CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL

The Complete Studio Albums

Carry on chooglin’: Creedence clearer than ever

“Melody Maker had us as the best band in the world,” reflected John Fogerty more recently. “That was after The Beatles split, but still.” Edited out of the Woodstock film because frontman Fogerty felt their headlining performance was below par, the grizzled Californians lost some countercultural cachet, but this half-speed remastered redux of the seven albums they rattled off from 1968–72 (including three in 1969 alone) confirms that their thunderous faux-Southern rock was never hippy or dippy. The flannel-shirted hits (“Proud Mary”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Up Around The Bend”) remain colossal, and bewitched foundation indiepoppers Orange Juice long before the CCR look defined US alternative rock in the age of grunge. For more subtle traces of their influence, listen to their 1968 take on “I Put A Spell On You” for an early snatch of the Television guitar sound, while schmuck’s lament “Lodi” and the Nixon-baiting “Effigy” cast Fogerty as Bruce Springsteen’s lyrical spirit guide. An ugly ending – Fogerty’s brother Tom quit before limp swansong, Mardi Gras, took inter-band democracy too far – should not detract from their rugged glory days. Extras: 6/10. Nothing in the way of unreleased music, but an 80page booklet justifies some of the substantial price-tag.