Bayou Country

Liked it. Not surprised the Dude didn't get his Creedence tapes back to be honest. Sorry Dude, life goes on, man.

Best listened to on an airboat in Louisiana or helicopter above Vietnam.

Peak swamp rock. Also the word “chooglin’” needs to become popular again (if it ever even was) Favorite track(s): “Born on the Bayou” and “Keep on Chooglin’”

Remember when John Fogerty got sued for stealing John Fogerty’s music? Well John Fogerty won. Then asked for his attorneys’ fees to be paid. And John Fogerty lost. Then the fee collection part went to the Supreme Court. And John Fogerty won…I think. John Fogerty 2…not John Fogerty 0. It got a little confusing there. I do know John Fogerty’s case set the precedent for copyright defendants being able to collect fees when they are victorious. Also Clarence Thomas concurred to the outcome to which the other 8 justices agreed. Not because he agreed with their reasoning but because he thought a previous civil rights attorneys’ fees case result should have been overturned. Typical Clarence Thomas…being cranky and not thinking plaintiffs need financial incentives in bringing civil rights cases. I digress. On to Bayou Country. I find it amusing that a band from San Francisco is often falsely thought to be from the bayou. Understandably the album and opening song titles lead one to believe this myth. But still, hehe. I’m really not sure why this cracks me up. Onto the songs. I promise. I dig the blues rock style on this album. I’m digging Fogerty’s voice, which from past reviews you’ll know can sink an otherwise decent band quickly for me. Actual song info. Really. I knew the two most well known tracks, Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary, very well coming into this. They are solid, but not my favorites after a couple listens. I think I like the third and fifth tracks are the best, but I can’t decide which one. Graveyard Train is a slow and snap inducing blues number. The song is not complicated, yet still impactful. I was humming the bass line during dinner and the kids started clapping along almost immediately. Harmonica can be overplayed, but this is not the case here. Again not complicated, but impactful. John Fogerty’s growls perfectly to convey the loss of his character’s companion amongst the 30 dead. Penthouse Pauper is a powerhouse of a song where John Fogerty sings forcefully intertwined with some screaming lead guitar with every verse. The guitar is like John Fogerty’s wing man in mind conquering over financial holdings for status in this world. I should also mention that this a very good take on Good Golly Miss Molly.

Boutta go hug a gator

This is country rock, very American. Kindly short & I thought the singer kind of sounds like Elvis? Maybe it’s just his accent or something. Some of the songs were okay, some were bad, one was great. Final question: what on earth does “chooglin” mean??? Best tracks: Proud Mary (Had no idea this was the original version of this song. I’m mostly familiar with the Glee version, but it’s a classic for a reason), Good Golly Miss Molly Worst tracks: Graveyard Train (lyrically weak, way too long - over 8 minutes in an album with a 33 minute run time is insane for a track this bad), Bootleg (I spent half the song thinking he was saying “Voulez” before I checked the song title)

Phenomenal Americana - all the good parts - Blues, folk, rock, country and not an inkling of jazz. Strong start, sweet nougat center with a finish that fills you you up with musical goodness.

Not my favorite CCR record, but it does have my favorite track of theirs, ‘Born on the Bayou.’ This album would benefit from a little focus. It gets a little too noodly in parts and makes the album seem longer than it actually is. Having said that, John Fogerty’s vocals and guitar playing are incredible. I grew up listening to this band so it’s hard for me to give them anything less than a four.

Good, fun, solid album. Very easy to listen to. I don't know if there actually is a lot of variation but it feels like there is, which either way is a plus for me. Can't help but dance along a little bit. Some songs drag on a little bit

The music's not objectively bad but there's something about this band that doesn't sit right with me, I don't know what it is.

Bayou Country Love me a bit of Creedence, but that’s just, like, my opinion, man. Born on the Bayou is superb, a swampy, swirling groove, relatively straightforward but part rock n roll, part country, part southern soul, all with JFs distinctive voice, and lyrics that mention trains and chooglin - all a distillation of what makes CCR great. Bootleg has that great acoustic rhythm guitar with the propulsive drums, working with the chugging electric guitar, again relatively straightforward but a great groove. Graveyard Train doesn’t start too promisingly, a rather generic late 60s blues rock riff, but it settles into the pocket and stretches the groove out. At 8 minutes perhaps a bit long, but still an enjoyable hypnotic jam. Not as keen on Good Golly Miss Molly, although it's a decent enough version and is pretty brief. Penthouse Pauper pulls the same trick as Graveyard Train, the late 60s blues rock mutating into something more fluid and atmospheric. Proud Mary is of course an absolute classic, more trains and itinerant characters, but a great catchy hook. Keep on Chooglin is a superior type of Graveyard Train, great riff and rhythm, hypnotic in its swampy bluesiness and a great closer. An extremely listenable bluesy swampy rock album, by a great band. It maybe a little uneven in places and with only 7 songs they all really need to be great to be a 5, so I’ll settle on a straightforward high 4. 🐊🐊🐊🐊 Playlist submission: Proud Mary

