Creedence Clearwater Revival took their brand of swamp rock to the faithful with this howling garage blues debut. The group started out as teenagers playing around the San Francisco area as the Blue Velvets with Tom Fogerty on guitar and vocals, John Fogerty on guitar, Doug Clifford on drums, and Stu Cook on piano. When local label Fantasy Records had a nationwide hit with Vince Guaraldi's 'Cast Your Fate To The Wind', they auditioned and were signed to the label under the new moniker the Visions. Fantasy co-founder Max Weiss renamed them the Gollywogs in an attempt to capitalize on the British Invasion sound. During this time Cook migrated over to bass guitar and John Fogerty began taking over lead vocals and writing original songs.
After three years, the group fizzled out when John Fogerty and Doug Clifford were drafted into the reserves. It was during his time in the service that Fogerty developed a new songwriting technique: "They're marching you around all the time because they don't know what to do with you. I would become delirious and go into a trance. And I started narrating this story to myself, which was the song Porterville. I realised I could go anywhere and just make it up...I was very driven; it was life and death. I could see we didn't have a publicist, we didn't have a manager, we didn't have a producer, and we were on the tiniest label in the world, so we had to do it with music. And that kind of meant me...I was more like a book writer than a songwriter because I couldn't make any noise. I think I accidentally discovered a form of transcendental meditation because it was so real. I was the best I've ever been in my life."
When Fantasy Records was bought by Saul Zaentz he offered the group the chance to make an album; but insisted they change their name. Creedence Clearwater Revival drew from the name of one of Tom's friends Credence Nuball, a beer commercial, and a sense of renewal. John considers: "The most important part was revival."
'Creedence Clearwater Revival' was produced by Zaentz at Coast Recorders in San Francisco with Doug Clifford on drums; Stu Cook on bass guitar; John Fogerty on lead guitar and lead vocals; and Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar, vocals, and co-lead vocals. The album reached ninety-two in Japan, fifty-two in the US, and twenty-nine in Norway.
"I Put a Spell on You" went to seventy-two in Canada and fifty-eight in the US.
"Suzie Q." a walked to eighty-eight in Australia, eleven in the US, and ten in Canada with an abbreviated single version.
'Creedence Clearwater Revival'
full album:
All songs written by John Fogerty, except where noted.
Side one
"I Put a Spell on You" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) – 4:33
"The Working Man" – 3:04
"Susie Q" (Dale Hawkins, Eleanor Broadwater, Stanley Lewis) – 8:37
Side two
"Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett) – 3:39
"Get Down Woman" – 3:09
"Porterville" – 2:24
"Gloomy" – 3:51
"Walk on the Water" (J. Fogerty, Tom Fogerty) – 4:40
bonus tracks
"Call It Pretending" (B-side of "Porterville") – 2:09
"Before You Accuse Me" (1968 outtake) - 3:24
"Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" (Live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California, 3/14/69) - 3:47
"Susie Q" (Live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California, 3/14/69) - 11:45
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