Green River

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.

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!

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.

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

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

"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.

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

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

Very good, reminds me of my Dad.

More genericana

Not their best album and a bit formulaic.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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

Warm sound. Lovely hooks and licks!

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.

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

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.

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…

My favorite band, smashing it.

Classic!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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"

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.

A classic for a reason

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

5/5

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

9/10 - Tuesday, April 15th

Great

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

> The Beatles I mean... come on

classic

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

5 stars cause my wife likes it.

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

Made me hard

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

The lone negative here - there’s nothing quite as earwormy as “Big wheel keep on Tu’y’nin” or “just got home from Illinois, locked the front door - oh boy” which are maybe my favourite pronunciations and lyrics in any of Fogerty’s music. With that said, as you would expect, I love this. Same vocal quality I love from all CCR music, same clean guitars. Bad Moon Rising’s core riff is so simple but makes me smile every time. ‘Wrote a song for everyone’ is such a lovely listen in the middle of this, it’s got real soul to it & the album slows down to make sure it stands out. Some covers of ‘The Night Time is the Right Time’ change the line from the backup singers in between each line of the chorus to “night and day” but not CCR - the original “wah-do-ay” will do just fine.

Singles band, but they were so focused and stylistically defined that a collection of any of their singles works as an album - ie chronicle 1 and 2 could just be american ass albums with as much thematic unity. Anyway green river an all time great. People keep a talking they don't say a word/ Jaw jaw jaw jaw jaw.

There's a bathroom on the right.

"Green River" is the third studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Swamp rock, blues rock, rock and roll and Americana are the Wiki-listed genres. Yep! It was their second of three albums released in 1969. Yikes...not sitting around are they? If you don't know, the band is John Fogerty (vocals, lead guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonica, producer and arranger), Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums). The album hit #1 in the US and #20 in the UK and had universal acclaim. A great guitar riff kicks off "Green River." Here's that swampy rhythm sound. That Fogerty voice. It was about a creek Fogerty used to go to as a kid in Winters, CA, and named after the green river soda. I remember having versions of that in the 70's...at Woolworth's, I believe. "Commotion" starts off with an explosive guitar and fast rhythm section. This might be the fastest CCR song I've heard. Fogerty said NYC and the hustle and bustle of the modern world were the inspirations. This is a really good song I don't remember hearing all that often. Searing guitars solos in the middle and outro. Speaking of good guitar riffs, "Bad Moon Rising" opens side two. The happy-go-lucky music juxtaposed by Fogerty's apocalyptic lyrics. More inspirations for Fogerty, as a 1941 film "The Devil and Daniel Webster" about a hurricane destroying crops was the song's genesis. "Lodi" slows things down as the music takes a melancholic turn. Fogerty tells the plight of a down-and-out musician playing in Lodi (an actual town in California) and he is unable to make enough for a bus fare. Anytime a Greyhound bus is mentioned, the song does not end well. I see you randomizer giving me "Green River" on St. Patrick's Day. Most of these the songs follow the pattern of guitar intro, rhythm section comes in and the song is off. They do it to such perfection. The quality of the guitar, lyrics, vocals and overall music is incredible. A 29-minute album where no time is wasted in these nine songs. All three of these 1969 CCR albums are great. "Green River" happens to be the one in the middle.

Man am I glad I didn’t go five stars for Cosmo’s Factory. Compared to Green River, why is Cosmo’s even on the list? Every song on Green River a banger. Even the ones that don’t seem perfect at first, like Sinister Purpose, has some crazy details and choices that are just next-level. Bravo.

I remember growing up there was some rumblings in music publications that Fogerty’s singing style was “musical appropriation” since they sounded in the singing and music like they were from some gut-bucket part of Louisiana but weren’t in reality. So what; the songs here are so catchy and engaging that the thought doesn’t stick. True, there’s moments when Fogerty sounds a bit forced as he reaches for the spirit of old black blues singers but only for moments.

5/5

There's a bathroom on the right. Great album, holds up. 5/5

I thought this was great.

Dads will listen to this and go “hell yeah”. They got a point

Can’t go wrong with CCR

An absolute gem.

Definitely not the best album cover, but it's what inside that matters! Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Green River, Commotion, Night Time is the Right Time, and Tombstone Shadow are all five-star classics. The remaining songs are solid with the standout of them being Wrote a Song for Everyone. No complaints but just wish it was bit longer. Rating: 5/5

If this was the only album they released that year it would still have been an achievement

I was happy to see this one come up. I have always been a CCR fan. No gimmicks just pure rock and roll.

