The Best of CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Honest No-Frills Rock 'n' Roll
Creedence Clearwater Revival (commonly referred to as CCR) was my first favorite band. And I still love them. Their music is pure, unadulterated, simple, straightforward, red-blooded American music. They were a “country” band — primarily I mean that as regards the lyrics to their songs, although they also had some country music influences, too, as heard, for example, in their Buck-Owens-name-checking tune “Lookin’ Out My Back Door.” More often, though, CCR’s main influences, genre-wise, were blues, soul, and R&B.
CCR perhaps prefigured the punk movement in that they were raw, elemental, and played a lot of short, fast songs with ferocious aggression (the drumming and vocals, in particular). But, as the stylistic scope of CCR’s 12 best songs (listed below) demonstrate, there was more to them than just a tendency to play loud and fast.
To borrow a phrase usually applied to individuals and assign it to the band as a whole — at least to who they were musically — they seemed to have known exactly who they were and were “comfortable in their own skin[s],” especially Doug Clifford (and yes, that’s a drum pun).” They seem to have embodied the philosophy (to paraphrase Popeye): “We are who we are. Take us or leave us, but we’re not changing.”
Fortunate Son
Proud Mary
Bad Moon Rising
Lodi
Long as I Can See the Light
Up Around the Bend
Down on the Corner
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Who'll Stop the Rain?
Lookin' Out My Back Door
Green River
Travelin' Band
These are some other standout CCR songs:
The Midnight SpecialHello Mary LouCotton FieldsBorn on the BayouSomeday Never ComesWrote a Song for EveryoneCross-Tie WalkerBy the way, I didn’t forget “Run Through the Jungle”; I just don’t care for it much.
