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Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

1969

Green River

Album Summary

Green River is the third studio album by American rock and roll band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in August 1969. It was the second of three albums they released in that year, preceded by Bayou Country in January and followed by Willy and the Poor Boys in November.

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Rating

3.79

Votes

19561

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Reviews

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May 27 2021
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5

A great album to listen to with fresh ears. Remove every association with classic rock radio, Vietnam movies, state fair cover bands, and just the general collective unconscious in America and this record reveals itself at its own pace. While it's clearly tied to its era there is still a timeless quality, a baked-in warm nostalgia to be played on the next road trip. It was my first time hearing many of these songs but they are all casually killer. Insert an offhand thumbs-up gif here.

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Jan 19 2021
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5

This album that hit the scene the same year that my infant self did! All of this record makes me happy! Fogerty's raw vocals, songwriting, and guitar work, driven home by the rest of the band's rock & roll twang, are always welcome ingredients for anything from a workout to a road trip, frisbee in the park to a hammock in that same park :) Seeing John perform some of these songs live is on my bucket list!

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Feb 08 2021
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5

Has anyone ever watched an episode of Ex on the Beach? Jesus Christ, is this what people are like now? Psychopaths. Back in my day instead of shouting "CUNT" at eachother every 5 minutes and shagging eachother's girlfriends, we would put on this album and just chill out...and then shag eachother's girlfriends.

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Jan 14 2021
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5

CCR is like a good pair of worn in jeans. Reliable, comfortable, enjoyable.

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Apr 20 2022
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4

I am reading "Our Band Could be Your Life" at the moment and I was really surprised by the amount of bands with hard core punk roots were name checking Creedance as a major influence. I wouldn't have picked it before then but now I have had a chance to listen to them I can see why they were such a beacon to disaffected kids of the late 70s. This is a raucous and powerful album and going on to my want list for a copy on Vinyl

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Nov 20 2024
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2

The songs feel like they should rip. But they don't.

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Mar 15 2022
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5

"Green River" is just a classic. It came out in a year known for its music and it still manages to stand out from the crowd. It's one of those iconic albums that is firmly pinned to the time. It's an essential part of any soundtrack from '69 along with "Bayou Country" which came out the same year. With two absolute beast albums in the same year, it's no wonder CCR outsold The Beatles in '69. I was going to give this a 4 but I realized that I can't justify knocking off a star. There's just not a bad track on the album.

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Dec 15 2023
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2

For a 29-minute album, this was a slog to get through.

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Jan 18 2021
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5

Very good, reminds me of my Dad.

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Apr 21 2021
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2

Not their best album and a bit formulaic.

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Aug 21 2021
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5

They're BACK! I had my first Creedence album served to me here just two days ago (the disappointing Bayou Country), and this one, released just 8 months later, is miles better. It's the second of three albums CCR released in 1969 alone, which is insane. The title track is about as solid of an album opener as you'll ever hear, especially if you're longing for a place where bullfrogs call and kids play on rope swings. "Lodi" might be my favorite CCR song. Creedence Dudes swear by this album, probably because the deeper cuts hold up as well as the hits. The Spotify link took me to the 40th Anniversary edition, and I just assumed the two instrumental tracks after "The Night Time Is The Right Time" were part of the original album. They should have been because those 2 instrumental tracks slap. I like them more than most of the album cuts on Bayou Country. But that's me. Factoring in those 2 songs get this thing closer to 5 territory. Maybe without John Fogerty's vocals taking center stage, the instrumentals allow for the entire band to come in focus. Speaking of which, we need to discuss the album cover. It reminds me of those shirts for the band Stillwater in "Almost Famous" where Russell Hammond is prominently placed in front of the band to standout and overshadow them, causing the members to quarrel (particularly Hammond and lead singer Jeff Beebe) to the point where Hammond wanders off with teenage Rolling Stone reporter William Miller to a party somewhere in the Midwest where he can drop acid and scream Robert Plant quotes from the rooftop before jumping into a swimming pool. I hope the same thing happened with the Creedence fellas, but I'm guessing a pond was involved instead of a pool. Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook and and Doug Clifford likely had no idea they'd be included in this photo. They don't even have their instruments. It's like John was having his own photo taken for a solo album and they're just photo bombing him. No wonder they hated John so much. Maybe it was a Stillwateresque fight that inspired John Fogerty to write "Have You Ever Seen The Rain". John was (and is) such a control freak he doesn't even let anyone besides him provide backup vocals. I've got this album somewhere between 4 and 5, and a good background story about the album cover would put it over the top. I guess what I'm saying is a 5 rating ultimately comes due to the fact that the album cover reminds me of a fictional band from Cameron Crowe's best movie.

