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CCR's debut album consists of 3 covers which are better than the originals but not close to CCR's good original material, plus 5 originals, mediocre by CCR standards but still decent. The sound of the album is defined by John Fogerty's excellent bluesy guitar and electric harp, and is probably their best album for pure guitar jamming. However the rest of CCR is a letdown. Tom Fogerty's rhythm guitar is often repetitive and irritating, and the bass and drums of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford are mediocre.
I Put a Spell on You: A very limited Screamin' Jay Hawkins tune that CCR does its best with. I find the vocals extremely irritating; it would be better as an instrumental. John's guitar is good, but the harp isn't real exciting. This may be Tom's best playing on the album.
The Working Man: A very simple blues song about working for a living. The lyrics aren't real imaginitive but they work. John's guitar licks make the song.
Suzie Q: This Dale Hawkins remake has its good parts and its bad parts. It's nice to have Tom sing one short part in a CCR song. The guitar line that answers "Oh, suzie Q" is catchy, and there are some excellent solos. Unfortunately there is the annoying "telephone effect" just after the single is cut off, as well as some other irritating breaks.
Ninety-Nine and a Half: Written by Steve Cropper and Wilson Pickett, it is the least famous of the three covers on the album. The guitar solo is excellent but tainted by the repetitive bell-like rhythm guitar that plays simultaneously.John's vocals are almost too passionate, and tend too much towards screaming. Poor drumming detracts from the song. The drums seem to be audible when they shouldn't be but there is silence when a drumroll is needed.
Get Down Woman: John's guitar is all that saves this song. Unimaginative lyrics, mediocre vocals, and the most irritating CCR bass line turns me off to this one.
Porterville: By far the best song on the album and one of my top 20 overall CCR songs. Excellent impassioned vocals combined with the timely "I don't care's" bring a sense of urgency. I consider this as John's first songwriting triumph.
Gloomy: Basically the same story as Get Down Woman but with better guitar. The first 3 minutes with lyrics and strange sound effects are poor.
Walk on the Water: One of my favorites on the album; good guitar playing following an interesting story. The military-style drumming is a drawback, though.
Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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