Bluesy, country-influenced rock.... Flashy guitar passages..... Visions of Mick Jagger..... Much like all past Rolling Stones, this album was sadly doomed to a 2....

There’s a purity to CCR that I once mistook for simplicity. Listening today, I heard Can, early 90s Neil Young, Velvet Underground bootlegs, and the B-52s, from what I could immediately put a name to.

I decided to take a little drive while listening to this one as it reminds me so much of driving around with my dad as a kid. Big CCR guy. This album opens up with such a killer riff, man. The type of riff that makes you go, “oh, yeah. that’s the stuff.” It is crazy to me that Fogerty was able to just channel this character so well. Apparently out of nowhere, too. Guy just stared at a wall and thought about the bayou. True story. This album is so cool. Green Onions type cool. Cigarette jet black hair type cool. Love the twangy noodles. Love Fogerty’s silly accent. Of course, I’ve got my nostalgia glasses on and could see how someone would be bored by this journey through some guy’s lucid swamp dream but I am here for it. Not to be taken too seriously, just have some fun and keep on chooglin.

Is there any major American songwriter more consistently overlooked than John Fogerty? All the man did was write hits, and once he stopped writing for the band, they put out an album so putrid that no one ever talks about it. This album has the same basic style of the other Creedence albums, with plenty of songs that you already know. I don't like it as much as Cosmo's factory, but it's solid all the way through 4/5

I still think one of the greatest achievements in rock history is Creedence releasing 3 stellar albums in one year. This is the first of those 1969 albums. It's probably #3 in my ranking, but even with that it's still a classic album. Proud Mary and Born on the Bayou are all-time classics, and the rest ain't bad either. 4 stars.

The album where CCR established sound and it only gets better here. Very bluesy, but for some weird music, their music really does sound "swampy" and I'm not sure why. Obviously the lyrics but also the gritty atmosphere and the rural folk-like strings and percussions (that remind me of say the banjo in Deliverance). These 7 tracks do what they do well. But there are honestly no bad tracks. Starts off with a classic. Then a track to explore their aesthetic. I'm a personal fan of their longer tracks like "Graveyard Train" and "Keep on Chooglin" that have plenty of room to breathe and express themselves. I loved the Little Richard cover just because it's a CCR cover of a song I've already heard plenty times before, and I love their sound. "Penthouse Pauper" is the only song that doesn't stick out but if you listen to it on its own, you'll find it's still a great song. Maybe a sign of slight album repetition. Then another classic, followed by a classic closer. A great introduction to CCR impossible not to like.

I'm listening to Bayou Country from CCR as my album of the day. It's good, solid music and it lays the blueprint for their sound and I understand the place this album has in music history. But man, the squealing guitars, and the bluesy swampy sound is a bit rough in fluorescent cube farm I'm working in right now. I'm looking forward to Proud Mary as the next track, it's cool to hear such a giant song in the smaller context of this album and track list. Trying to imagine hearing this for first time in 1969. The song literally rolls, like on the river, and the ebbs and flows become hypnotic.

Half an hour of jarring harmonica soloes and affected Southern-ness by Californians who are, somehow, even less convincing than Brits like Zeppelin and the Stones when they dipped their toes in the Bayou water. This stuff is why we needed punk rock.

Overall: 9/10 I like to discuss my list process with a couple friends of mine and as a little joke they ask me every day what album I thought would generate for me, and every single day I say "Bayou Country by CCR" and the day has finally come! John Fogerty is one of the all time great rock vocalists and the entire band are so talented and fun to listen to. This isn't even the best album they released in 1969 and I think that says a lot about how incredible their music is. I personally would recommend everything they made (skip the last album). My only real problem with this album is that it's too short!!! Fav Song: Born on the Bayou Least Fav Song: Good Golly Miss Molly

This album ROCKS. Sure, John Fogerty was born about as far from the Bayou as possible, but I'll listen to him sing about it any time. All the tracks rock, but my favorites are the stone-cold classics (Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary), plus Bootleg (sounds like he's singing Bouley-Bouley), their cover of Good Golly Miss Molly, and Penthouse Pauper ("If I were a politician I could prove that monkeys talk"). Graveyard Train and Keep on Chooglin' are both pretty good. Yeah, I just said every track is at least pretty good to great. Easy 5.

