Customer Reviews

John Fogerty: The Long Road Home in Concert

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Released as a belated tie-in to the recently released Greatest Hits album "The Long Road Home", Fogerty and a top notch band of professionals rock out on this DVD. Having seen Fogerty at the Filmore when he played to promote "Premonition" and that video I found this to be an exceptional concert. I personally liked the "Premonition" DVD better although this one does include material from his last studio album including the single "Deja Vu (All Over Again)" (with a touch of humor it's included twice).

The direction is sharp keeping most of the focus on Fogerty. At 61 John can still belt these classics out and his guitar playing remains top notch (he's also quite good on dobro and slide). I would have liked to see more bonus material in the form of rehearsals or, perhaps, a couple of unusual cover songs that he might have played with the band during sound checks but overall the quality of the DVD is terrific.

Now that John is realigned with Fantasy (Saul Zaentz who went from John's friend to nemesis is gone having sold the company and the company made overtures to reestablish a relationship with its most famous musician)perhaps we'll see his second solo album "John Fogerty" (aka "Shep")released domestically with improved sound and bonus tracks. It would be nice to finally have this underrated classic available with bonus tracks (perhaps the pair of singles John released just before the album was released).

If you don't have "Premonition" or would like to add to your Fogerty live DVD collection (this is only the second offically released live DVD from Fogerty)this is a must have. If you're a CCR/Fogerty fan and want to have him performing the band's best material this is also a must have.

The Long Road Home concert DVD includes 28 songs from John Fogerty's solo career along with his Creedence Clearwater Revival hits. The concert was Filmed in 2005 in Los Angeles. The DVD is an hour and a half long (99 minutes).

I have always enjoyed CCR and Fogerty, and this is an amazing concert includes some of the greatest songs from CCR and Fogerty. The DVD starts with an introduction then rips right into Travelin' Band, Green River, and Who'll Stop The Rain which are a fantastic start to the first set.

However, some of my favorite CCR/Fogrety songs don't come until well into the concert with Hey Tonight, Down On The Corner, Centerfield, Up Around The Bend, The Old Man Down The Road, Fortunate Son, and Bad Moon Rising all not coming after the first hour in. Fortunately, Rockin' All Over The World, Proud Mary and a bonus rendition of Deja Vu (All Over Again) bring the concert to a rousing close.

If you are looking at buying the Long Road Home DVD and the Long Home CD, it's interesting to point out that while they include most of the same tracks, the track orders are different and there are some variations. The DVD tracks:
1. Intro
2. Travelin' Band
3. Green River
4. Who'll Stop The Rain
5. Blue Moon Nights
6. Lodi
7. Lookin' Out My Backdoor
8. Hot Rod Heart
9. Rambunctious Boy
10. She's Got Baggage
11. Born On The Bayou
12. Bootleg
13. Run Through The Jungle
14. Deja Vu (All Over Again)
15. Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
16. Tombstone Shadow
17. Keep On Chooglin'
18. Sweet Hitch Hiker
19. Hey Tonight
20. Down On The Corner
21. Centerfield
22. Up Around The Bend
23. The Old Man Down The Road
24. Fortunate Son
25. Bad Moon Rising
26. Rockin' All Over The World
27. Proud Mary
28. Bonus Track: Deja Vu (All Over Again)

The CD tracks:
1. Born On The Bayou
2. Bad Moon Rising
3. Centerfield
4. Who'll Stop The Rain
5. Rambunctious Boy
6. Fortunate Son
7. Lookin' Out My Back Door
8. Up Around The Bend
9. Almost Saturday Night (live)
10. Down On The Corner
11. Bootleg (live)
12. Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
13. Sweet Hitch-Hiker
14. Hey Tonight (live)
15. The Old Man Down The Road
16. Rockin' All Over The World (live)
17. Lodi
18. Keep On Chooglin' (live)
19. Green River
20. Déjà Vu (All Over Again)
21. Run Through The Jungle
22. Hot Rod Heart
23. Travelin' Band
24. Proud Mary
25. Fortunate Son (live)

The change in order makes it difficult to see what the differences are. However, the DVD includes three tracks not in the CD: Blue Moon Nights, She's Got Baggage, and Tombstone Shadow. The DVD also has a bonus rendition of Deja Vu (All Over Again). The CD includes Almost Saturday Night, which isn't in the concert DVD and two versions of Fortunate Son (one live and one studio).