No tricks. No hippie dippie. Just straight-ahead, workman-like rock and roll. Wait for the Ray Charles cover at the end.

Great

I mean we start off with “Green River” which is a classic. It has so much energy and it just really gets you going! This band is just fun and you can’t help but feel like you want to go dancing on a river boat in the bayou. Like you can’t possibly have any cares in the world when you listen to this. The guitar is just amazing in this song. Very plucky. Stays with you. So much fun! I don’t know what they’re saying and I don’t care.

Just a peach from start to finish, 5 stars ✌️

Growing up, I was dragged along to folk clubs with my mum's band when my dad was working late. Considering that I just wanted to stay home, I'd complain the whole time, but was still allowed to make one request for the set list. If it was a solo gig, I'd ask my mum to play Big Yellow Taxi, if it was her band, I'd ask them to play Bad Moon Rising. This album brought back so many memories from those years, and while my hatred for folk music has disappeared, my love for this song and now album has remained the same.

A great album by a great band. Every song was familiar and enjoyable.

So many classics. Love Credence.

Perfection

Possibly their best album in that three album run.

This is an easy 5 stars. Classics and some of my favorite CCR songs (Lodi and Green River)

Alright first five I’m going to give on here, CCR has always been a blind spot for me but this album is real good.

A great album from the first note to the last. Can it get any better when it comes to country and rock music?

Amazing!

Endlich mal guter 70s Rock!!! Von den Guys die den klassischen "ich flieg mit Black Hawks ins Kriegsgebiet gute laune track" gemacht haben. 5/5

Near perfect album (9.9) ★★★★½

Just some all time classics here, including Lodi, Commotion, Bad Moon Rising, Sinster Purpose, Wrote a Song for Everyone, and the title track. 5 stars.

so good but the last 2 tracks are a big let down

My only problem with CCR is that when I have to listen to them, I have to listen to all 6 albums in a row. CCR is one of my comfy bands since I was a teenager. 5 stars of course!

This may be unexpected coming from me and previous thoughts on other music from this period of rock, but this album is a fucking banger. From start to finish I’ve been rocking out. So damn good!

We own this album so it was a very familiar listen. Not a bad song on the whole album. Wrote a song for everyone and Lodi my favourites

Great album and a great relief having come on the back of Coldplay. Every song is a banger. I really like the earthy rock n roll sound from CCR and all in 4/4 timing. John Fogerty's vocals hit hard and soulfully delivered, and there are few who sound better. Favourite songs: Commotion, Lodi and wrote song for everyone. 5 stars from me.

Fun, happy music!

Day 3: Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival. American band Creedence Clearwater Revival offered a very fun rock album. To me, I find the term "swamp rock" difficult to define and deduce. Upon searching for swamp rock on RYM, I could not recognize a single artist featured under swamp rock besides Creedence Clearwater Revival, and their respective members from their solo works. Well, to be fair, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Dr. John were given brief mentions. This album features fun bluesy sounds and hippie vibes. Bad Moon Rising, Green River, and Lodi are stand-out tracks, in my opinion. Bad Moon Rising and Green River are very catchy songs, while Lodi is a really pleasant song. During the latest total solar eclipse, Green River came on the radio, and I had a lot of fun vibing to it! This album is a fun listen. CCR is practically swamp rock. It features an array of memorable songs. It's an important album. It's one of my favourite albums of the 1960's. Five stars. Personal Enjoyment: 5/5. How Much It Belongs Here: 5/5.

Got Creedence two days in a row and both are 5 star albums, I'm not sure there are too many songwriters as prolific as John Fogarty was in CCR.

Impeccably crafted and timeless California swamp rock. A ur-text of "Americana" as a modern musical style. The Albert King inspired "Tombstone Shadow" is notable for having a one note guitar solo (which sounds incredible).

I'd heard Bad Moon Rising, none of the other songs. But this is definitely an album I will come back to. It speaks to a very specific part of my soul.

Green River is one of the very best albums ever made. Fogherty put his soul in every song he touched (he still does). I’ll always love Lodi, even if it’s the oddball on the album.

finally something good on this

Great album 9.18 rating

I love these guys. Also, love how they are local. These guys are pure classic rock. So stoney.

Fantastic album. CCR hits just right for me. I know many of their hits, but this was the first time I've heard several of these songs and it's not going to be the last. Not many albums on this list make me want to check out more of their stuff, but this one did it for me. 5/5

like that retro vibes