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Jan 18 2021
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5

Fucking loved it, Green River was great and Bad moon rising. Yeah, they're the biggest hits off the album but they are too fucking good. The whole project was great and, blending my love of folk and rock music. I am definitely biased here as this is my favorite era of rock, but it's my rating so who gives a fuck. I don't think it is perfect, but 5 stars because of the limitations of the rating system on the website. I will return to this in the future, 7.5/8.

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Jul 10 2024
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5

More great classic (and slightly sinister) bluesy rock. Love it.

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May 14 2024
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5

CCR is timeless. They will make love to your ears. The soul that comes out of four guys who look like they should be running a very successful auto body shop is unparalleled

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Oct 13 2023
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5

Creedence Clearwater Revival can rock, they’ve got soul, they’ll get psychedelic, they play with purpose and a sense of urgency…they’re pretty much the perfect rock and roll band. Fuck me, did I just write a Wesley Willis song?

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Jan 22 2024
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4

Putting my serious ears on for what I know is meant to be a classic, what caught me was the way J Fogerty’s vocals form little riffs that play off the guitars, rather than lay simply on top of them, and that the space they leave for their sounds is exceptionally rare for a four piece. The songs have a spiky, pugilistic motion to them: this is a song, you got a problem with that pal?

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Apr 07 2021
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4

This is some really high-quality country rock. The album wears its California roots on its sleeve, which puts it both close to and a little distance from my heart. I can't quite say I love it after one listen, but it seems to last longer than its runtime in a good way: Every song is solid. It ends particularly well, on a bit of a twist. Which, written down, seems like a bit of a backhanded compliment, but is in fact sincere praise.

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Aug 31 2021
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3

Et bah franchement, pour un album qui connait des pics à 400 millions de streams, c'est pas franchement incroyable. Ce qui m'amène à partager l'anecdote suivante : Quand j'étais au lycée et envisageais de devenir le prochain James Arthur, j'avais découvert la chanson "Have you ever seen the rain" du groupe qui nous intéresse. J'ai donc décidé de la reprendre à la guitare alors même que je ne trouve pas cette chanson particulièrement exceptionnelle. Croyez-le ou non, cette reprise n'était pas fameuse. Retour à la case départ, donc.

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Jul 10 2024
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5

Apple Music says “…if you had to pick just one CCR album, this should be it” and I believe them. Lodi is possibly my favorite CCR song, but there’s no denying the genius of Green River and Bad Moon Rising. The whole album is pretty great even if I wasn’t familiar with it beyond those hits. I read “formulaic” as a word to describe this album in a negative review. I guess if you want to call the original formula “formulaic” you can, but that would still seem to deserve better than a 2 rating. 50+ years ago the word formulaic probably would not have come to mind…

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Sep 17 2021
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4

Warm sound. Lovely hooks and licks!

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Jan 27 2025
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3

Creedence released a string of really great singles in their peak years -- my favourite stat is that they are the band with the most singles to hit No.2 on the Billboard charts without ever having a No.1 -- but their albums can be a bit choppy. This album is basically the same formula as Bayou Country, but the execution is all around improved, and the record is blessedly free of extended improvisations. The band was tight from a few years of heavy touring. I love this quote from Doug Clifford (interview with Goldmine, 2013): "We went to see the local bands and they were so stoned they weren’t even in tune and they were really terrible... We made a pact on the floor of the Fillmore, right then, where we would do no drugs or alcohol. We decided to get high on the music, or get out of the business." This makes this album sweet blessed relief from much of the unfocussed psych drivel of many of their contemporary bands, and explains how they released so much music during their peak (6 albums and 17 singles between '68 and '70). It's a fat-free 29 minutes, with most songs clocking at or under 3 minutes. That said, most songs are loose re-writes of standard blues numbers, continuing Fogerty's tendency to write about places he had never been. They have that great mix of a loose, funky feel, while being locked in as a tight unit, knowing what each other are doing. My mate Dave wonders what if Creedence had been a better band (like the E Street Band or Tom Petty's Heartbreakers). I don't think it would make a difference, because it is their chemistry, developed through years on the road, that really makes this work, not the technical skills. It's a great swamp rock sound (even though they hadn't been near a bayou in their lives), it's brief, and the singles are cracking! I have concerns about Creedence's musical appropriation, which makes me uncomfortable. I mean, this is a band that had never been to the south, and they built this swamp boogie sound based on a tradition that they were not part of. Also, Fogerty's "originals" are essentially loose re-writes of existing blues material. How come this bunch of Californian white boys got to sell a bazillion records, based on a sound that they emulated really well? I'm still thinking about that. Look, I like the sound, and a CCR greatest hits would be five stars, but this album is inessential.