As with the Long Road Home CD, moteably missing from concert are Suzie Q, Midnight Special, and a few others, all of which are greatly missed. Nevertheless, this DVD is highly recommended for Forgerty and CCR fans.

There is an underlying significance to the title of this set that perhaps needs to be explained. For years, John Fogerty had lost the rights to his own music. It might be considered strong language to say that the songs were `stolen' from him, but suffice to say that a bad contract and an ethically challenged record label prevented Fogerty from realizing royalty payments from any of his Creedence Clearwater Revival material. To prevent the `bad guys' from profiteering off of his work, Fogerty vowed not to play any of his old hits, and he stuck by his word for approximately two decades. Recently, though, Saul Zaentz, the head of Fantasy Records, sold his interest in Fantasy Records and was replaced by a team that was much more sympathetic to Fogerty, restoring his rights to compositions such as "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Green River," and dozens of other timeless classics. For the first time since Creedence disbanded in 1973, Fogerty can now play his own songs with no sense of ambivalence. I, for one, am extraordinarily happy for the guy, and I'm especially glad to see that he has survived "the long road home."
To simply say that he has survived is a gross understatement. Have you seen John Fogerty lately? If not, wait until you see just how energetic and lively he is. If Dick Clark made a deal with the devil to retain his youthfulness, then John Fogerty stole the formula. He is brimming with vitality, and his powerful voice is 100% intact. The concert featured on "The Long Road Home" boasts over two dozen tracks, at least twenty of which I'd consider to be classic. Each song is played straight and hard, with no ornate touches and no meandering jams. Even on the songs that warrant it, such as "Tombstone Shadow" and "Keep on Chooglin'," are played with a directness that emphasizes their intrinsic value.
Fogerty may have gotten more hits out of three chords and a guitar riff than any other human being, and this live set argues that point convincingly. Throughout the show, Fogerty effortlessly proves that he is a master of simple, powerful, well-written rock and roll. "Down on the Corner," "Centerfield," "Up Around the Bend," "Old Man Down the Road" and "Fortunate Son" follow one another in quick succession, which is enough to leave any casual fan breathless. Some of these songs are nearly forty years old, but they still sound fresh and vital. Finally, John Fogerty is dancing to his own tune. A- Tom Ryan

Filmed on sept 15th 2005 in Los Angeles Wiltern, this is an excellent dvd: great performance and great direction. John plays almost all of his hits as CCR and a solo artist. The man, 61 years old, sure knows how to rock. 1 hour and 1/2 half of great rock'n'roll music.

Track list
1. Travelin' Band
2. Green River
3. Who'll Stop The Rain
4. Blue Moon Nights
5. Lodi
6. Lookin' Out My Backdoor
7. Hot Rod Heart
8. Rambunctious Boy
9. She's Got Baggage
10. Born On The Bayou
11. Bootleg
12. Run Through The Jungle
13. Deja Vu
14. Have You Ever Seen The Rain
15. Tombstone Shadow
16. Keep On Chooglin'
17. Sweet Hitch Hiker
18. Hey Tonight
19. Down On The Corner
20. Center Field
21. Up Around The Bend
22. The Old Man Down The Road
23. Fortunate Son
24. Bad Moon Rising
25. Rockin' All Over The World
26. Proud Mary
DVD Extras
Bonus Exclusive Video of "Déjà Vu All Over Again".

Let me start my review by saying that I am a HUGE fan of John Fogerty/CCR. Being born in 1984, I was afraid that I would never get to see him in concert, and now I have been to THREE! I have to say that I was quite pleased but just slightly disappointed with this DVD. The performance on it is great as is the picture quality. I thought that the sound quality was fine; for those who thought it sounded weird, did you try setting the sound to digital surround? The 5.1 surround setting did sound strange to me. If you set it to digital surround, it is much better.
My main problem with this DVD however, is the video. Like I said, the QUALITY is great, buth there is something about the way this DVD (and many of today's concert DVD's) was filmed. The video doesn't actually feel "live". Compare it to the Premonition DVD. This one kind of feels more like you're watching a long music video rather than a concert. Not to mention the sound and video are a bit out of synch.
But anyway, it's still great to have a concert recording of John doing several CCR hits that I never thought he would do live again such as "Bootleg" and "Keep On Chooglin" just to name a few.
Rock on, John!

