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Green River, Creedence Clearwater Revival's third album demonstrated that the band was shifting their focus towards more structured songs. This resulted in "Bad Moon Rising", "Green River", and "Lodi" all making impacts on the singles charts all around the world. Whereas commercially the band was peaking rapidly, the improvisation present on their first two records diminished noticeable. Only one album track is greater than four minutes here. Overall, Creedence proved that they had become a major league rock n roll band.
Green River - Another strong opening song reminiscing about the innocence of childhood. The lyrics paint a beautiful scene in a serene country environment away from the hassles of everyday life. The guitars add the right touch as well. I think I'll find me a bare foot girl to dance with!
Commotion - We abruptly shift to the fast lane of the city. The theme is emphasized further by the harmonica toots emulating car horns while the guitars and drumming scream GO GO GO! Reasonably tuneful for a one chord song.
Tombstone Shadow - Back to the blues with a flair from the gypsy man. John's vocal is on the money and never has a one note solo sounded so good! However, the live version is better as the band could have put more feeling into this studio version.
Wrote A Song For Everyone - Mr. Fogerty gives us a political commentary. The lyrics are very deep and thought provoking. The band is appropriately very restrained here as the song clearly has earned the spotlight.
Bad Moon Rising - My favorite Creedence song to play on guitar. The backbeat is the epitome of rock steady. It's interesting how such happy music is mixed with words of doom and gloom.
Lodi - The beautiful chord changes coupled with poignant lyrics make this my favorite on this record and in my top 5 overall. The change in key on the fourth verse is an everlasting thing of beauty.
Cross Tie Walker - A light hearted blues progression. The special touches from Stu Cook make this tune stand out a little more than average.
Sinister Purpose - A switch back to the darkside. The song starts off with a great opening riff. The chorus adds a nice diversion. It's too bad Creedence couldn't live forever!
The Night Time Is The Right Time - You know Creedence is a good band when they can even make this redundant song sound reasonable. I kind of like the "Wah Doo Days". The effect is similar to the "Go To Lost Wages" effect Steely Dan uses on "Show Biz Kids". My complaint here is that John should've added some lyrics to the three sentences Lou Herman wrote!
Overall Rating: 8.75 out of 10
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