The Dude abides.

Everyone loves CCR, well everyone loves John Fogerty.

Nr. 43/1001 Born On The Bayou 4/5 Bootleg 3/5 Graveyard Train 3/5 Good Golly Miss Molly 3/5 Penthouse Pauper 4/5 Proud Mary 5/5 Keep On Chooglin' 4/5 Average: 3,71 Really good Americana album

What impresses me most about CCR is their consistency. And that consistency seems to be born of simplicity and hard work. Just 4 guys—2 brothers accompanied by 2 neighborhood classmates—who started playing together as early as 1959, with no additional personnel on this record, which all sounds to be recorded live and was self-produced by writer/singer/guitar player Mr. Fogerty himself. Simply, they worked out a handful of songs that give their Northern California band a distinct Southern Rock feel, throw a blurry album cover over it and whamm-o! a timeless record. And hardworking because not only was this the first of three records they released in 1969, but they would go on to release 2 more in 1970, not to mention their fantastic debut in 1968, nor their arguable masterpiece released in 1970 (the first of two albums released that year I might add.) And each of those album’s finds the band reinventing themselves, all while maintaining their consistency. It’s like the 1960s equivalent of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard without all that psych rock madness or PR. My one knock on this album is in regards to those few moments where Mr. Fogerty’s adopted, Southern affectation starts to overstay its welcome. His pronunciation of “boinin’” on “Proud Mary” in particular makes me grind my teeth a bit. But nonetheless! A few future album cuts aside, the songs on this album might be the most consistent, and straight-ahead grooviest and rockin-est of CCR’s releases. This album certainly maintains a pure rock sound that, after this, is abandoned a bit in favor of a sound that leans a little more pop. I especially liked the longer cuts “Born on the Bayou,” “Graveyard Train,” and “Keep on Chooglin’.” “Bootleg” kicks my ass as well. As does the ripping Little Richard cover “Good Golly Miss Molly.” I better stop myself before I go ahead and namecheck every song on the album because they’re all good! Beyond consistency, Bayou Country has a unique identity unto itself. It works as a concept album of sorts; a California band experimenting with another region’s rock sound. Playing musical dress up of sorts and ultimately owning a different sound that’s all their own. All that, and I could listen to this album on loop for hours and hours honestly. It’s that consistent. 4 stars. Keep on chooglin’.

CCR's second album is when the band started gaining momentum and it was the start of a group of essential albums they released over a short period of time in the late 60's. This isn't their best, but definitely was the blueprint for greater things to come. Their sound, the hits and John Fogerty's amazing songwriting is already evident on Bayou Country. A near classic!

Always liked the raw, bluesy rock of CCR. I like John Fogerty's raspy voice and lead guitar work. Of course, Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary are the big hits, but there is some nice work on Graveyard Train, and Keep on Chooglin, even though those two songs are a bit too long. CCR did a good job of covering Good Golly Miss Molly. Liked Fogerty's harmonica, too.

This album defines their 'swamp rock' sound and showed the world what they could do in terms of lyrics("Born on the Bayou" and " Proud Mary") but also that they can dish out the awesome guitar solos ("keep on chooglin" ) and even has some lighter/catchier tracks ("Bootleg" and "rollin' on the river") and the fact that they released this album and it was so great but also put out 2 other albums the same year.

This goes into my list of "bands that feel like the Rolling Stones but not quite", and while this is significantly better than them, I still am not much of a fan of the Stones. I did appreciate how bluesy some of this got, though I wish it didn't feel so rambly.

Everyone tells me CCR is a great band, but I don’t give those takes too much credence

If the hit singles hadn't been played to death and featured in every film about the Vietnam War, I might have been able to convince myself this was a 4. But, as is, just middle of the road.

Not a big fan of ccr but this album was not as horrible of a listen as I expected. Graveyard Train didn’t need to be 8 minutes but stoned hippies gotta bliss out I guess.

Somewhat sleepy until we were served up "Proud Mary" which is a delicious slice of glorious blues rock art. Aside from that track, the album is fun to listen to but mostly forgettable. Mostly.

