Released - August 1969
Genre - Rock
Producer - John Fogerty
Selected Personnel - John Fogerty (Vocals/Guitar/Harmonica); Tom Fogerty (Guitar); Stu Cook (Bass); Doug Clifford (Drums)
Standout Track - Green River
The title track to this album is just one of the most evocative anthems of traditional American rock music ever, from that jangling opening guitar riff to Fogerty's bluesy but almost non-committal vocal delivery. It's definitely close to being Creedence's best song, and the fact that the rest of the album barely manages to live up to its early promise barely even matters. Green River was the second of three albums the band released in 1969 alone, and sees the development of their roots rock sound reaching true fruition, and also truly capitalising them into the mainstream via the success of the title track and that other classic single, "Bad Moon Rising." For me, "Bad Moon Rising" will always be tainted by the fact that I first heard it via a ridiculously stupid (though gloriously entertaining) cover version by none other than Rolf Harris on an album of his for which I was engaged as a backing singer in the late 90s, but more on that when we eventually get to 1997 (we've a way to go). But, whether or not its opening strains conjure up memories of Rolf's charmingly off-key rendition, there's no denying that it's one of the standouts of the album and another Creedence classic.
Admittedly, other than giving us those two classic songs, this album doesn't do much to really develop Creedence's sound or legacy. It's largely more by-the-numbers roots rock as delivered by their now perfected formula, with Fogerty's weary howling and the band's loose grooves. What it does have over its predecessor Bayou Country is the lack of filler material - there's no plodding "Graveyard Train" here and, while nothing matches the standard of the two hits, there's nothing here that you really switch off to. It also sees John Fogerty begin to push his songwriting into slightly different (if hardly innovative territory) with the inclusion of a couple of more tender ballads alongside the more typical swamp rock grooves. "Wrote A Song For Everyone" is a moving confession of an inability to communicate meaningfully with a loved one, while "Lodi" casts Fogerty as a washed-up and failed older musician bemoaning his lot as he reflects on the failure of his dreams, a fate the band were certainly going to avoid themselves. As Fogerty continued to turn his hand to different song forms, ballads would come to be more of a staple of the band and he'd write a number of really great ones for their future albums.
Beyond that, this is simply just another collection of great old-fashioned rock songs honed by the new masters of the genre. There would soon be a third offering for the year, Willy And The Poor Boys but, while it contains a few good songs, including the brilliant "Fortunate Son," it really does just pedal out the same tricks and formulas as they had spent the rest of the year doing, and the public would have to wait until the next year before Creedence delivered another truly essential offering.
Track Listing:
All songs written by John Fogerty except where noted.
1. Green River
2. Commotion
3. Tombstone Shadow
4. Wrote A Song For Everyone
5. Bad Moon Rising
6. Lodi
7. Cross-Tie Walker
8. Sinister Purpose
9. The Night Time Is The Right Time (Napoleon Brown; Ozzie Cadena & Lew Herman)
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