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May 09 2023
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3

Mostly simple, effective songs played well. A couple of standouts. Could have done without the instrumental jams to finish off but gladly they are mercifully short. Fave track: Wrote a Song for Everyone

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Feb 03 2025
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5

If there was a law that (1) bars can only play music by one select musical artist, and (2) each year one person gets randomly selected to choose the artist, and it was my year, I'd pick CCR.

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Dec 23 2022
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5

Forgery and the boys DO NOT MISS. A great album front to back. The late sixties and early seventies were dominated by CCR’s riverboat rock. An incredible band.

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May 17 2021
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5

Absolutely amazing. These dudes continue to be one of my favorite classic rock bands. I’m not sure why, but something about the swamp rock style is really appealing to me. Maybe it’s nostalgic? You know, the war.

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Jun 16 2025
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4

Objetivo: ouvir esse álbum dirigindo em direção ao Lake Tahoe.

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Feb 04 2025
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4

Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, would listen to it again

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Feb 03 2025
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4

I realized we were fed a version with live versions at the back so went back to find the og album, which is only 29 minutes. 29 minutes is a much more reasonable amount of time to listen to ccr.

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Jan 31 2025
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4

Shockingly great album. Not my cup of tea and one I likely won't be returning to any time soon, but I enjoyed the listen. 7/10 closer to an 8 than a 6.

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May 21 2024
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4

The CCR sound is great, the songs are very decent and partly classic.

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May 20 2024
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4

I like CCR and this album is really solid. Also, this is impressive: "It was the second of three albums they released in that year"

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May 18 2024
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4

This was a good album that really helped open me up to southern and blues rock. For anyone who really enjoys classic rock, this is definitely a good album to check out.

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Apr 15 2024
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4

I love this band. It's another album where I wish I could have experienced what it was like to hear all of these hits on one album when it first dropped. I love the vocals, I love the twangy guitar. So different for what passes as "hits" these days.

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Jan 16 2024
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4

I've been a CCR fan since I was a kid, though mostly through their Chronicle comps (Vol 1 = 5 stars, Vol 2 = 4 stars) and not their albums proper. There were only two tracks on Green River I couldn't sing along to (I say this sort of tongue-in-cheek, since depending on which version of GR you listen to, you could have as many as four non-Chronicle tracks, but two of them are instrumentals). CCR was a soundtrack to many excursions with family and friends, so their music always conjures a good time feeling for me. Anyway, seems to me you either like the CCR sound or you don't, and I do.

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Apr 28 2022
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4

It is so kind of John Fogerty to let the audience know where the bathrooms are during every concert (on the right).

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Feb 23 2021
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4

It's Green River time, a 1969 album from Credence Clearwater Revival (CCR). Much has been written about the band, so I'm not sure what else new I might have to say. This music was easy to connect when I was a kid. The music had great hooks and it sounded like all the country music and rock and roll my parents always listened to. I enjoy a lot of the music from the late 60s, but there is a special place for this music that went against the grain. I don't know. It's just enjoyable on a different level than most other music at the time. There is something deep and spirited about this music; like it organically grew out of the soil in America. And it had all of our experiences baked into the music. I've always enjoyed this music and nothing has changed to this day. It's silly I haven't listened and enjoyed all the music on this album. The curse of the greatest hits collection that often feels arbitrary on what tracks are chosen.

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Jun 25 2025
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3

Someone save me from these old albums!!! This is nice and short, and has some big hits on it. But I don't like it. Even though 'Commotion' was in an episode of Parenthood. Fun fact: I used to use "there's a bad moon on the rise" being misheard as "there's a bathroom on the right" in my classes but I had to retire it because my students now have never heard of the song.