Fine – perfectly fine – for what it is, but also basic and slight and just endlessly straightforward. Notes all fall into place, not one of them is risky. Plus, a "Good Golly Miss Molly" cover? I mean, why? It's okay not to be psychedelic or hippies (which they don't actually sound that different from); it's good to be competent and crisp, sure, but isn't it reasonable to expect some imagination, for Chrissakes.

Just not my jam.

Bit boring. Probably won't listen again.

is ok. only proud mary stuck out

Never heard of these guys before. I'm not sure what the minimum runtime for an album should be in order to make the list, but these guys are definitely pushing it on this one. I wonder how long the shortest album on this list will be. It's just more 60s rock, which is a make of album that I fully expect to be numbered into the mid-hundreds by the end of this list. It's pleasing enough and pretty easy to listen to, though there isn't anything on here that makes me want to return. Creedence Clearwater Revival are surprisingly really popular for a band that I've heard absolutely nothing about. I can't complain about them being on this list for no reason.

Unfortunately for CCR I despise classic rock and my previous album was Radiohead. Nothing here particularly stands out musically. Just the same old 70s rock once again. How many 70s classic rock albums do I need to listen to before I die? Not this many.

I'm going to start writing songs about my sea shanty life off the coast of Nova Scotia, because that's about as authentic as these Berkeley posers pretending to be from the bayou.

BOOLAY BOOLAY, BOOOLAY HOWL!

We were at a Springsteen show like 30yrs ago and it was pouring-Bruce and the band came out and sang Who'll Stop the Rain and that's when I realized omg Creedence! WOW. CCR!! As I age so does my appreciation for this totally kick ass band. They were always part of the social fabric at our house, but I never realized how good these guys were until I was like 25yrs old - so solid, so sure so bluesy, raunchy, raw, polished, rebellious, angry, tender, packed with classics and pure talent - they tapped into sthg that can only be explained by 'they just get it'. And they transcend - last track Keep on Chooglin' was trancelike. Love this album!

Some of the best memories of me becoming an adult are with CCR!

I've long since known about Born On the Bayou and Proud Mary. Those are classic rock legends. I'm curious to see how the rest of the album compares to what I've already known. ---------------- I feel like Graveyard Train dragged on a bit, but I don't think that detracts much from the album as a whole. Excellent swampy blues rock.

Great

very good

CCR always rips.

the only thing my extended family is right about is this album rocking

Fun

Front to back dope ass album. Production is top tier. Song writing is top tier. This album could get a release date today and stand up to all the rock revivals productions and annihilate them all.

Excellent album!Truly a classic! 5

I already knew the mega-hits of Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary (which I didn’t realize was originally a CCR song), but I enjoyed the other songs I didn’t know a lot! I don’t think there was a single bad song on this album.

Another great CCR record, they were prolific in the late 60s, this isn't their best album but still 5 stars for me, Fogartys vocals, the guitar work all great, the rhythm section for CCR is brilliant too

My favourite CCR album for a long time, this sees the band at their swampiest I think. Graveyard Train is probably the epitome of that, a grimy 8 minutes of twanging guitars and harmonica. This album exudes exactly what I think of when I think CCR John Fogerty is as personable as he always is, with his funny pronunciations all over. There are great, creative guitar parts all over this album. I especially love the vaguely psychedelic guitar on Born on the Bayou Hard to go wrong with Creedence (other than one obvious exception) Highlights: Born on the Bayou, Proud Mary, Keep on Chooglin', Bootleg

Hell yeah, already heard this! Love it always

I just love CCR man. They are such a solid and groovy rock band that was one of the best in the 60s! I have this album on vinyl so I will be listening to it for many years to come. This album is 60s rock perfection.

Sensational swamp songs.

Great southern rock album. Proud Mary, Born on the Bayou and Good Golly Miss Molly are particular highlights.

I mean come on. It's a classic for a reason. we all love CCR. Do we listen to CCR on a regular basis? No. Am I speaking for a lot of people in the way I'm typing now? Yes. I don't care.

Tuurlijk

Fantastic

Awesome album. There are some all time classics on this one. CCR sold more albums than any other American band during the Vietnam war. Thanks for that information Alex Tribek.

All CCR is great CCR.

A couple of monster hits and the finest bayou muddy rock in between. mastapeece

I didn’t know anything about the band although I’d heard Tina Turner’s cover of Proud Mary. For songs I don’t know, in a time I didn’t live, it seems to capture the zeitgeist of the era. My only gripe is the album is only 34 mins or so. Favourite: Graveyard Train. Worst: Good Golly Miss Molly (but I still like it)

Amazing

Absolutely loved it!

