Day 5: Creedece Clearwater Revival - Como's Factory

This album cover is great, it's obviously a shot of Creedence backstage before a show looking goofy. They probably had no idea this would be the cover. The drummer, Doug Clifford on his ten speed bike looking like a hippy way out of place makes me laugh.

This classic album (it has "Who'll Stop The Rain, "Looking Out My Back Door" and Creedence's immortal version of "I Heard It Through The Grape Vine") was the band's 5th album in two years and came from a time when that was normal for artists to do. What is unfortunate is that kind of pace often burns artists out (as I believe, happened to the Beatles) and Creedence Clearwater Revival only made it a couple of years before breaking up with extreme acrimony, including between the two Fogerty brothers. They still have not made up. It is possible to share too close a space.

But that workload I believe gives the world its best work. When a band or artist take five years between a release (see yesterday's U2 entry) they can tend to lose the plot and not do their best work. Creedence produced an astonishing amount of classic songs (somewhere there is a bar band covering one right now) in their short time frame together.

My favorite song from this album is the closing "As Long As I Can See The Light", which is the perfect blues, late night shuffle and speaks of loneliness (it was probably written in a hotel room in New Mexico somewhere late an night) and has a great saxophone solo that adds to the ambient feel of being alone. But it ends hopefully. I'll be alright "as long as I can see the light." I love the spiritual overtones of that statement. The Lord is my light, I'll be alright as long as I can see it.

This band is the favorite of "The Dude" from "The Big Lobowski." When his car is stolen he is most upset about the "premium Creedence tapes" that got stolen with the car.

Long live the dude. May he always abide. And may we all "see the light."

5 stars