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Feb 04 2025
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3

Grand enough. Enjoyed it more than I imagined I would. Heading up North into the DMZ tomorrow for a raid on Vinh Moc. I hope they know we’re coming and have cleared out. Day by day, I struggle to maintain not only my strength but my sanity. It's all a blur. I have no energy to write. I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore. The morale of the men is low. A civil war in the platoon. Half the men with Elias, half with Barnes. There's a lot of suspicion and hate. I can't believe we're fighting each other when we should be fighting them.

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Jul 05 2025
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2

When marrying your own sister, this is the music that's played. Maybe not my bucket of hot leaves.

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Jun 19 2025
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2

A set of folky blues-rock tunes with a laid-back charm. The album is anchored by the classic Bad Moon Rising, which is the undeniable - and, to be honest: sole - standout. While nothing else quite reaches that level, the rest of the album has its moments - some tasteful bluesy guitar work and a warm, rootsy vibe throughout. If you grew up in the US during the late ’60s or ’70s, this probably feels like a piece of your cultural fabric. For listeners born elsewhere, it’s an interesting snapshot of its time - maybe not essential, but worth a listen.

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Jun 07 2025
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2

Ugh. With the exception of Bad Moon Rising, not a single track here had anything memorable about it. A middling rock voice, sub-standard guitar solos, and not a lyric of note. It's not offensively bad, but I can't ever imagine coming back.

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Nov 18 2023
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2

It's not bad. I just don't care for it much.

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Jun 24 2025
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1

I get how influential they are but to my ears, this stuff just hasn’t survived the test of time. It sounds tired and cliched. All it inspires me to do is to switch it off. In fact, listening to it now, it strikes me they well be partly to blame for Ocean Colour Scene, which is reason enough to wish this record out of existence.

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Jun 12 2025
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1

So John Fogerty played an hour over at this music festival called LOCKN in 2017 and he made Widespread Panic come out much later and shorten their show and I’ll never forget it and how Fogerty ruined the whole vibe and maybe the night although not the whole festival I mean the panic fans were more drunk than usual including a middle aged dad with his eight year old son nearby so I’ve held a grudge against Fogerty ever since. One star.

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Jul 12 2025
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5

Très bon disque avec le craquement original des vinyles 🙏

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Jul 12 2025
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5

It's CCR. Of course it's 5 Stars?!

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Jul 11 2025
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5

I dont like country rock but this is the one band thats not only decent but actually all albums are great. Their country rock with blues mixture is amazing unique sound for that time

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Jul 08 2025
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5

I understand why the dude was upset.

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Jul 08 2025
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5

Förjävla bra skiva - bluesrock blir inte bättre än så här och Fogerty är så otroligt grym. Pendlade mellan stark fyra och femma men vafan, det är ju sommar och semester.

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Jul 02 2025
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5

3/1001 :: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Rating: 9 Fav Tracks: Tombstone Shadow, Bad Moon Rising, Sinister Purpose Frankly I haven’t spent enough time with Creedence and while celebrated I feel like they’re a bit underrated. The Apple Music liner notes said when they made Green River in 1969 they were at the “height of their powers” and to my ear that rang to be true. This album is incredible. Frankly I thought every song was pretty damn good if not great… If I had one criticism of the album it’s that there’s not much innovation happening here. They’re all Southern rock blues based tunes but they’re doing it at a super high level. Sinister Purpose is the one song here where they seem to break the mold into something that almost sounds more mechanical and dare I say Post Punk-ish… I will be buying this on vinyl at some point

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Jul 01 2025
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5

YEAHHHH!!! HELL YEAH BROTHER PLAY THAT GUITAR

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Jun 26 2025
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5

This album has to be a 5 for me. I know basically all of these songs, and they're all bangers. Fun to listen to, fun to play, and just good music.

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Jun 25 2025
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5

I feel this music in my soul. 5/5

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Jun 25 2025
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5

This is another excellent CCR album, which has a touch of rock-a-billy and country flavor. I know and like every tune except “Sinister Purpose”, which I never heard.

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Jun 19 2025
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5

Jeg elsker at hænge ud med the boys

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Jun 16 2025
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5

This album brought back so many great memories. I loved every song on it.

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Jun 14 2025
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5

I love CCR and this has so many of the tracks I know on it. Good the whole way through

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Jun 14 2025
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5

Has to be one of my favorites- even though I never listened to the entire album before today.