Solid album could listen to this all day.

# Album Name: Bayou Country # Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival # Rating: 5/5 # Comments: Wow, such a quality album. I loved it. Filled with banger after banger. What a way to start the day. # Top Tunes: Every track is quality # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Krindensi...

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Absolutely an album I’ll listen to again

The dude abides. One of my top bands of all time.

big CCR fans in this house

Perfection.

Creedence. You know them. Am I going to be able to listen to this album new? We will see. That's a great way to start an album. What the heck, these guys aren't from Louisiana? They're from the Bay Area? What is Chooglin'? I'm sure this has been asked, and answered before. Fun album. Great band. Stands the test of time.

This album still rocks, and has some of the greatest rhythm guitar riffs ever.

Only know of CCR from the Greatest Hits album that I played extensively back in high school. So I wanted to pay extra attention to the songs I didn't recognize on this album. I have to say, that even the tracks that didn't make the hits albums are amazing. I didn't realize they played as much harmonica as they did. Songs like Graveyard Train and Keep on Chooglin' are gems I didn't know existed. I'll have to keep an eye out for this one for my vinyl collection.

Old school Americana at its best. Awesome record

fucking love a bit of Creedence

Vietnam war sounds cool with sum creedance

This is not as grand as some of the other albums I’ve given the score I will give this one, but I think it deserves it just as much as they do. I enjoyed every song they genuinely put me in a good mood and the length was perfect for what I was doing while listening. Maybe I’m just feeling generous today but I’m genuinely liking this one a lot. It’s not the most lyrically dense work I’ve ever heard, but I don’t think it’s trying to be that, I view it as music you chill out and smoke a blunt to which there is nothing wrong with. Rating: Fantastic (Decent ☆☆☆☆☆) Favorite Tracks: Born On A Bayou, Graveyard Train, Good Golly Miss Molly, and Proud Mary.

As ever, better on vinyl! Raw vocals make this, over melodic but changing beats.

Love every song on this album.

Great record! Love the instrumentation throughout this record, and the songs were very fun. Highlights are "Proud Mary", "Born on the Bayou", "Graveyard Train". Bluesy guitar throughout was great.

As well as I know most CCR singles, I'm not super familiar with their studio albums, so this is a great opportunity. Opens with a classic track, then followed by a great one I'd never heard in Bootleg. Third track a blue deep cut. Also Proud Mary, and a solid jam track to bring this short album to a close. Classic, short and sweet. Not a five but rounds up to a five. 4.5/5

So great!

Toujours une valeur sure

CCR can’t make bad music lol - the guitar in penthouse is nuts lol and I mean every song it amazing

9/10 Maybe a bit generous - sometimes the noodling is a bit, sometimes the tracks are too long - but Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary are excellent and I love the general feel of the album. Go on, have 5 stars.

This is a 4.5, but I'm rounding up. Cosmo's Factory was better. I still dig. I think my enjoyment was 4/5, but I'm trying to be objective.

6/10

Superb. Had it on repeat all day.

My FAVORITE CCR album!

Music to my ears! 9.5/10 ~ 5/5

His voice was made for this kind of music

I had occasion to play this album for my young grandson, and he was really digging it so we decided to get the whole family together and 'play' the music. We gave the kid a harmonica, dad was on the toilet roll trumpet, mom had a cowbell (which we ultimately decided we needed more of), grandma was on kazoo, and I kept the beat with a wooden spoon and a pot. A song came on and we all waited for the harmonica to lead us into a glorious jam session, but nothing happened. Obviously unsure of himself, our grandson asked us "Why aren't you playing?". To which my wife answered, "I'm not blowing anything until I get some music." After the laughter subsided, we all jumped in for a memorable moment that has become a cornerstone of family lore Keep On Chooglin'.

Now this is what I’m talking about! Late 60s/70s rock was just elite. They weren’t scared to go for it and the guitar riffs are magical. It was probably the acid, but let’s just say they were talented. This album sounds incredible, I was walking to work feeling unstoppable. Undeniably great music, they made a new fan out of me!

I listened to the whole album and didn’t even realize how much time had passed! It’s very easy to listen to—it feels like they’re just playing around and having a lot of fun, and you’re right there with them. 9 out of 10.

This is what it's all about, John Fogerty is the sound of American rock. This is the pinnacle.