Creedence Clearwater Revisited

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...but Creedence is isn't.

You know those amateur bands who model themselves on acts like Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin and perform as "Deep Purple Jam" or "Led Zeppelin Jam"? This is kinda like that. A competent cover band.

Sorry, Mr Cook and Mr Clifford, but this is just the oddest thing. Not only does singer John Tristao sound eerily like John Fogerty, his vocals are literally a carbon copy of the lead vocal tracks that Fogerty recorded for these songs around 1970. And this meticulous recreation of the Creedence Clearwater Revival sound is just plain weird, especially considering the supposedly strained relationship between Fogerty and his former band mates. Why would they play his songs? And not only that, but why would they play them EXACTLY like he does?

It's hard to imagine why anyone would want this, to be honest. It's not like you can't find this music elsewhere. All of Creedence's albums are readily available in pristine remastered editions (check out the stellar sound on the 2008 editions), and John Fogerty still tours, performing much, much better versions of his own songs than anything you'll find here. Go for his 1998 live album "Premonition" if updated CCR is what you're after!

Now, I'm not saying that these aren't good songs, absolutely not. They're great songs, and the five-man band play them very well. But "Creedence Clearwater Revisited" could at least have tried to make these songs their own...come on guys, rearrange them a little. Or better yet, write some new material and perform that.

But no, the vast majority of these performances are really just stale imitations. It's not a bad record, but it is a pretty strange one, and a superflous one for sure.