American rock & roll really doesn't get much better than this breathtaking performance by CCR's John Fogerty at LA's Wiltern theater last September.

John and his stellar band are on fire as they tear through a treasure chest of Fogerty classics from the CCR canon and his own memorable solo work.

To the guy who said this DVD doesn't hold a candle to Premonition, I say -- "Huh? You got your ears on, bud?" Fans of Fogerty's songwriting will prefer this new disc, as EVERY tune in the concert is one of this rock master's finest, and that is very fine indeed.

This Wiltern show was also performed before a much larger audience than in the Premonition disc, again giving the new disc added vitality.

Speaking of vitality, whatever does John Fogerty eat? He looks and sounds so much like his much younger self that it's almost spooky.

At any rate, if you're a fan of classic American rock & roll, get this disc, roll back the carpet, and crank it! You won't be sorry, although your neighbors might have something to say to you -- perhaps you should invite them in!

Simply put, this concert DVD far out-ranks John's previous concert DVD Premonition - on ALL counts. Not only is John in better performance form in this concert - but his band is unlike any line-up he's ever had.

Anyone who thinks the sound quality on the Premonition DVD is better than TLRH isn't aware of what they're listening to. Premonition is almost entirely OVER-DUBBED, and who wants that for a LIVE concert DVD? The audio on that DVD is contrived and stale compared to the live tracks of The Long Road Home. Based on the liner notes, there was some overdubbing done on this as well....but not nearly as much as on Premonition. I can't even watch that DVD any more....the edits and pacing of the entire show are based on mismatched overdubbed vocals. "Cut to a guitar, because the audio doesn't match his mouth." Not cool.

The editing style of TLRH is exciting and electric! Just like being there. And I was! Some people aren't happy with the dark stage, but I love it. It's what a rock show should be - mysterious and sexy....with just enough colored lights and background when you need it. In my opinion, rock and roll don't got to have not stinking stage set and back drop! John and these boys create their own atmosphere of a sticky, sexy, swampy world just with the way they play this music.

The audience shots are a nice touch too....they really show the leve of energy John and the band had going. They were rocking every inch and every person in the theater that night!

Compared to this, Premoition is a TV variety show. The Long Road Home is a ROCK SHOW!

This is the one to get. This is the one to watch - over and over again.

Way to go John and band! Way to go Marrtyn Atkins and producers! This is a superb souvenier of what was a great night for all of us in the audience.

Thank you.

I am old enough to remember Creedence Clearwater Revival from my teenage years, and I owned and thoroughly enjoyed most of their albums. In "The Long Road Home", John Fogerty does an outstanding job of mixing a good selection of their greatest songs of that era with his newer solo efforts. Everything about this concert is top notch: the video, the sound, the band (fabulous group of musicians!), and John looks, sounds and plays the guitar amazingly well, considering that he's not exactly a teenager himself any more.

I got from this concert exactly what I expected, and more - good, honest and totally unpretentious rock and roll (and lots of old memories revived). No laser show with smoke and mirrors (thank goodness), just a group of professional musicians clearly enjoying their hearts out on stage. What a good time!

I believe this IS better than Premonition as he seems to be having a lot more fun this time out(must have to do with reconciling with Fantasy label since they were bought by Concord). I will say this one is better since it is in a concert hall and not a soundstage(Premonition). Also they got wise and mixed this in DTS 5.1. I know that some will qibble about song selection but all songs presented are as good or better than the originals. Also the back-up band is stellar-Billy Burnette,George Hawkins, John Malo, Etc. . The extra video of Deja Vu Again is superb with the images to the song and the little girl is John's.

I own about 100 Concert DVDs and this is by far the best one I've ever seen. Fogerty looks and sounds like he did in the 60's. All the Creedence songs are here as well as the songs from his solo career and his new offereing. 90 minutes of great Fogerty vocals and guitar. He even plays several guitars which makes it even more fun. It's hard to get my wife to sit down to watch a concert. With this DVD, she stayed glued to the screen, singing along. BUY THIS DVD.