Henry Rollins once reminded us about John Fogerty, “The man was born in Berkeley, California - there’s not a bayou within two thousand miles!” But despite a lack of physical proximity, Fogerty absorbed a feel for the American heartland through records, and the songs he wrote at the end of the sixties have only added to its mythology. Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the most stubbornly tradition-minded of Bay Area bands during the psychedelic era, gleefully hooting about listening to Buck Owens when stating such a preference was an unnerving freak-flag to the other freaks. With songs like “Out My Back Door” and “Lodi”, they pretty much invented country-rock as it would come to be known a few years later. But CCR was also in on the revolution, and no one who’s heard “Fortunate Son” or “Run Through The Jungle” could mistake them for reactionaries. The body of work they produced in just six years together is among the most revered and influential in American music, a touchstone that Toby Keith and the Minutemen can both raise a glass to. more ›