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Jun 07 2025
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5

Ya tenía que caer algo realmente bueno, simple sin complejidades tecnológicas . Cómo no ponerles mi 5

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Jun 05 2025
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5

Good groove rock all time classic sound

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May 31 2025
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5

CCR is just classic Southern Rock. Fogerty’s scrachy voice is unmistakable. Green River, Bad Moon Risimg and Lodi are timeless classics. The rest of the album is like a smooth southern whiskey. Just goes down easy! Great album from an Hall of Fame band.

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May 31 2025
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5

Love this! Very fun and sets a unique vibe.

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May 30 2025
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5

The best electric/swamp blues album ever made by white guys from California. Completely sinister sounding and more menacing than any punk album, Green River is a go-to soundtrack for a road-trip, Halloween party or burying a drifter's body in the woods.

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May 28 2025
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5

Classic CCR. I remember these songs from my childhood when Top 40 radio was blaring at the public swimming pool in the summertime. Sweet memories.

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May 27 2025
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5

Amazing band and album. Top 100 for sure.

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May 25 2025
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5

Well, I guess it's only fitting for me to get two CCR albums in the same week given how all of their albums were released in such close proximity with one another. I can't be upset though. Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of those bands whose success just makes sense. These guys knew how to make great music, and Green River is proof of that. I liked Bayou Country quite a bit, but I knew it could be improved upon. Lo and behold, CCR managed to do that just 7 months later. The fact that they released so many albums in such a short time is insane to me given how good they (presumably) all are. Green River is fantastic. It's only 29 minutes long, but it is 29 minutes of great music with no room for filler whatsoever. This may just be the greatest sub-30-minute-long album ever made. Maybe it's not though. I still haven't gotten Pink Moon yet. Come to think of it, Reign in Blood is also under 30 minutes, and I think I like that album more. Forget the other things I said. Let's go back to praising Green River. Everything that worked on Bayou Country is improved upon in this album. John Fogerty's writing is as strong as ever. Songs like the title track provide strong imagery, while "Bad Moon Rising" has such a unique blend of a happy feel and fearful lyrics that I absolutely love. The musicianship here is incredibly consistent. Again, there's no room for filler. All 9 songs are great. CCR proves themselves once again with an album that hasn't aged a day in the 50+ years since its release. It's great. Low 5/5.

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May 20 2025
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5

CCR is the definition of "Classic Rock". That 60s/70s hippie rock that is such a distinctive, iconic sound. "Bad Moon Rising" is obviously the biggest hit here but the title track "Green River" is one of their best songs too, and that's saying a lot. This is a great album, and the scary part is it may not even be their best album, and the scary part of that is that you could probably make that case for any of their albums. One of the greatest bands of all time, putting out constant hits. Easy to see why they are on this list!

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May 19 2025
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5

I never thought I would finish an album on here and go that is all. The album was finished and I thought there must be more. It made me want more songs from these guys. This was a great one.

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May 19 2025
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5

I didn’t realize that they did some of these songs which were fantastic

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May 12 2025
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5

Dobre, klasyczne. Pierwsza piosenka klasyk. Kilka zapisanych. Gitary

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May 06 2025
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5

i love it. Great songs and vibe. Great albums dont have to be complex.

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May 01 2025
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5

CCR has so much emotional value to me since their music is deeply tied into my family. however, I never listened to an album in full I think. thanks to this amazing record I caught up on that

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May 01 2025
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5

This album reminds me of the movie "Almost Famous." I don't know if CCR is on that soundtrack, but that's the vibe here. Just a bunch of traveling free-spirits. His vocals are energizing and exciting. Singing to good-time tunes. "Bad Moon Rising" is one of the all time greats.

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Apr 26 2025
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5

This will always be one of my favourite albums of all time.

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Apr 21 2025
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5

A routine listen for me, this album is just fantastic.

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Apr 17 2025
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5

I love this album. For some reason feels homey and comforting. Has a twang that makes it feel like a summer time but also serious songs. Great listen front to back

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Apr 10 2025
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5

Another great record from CCR. This one packs a lot into just 29 minutes. Four massive hits and the rest of the songs are great too. If this band had lasted longer they could have dominated the 70's

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Apr 01 2025
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5

Solid album. CCR is awesome so I expected no less.

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Mar 26 2025
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5

Sinister Purpose and Tombstone Shadow are hard as hell. Gem from an absolute classic band. Would listen again.

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Mar 25 2025
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5

That classic rock vibe which still resonates today. Is there anything else like CCR in the modern age? Appreciate the original.

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