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In its continuing quest to milk all the royalties they could out of a band now defunct for a decade, Fantasy Records released "Creedence Clearwater Revival: The Concert" in 1981. The album is a recording of a CCR concert in 1970 at Oakland Coliseum. The site of the concert gives a sort of "homecoming" feel to the album, and the crowd obviously gets involved. Other than the "Chronicle" compilations, this is the longest Creedence album-nearly 50 minutes in length. Familiarly, "Born on the Bayou" and "Keep On Chooglin'" are the opener and closer, respectively. Almost all of the rest of the 14 cuts are from Willy & The Poorboys and Green River, although both sides of the then-new "Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop The Rain" single are performed.
Born On the Bayou (5:12) - Energetic as always; nearly an exact performance of the album version. Fogerty's vocals sound as powerful and familiarly growly as on the studio cut; later in the album his voice sounds strained and he tones down the gravelly sound.
Green River (3:03) - Excellent performance, perhaps superior to the album version. Fogerty's vocal is easier to understand than on the album. This version is slightly longer due to some memorable, exciting guitar improvisation at the end.
Tombstone Shadow (4:05) - Amidst a lot of annoying tuning of instruments, Fogerty admits that he was inspired to write this song after visiting a fortune teller while the band was touring. His vocal performance is similar in quality to that on the album, and he adds some variety to the infamous 32-of-the-same-note guitar solo. Cosmo's drumming is a highlight.
Don't Look Now (2:25) - Fogerty introduces this song with a well-received joke about old-time C&W songs. I found this performance to be inferior to that on the album; the guitar work seems to lose some of that appropriate countrified sound. Fogerty's vocal is clearer and louder than on "Willy & The Poorboys" but somehow seems more subdued. During the guitar break the band seems not to be playing entirely in unison.
Travelin' Band (2:07) - Sounds markedly better than the album version, primarily since Fogerty's mediocre saxophone part from the original is replaced by solid guitar work. Vocals charged and frenetic as always, and as an added bonus, it's a little easier to understand the words. The rhythm section is as outstanding as on the album cut.
Who'll Stop the Rain (2:38) - The first major disappointment of the concert. The guitars sound inappropriately twangy, and Fogerty's vocal is flat and subdued, primarily as he sings the chorus. The first indication of the band tiring. Background vocals are OK, and Cosmo's drum performance is memorable.
Bad Moon Rising (2:22) - A solid performance, pretty similar to the album version. Fine guitar work and backbeat. Fogerty's vocal skills seem to have recovered from the disaster of the previous cut, although his voice seems to trail off on the "I see"s in the first verse. Still, he delivers "Theeeeere's...a bad moon on the rise" as solidly as ever.
Proud Mary (3:29) - Musically, it's as tight as ever, and Fogerty's vocals on the verses are just fine. But when it comes to the refrain...the "rollin', rollin'"s sound soft and passionless, and deflate some of the song's power. Musical break seems faster than usual. This is one of the rhythm section's best performances on the album. Ends with an extended period of crowd cheers and thanks from the band.
Fortunate Son (2:25) - An excellent performance, musically charged as always. But best of all, Fogerty really tears into the lyric. His voice is sharper than on the album, for which the song was recorded at the end of a session and sounds rather flat.
Commotion (2:35) - Creedence does justice to one of its more underrated songs. Fogerty's voice sounds a little strained, and he doesn't hit some of the higher notes, but it's musically fine, with memorably energetic performances from Tom and Doug.
The Midnight Special (3:47) - Fogerty introduces this as "one of those great old sing-along songs." Too much crowd interference during the stark opening. Fogerty's impassioned vocal carries a strong performance which, like "Don't Look Now," sounds less countrified than on the album. Background vocals are more pronounced than on most other cuts.
The Night Time is the Right Time (3:24) - To the chagrin of those who hate the recurring "wah-doo-day"s in this song, Fogerty encourages the crowd to join in on this part. As a result, they are inescapable. Muscially better than on the album, more energetic and with seemingly more dominant lead guitar, but Fogerty misses some of the high notes that add a lot to the song. Stu's bass seems unusually pronounced during the guitar break.
Down On the Corner (2:49) - A markedly different performance than the one on record, and the second major disappointment on the album. The opening is faster than the original, and Fogerty's voice seems to give out on the chorus. Other than the musical breaks, the song seems to have a different muscial arrangement also. The ending sounds really unusual. On the positive side, the rhythm section does some good work, and the lyrics are more intelligible than usual.
Keep On Chooglin' (9:04) - On the other hand, there are some songs that never disappoint. The energy level of this song is remarkable for the last performance in a 50-minute session, and Fogerty's voice, which started fading at "Who'll Stop The Rain," seems to make a miraculous recovery at "You got to ball and have a good time..." The first guitar break is spectacular.
Rating: 8.25 out of 10
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