John Fogerty

Centerfield
$9.98
An album worth the price of admission just for one of the classic baseball songs of our time. The rest of the album's good too. Proof indeed that there is life after CCR for John Fogerty.

The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
$13.98
This second round with the Blue Ridge Rangers / John Fogerty is probably largely as one would expect it. Very accomplished and well-played! What it needs is perhaps a few more surprises. The traditional country are largely allowed to draw the picture. The song choice is probably okay; a mixture of well-known standards and a few more obscure country songs, but in either case the arrangements contain few surprises.

The album opens well with John Prine's "Paradise", which probably has all a good classic country song should. Among the following songs Rick Nelson's "Garden Party" definitely is a number that deserves to be revisited; unfortunately the arrangement is so faithfull to Nelson's original that experiment almost seems superfluous.

Actually I first really woke up when the tones of track 7th were to be heard. Where was it I'd heard this song before?? - Oh, yes. . It was Fogerty's own "Change in the Weather" from the overlooked album "Eye of the Zombie". Definitely one of this album's highlights and more "CCR" than the original version, which is also very good.

"Moody River" was a nice beat, and it is altogether a fine melancholy tune.

The final track is Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved", which is one of the few songs which has really been given a different treatment - a more rocking arrangement, and with a surprise guest vocal by Bruce Springsteen.

All in all a solid album from Fogerty, which however, contains only few surprises.

The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again [CD/DVD]
$17.99
This is one of the best CD's I have ever heard. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next. What a talent.

The Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty/Creedence Collection
$18.98
This is a great collection, no argument.

Missing however, as also missing on the DVD, are some CCR hits that were not written by Fogerty, such as Suzie-Q and Midnight Special, and a few others ... presumably so he could put 'written by John Fogerty' on all the material.

This is too bad, but it is still a great collection and the DVD is fun but the live concert I saw in Victoria, BC was even better, and the audience more enthusiastic than the deadbeats in some LA bar !