Customer Reviews

Green River

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On their third album, Creedence Clearwater Revival finally got rid of the sometimes directionless five-minute jams that weighed down their first two records.

"Green River" is probably their tightest album, and their best as well. There is virtually no filler here - the singles are magnificent, and even the album tracks are great.
It opens with the title track, a concise 2 1/2 minutes of tough, "swampy" backbeat and vivid imagery, highlighted by the pithy, intertwined guitar figures of John and Tom Fogerty, and John Fogerty's brief, melodic, less-is-more solo.

Other highlights include the classic rockabilly of "Bad Moon Rising", the melancholy "Lodi", the sinister, soulful blues "Tombstone Shadow", and the slow, mournful "Wrote A Song For Everyone".
But everything is good, really, including the brisk, semi-acoustic country-rocker "Cross-Tie Walker" and the album's only cover song, an energetic rendition of "The Night Time Is The Right Time".

The musicianship is excellent, too. Doug Clifford's stop-start drumming on "Wrote A Song" and "Sinister Purpose" is among his best and most imaginative. John Fogerty plays fiery lead guitar on "Tombstone Shadow", and he and his brother complement each other superbly on the appropriately dark blues-rocker "Sinister Purpose".

Both "Green River" and "Bad Moon Rising" made it to #2, and the album itself was a #1 record back in the autumn of 1969.
There is not a single weak moment on this magnificent fusion of rock, blues, R&B, folk and country, and "Green River" is not just Creedence Clearwater Revival's best album, it is by far the best American rock record of the 1960s.

With Concord Music Group having purchased the Fantasy catalog, the fortieth anniversary of Creedence Clearwater Revival's debut LP provides a suitable opportunity for a fresh round of reissues. All six of the original foursome's albums (from 1968's Creedence Clearwater Revival through 1970's Pendulum) have been struck from new digital masters and augmented by previously unreleased tracks. Those who purchased the 2001 box set can pick up most of the bonus tracks separately as digital downloads (the two longest bonuses are CD-only). Those who didn't buy the box, and think they'll buy all six reissues may want to consider the box set for its inclusion of pre-Creedence work from the Blue Velvets and Golliwogs, the seventh CCR album Mardi Gras, the 1970-71 live recordings and several box-only bonuses. But for those just wanting to pick up a few favorite albums, these reissues are the ticket. Each is presented in a digipack with original front and back cover album art and a 16-page booklet with photos, credits and new liner notes.

Creedence's third album (their second for 1969), Green River, is their first completely original effort as a band. Gone are the lengthy San Francisco jams, replaced by concisely written and arranged songs that concentrate Fogerty's evocations of an idealized South. The album opens with the title track's sumptuous memory of a mythical childhood, a song so deeply soaked in Southern swamps that it's hard to imagine it being written in the urban hills of California's Bay Area. The Fogerty brothers intertwine their twangy electric guitars with familial telepathy. The sound first explored on Bayou Country is now heard on every cut, mellowing the blue "Tombstone Shadow" and providing an introspective stage for Fogerty's ballads. Even the frantic "Commotion" is given a Cajun base for its lyrics of a country boy demolished by the city's hyperactivity. Fogerty's social conscience stretches biblical allusions to then present day situations on "Wrote a Song for Everyone," and with "Bad Moon Rising" the visions turn catastrophic. There's a great deal more darkness here than on any other Creedence LP.

Fogerty's guitar could be sinewy or ring with the influences of Chet Atkins, as does his solo on "Cross-Tie Walker." Country music also makes an impact on the sorrowful, highly personal lyric of "Lodi." The album closes with its sole cover, a slow rockabilly take on Ray Charles' blue-soul "The Night Time is the Right Time." The 2008 CD's bonus tracks include a pair of pre-LP backing tracks that were never completed, the country-shuffle "Broken Spoke Shuffle" and the twangy "Glory Be." Also here is a trio of live tracks from the group's 1971 European tour. "Bad Moon Rising" is rushed (as are so many songs played live), a medley of "Green River" and "Suzie Q" is condensed to four-and-a-half-minutes, pointing out the two songs' similarities more than giving the latter its full due, and "Lodi" is a fittingly weary lyric for a band reduced to three of its original four members. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

Green River has always been a album that brings back fond memories for me. I first bought it on 8 track in 69 when it came out and it had "Bad Moon Rising", on the tape twice. I still remember the first time that I heard "Bad Moon Rising". I just stopped what I was doing and listened to the song. Not many songs have gotten my attention that way. Those were definitely turbulant times and this album helped lighten the mood. For those of you who were there and to those who weren't, I would highly recommend this album as one of CCR's best.

Be Warned. The quality of the download is not the same as the preview. the sound is grainy with background noise. it sounds like it was recorded in a tunnel!

Three consecutive albums, "Green River," "Willy and the Poorboys," and "Cosmo's Factory," mark the artistic highpoint of Creedence's career. This is the first of those three. "Green River" flows from start to end with one great song after another, all of them propelled by that super awesome trademark Creedence sound. This album is an essential part of any good rock and roll collection.

I was 13 when I got this album for Christmas.One of my faves(along with the other 1st 5 CCR discs)Ive gone thru a couple of albums and 2 differant FantasyCds.Missed out on the DCCs(DID manage a Bayou,and Cosmos from them tho---great sound)Everyone who reads a reveiw of this disc no doubt knows how great it is.I want to let everyone in on the secret of the sound quality of these discs(The whole CCR hybrid sacd series).There is no comparison.Upper and lower range are extended beyond belief.Separation is goosebump time.If you love this album,and appreciate great sound as well,you MUST try any of these SACDs,masterd by SteveHoffman,the guy who did the DCCs as well.They will bring tears to yer eyes.Happy Listening indeed!!!!!

Creedence Clearwater Revival's second album of 1969 (the Amazon review says that it followed 'Willy & The Poor Boys', but according to the liner notes on CCR's 'Platinum', 'Green River' follows 'Bayou Country' and is followed by 'Willy & The Poor Boys')

The opening track is the title track, 'Green River', a delicious blast of prime American rock'n'roll, and easily one of Creedence's very very best songs. An instant classic, that opens an instantly classic album.
'Commotion' is a somewhat darker track, that oozes of the Southern states of the US, of swamps & bleak air. It is majestic in the very anti-majesty of the melody.
'Tombstone Shadow' follows in this vein, also setting a very gloomy (but not at all nocturnal) mood for the record.
'Wrote A Song For Everyone' is lighter (but still pretty dusky by Creedence standards), & simply just drop-dead gorgeous. An underrated classic, that is followed by arguably the very best track on the album, the near-apocalypse of 'Bad Moon Rising'. Like the title track, this song simply represents EVERYTHING that Creedence is about, it is catchy, light, disturbing, and simply the essence of the word 'rock'n'roll'!
The next song is 'Lodi', another overlooked gem. With it, the mood of the melodies darken again, in a despairing tale built by great lyrics & wonderful playing.
'Cross-Tie Walker' is another great song, where the mood is simply 'hopelessness' and 'emptiness', more of a dusky, hollow midday, than the kind of 'nightlife', that bands like Velvet Underground and the excellent Doors employed to make their soundscapes darker.
'Sinister Purpose' is darker than the other tracks on the record, less empty & more black, and with the weight of guitars seemingly heavier than on any other track on the record.
Then, with the only cover on the album, 'The Night Time Is The Right Time', Creedence ends the album in one of the most excellent endings they ever made. Like most other Creedence covers, 'The Night Time Is The Right Time' is made so immaculately Creedence, that only the liner notes tell you, that this is not a Fogerty original.

'Green River' is probably the darkest album Creedence ever made. The bouncy rock of the title track and the classic 'Bad Moon Rising' are made on the usual Creedence-formula of catchy jubilant rock music set to pessimist lyrics of impending apocalypse and pollution. But on the rest of the album, even the music sounds pessimistic, or, more precisely, as already said, 'hopeless' and 'empty' (the mood is empty, the music is brilliant, it just describes emptiness, its not empty like in 'bad quality', not at all). 'Green River' is not really the Creedence album to cheer you up, but rather one of their deepest testaments to the haunting despair of the everyday life.

Although it lacks as many recognizable radio hits that dominate "Cosmo's Factory", this is probably the album with their BEST songs overall. The opening title track was a radio hit and is followed by the heartpounding "Commotion" and then the great "Tombstone Shadow". More good stuff is here in "Lodi", "Bad Moon Rising", and "Wrote a Song for Everyone".

"Bad Moon Rising" has long been my favorite CCR song; I still recall how its appearance in the COMING ATTRACTIONS for "American Werewolf In London" practically evoked a standing ovation in a movie theatre in '81 (which was cool, but started a really bad trend in advertising). Anyway, GREEN RIVER is just packed with great songs, including "Commotion", "Wrote A Song For Everyone", "Lodi" (another personal fave of mine), "The Night Time Is The Right Time" and "Green River". Fogerty stands in FRONT of his bandmates on the cover; no wonder, as besides producing & singing lead he wrote 8 of the 9 songs here! Many have been inspired by his songs; for some strange fun, check out the cover of "Sinister Purpose" by Zacherle and Southern Culture On The Skids on the HALLOWEEN HOOTENANNY album!

Green River is with out a shadow of a doubt the best album that Creedence Clearwater Revival ever recorded! This was the last Creedence Clearwater Revival I bought, and I own them all so I know this is the best. This has been my favorite of the CCR albums ever since I bought it a few years back. This doesnt have a whole bunch of hit singles, though it does have a few.

'Green River' is not only the best album CCR ever made but its also my personal favorite CCR song. It has John Fogerty's greatest guitar riff, and the song as a whole is just killer! 'Commotion' is another great song of the album, it wasnt a big hit but it sure is a classic! 'Tombstone Shadow' is a really cool and erie song, its one of the best songs on Green River. 'Wrote A Song For Everyone' is one of my all time favorite CCR songs. 'Bad Moon Rising' and 'Lodi' are both big hits for CCR and 'Bad Moon' can get old after a while, but it sure does have a cool political message. 'Lodi' is the better song though. The rest of the album is slightly weak compared to the other songs but it is still very good.

This is the best CCR album you will ever buy, dont buy the best-of's because with a band like CCR you have to buy the albums to get all the really good songs. Dont miss out on this classic rock and roll album!