Customer Reviews

Pendulum (20 Bit Mastering)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is not to be overlooked. I remember when my father first brought this record home right after its release: it did not leave the turntable for weeks. We played this record every night. From Pagan Baby to Rude Awakening;there is not a bad cut among them. This is John Fogerty's most unknown masterpiece. The songs range in both moods and styles. From the get up and dance of Born to Move, to the wistful Hideaway, Fogerty had grabbed my attention. The band never sounded tighter. This may not have been what the public called a real CCR album, but most of the general public did not, and still does not, accept growth in an artists work. They want all artists albums to sound like the last one. Thank God that Fogerty didn't go and write Cosmo's II. This album is still gets heavy play from me 30 years later. It has what all great records have: STAYING POWER. It still sounds as fresh as the day dad brought it home.

Every recording artist, at one point or another, has had their "disappointment;" an album or other work that either doesn't sell well, yet is praised by critics...or sells well yet critics despise it...or neither at all. For instance; Bruce Springsteen had his "The Ghost Of Tom Joad," Genesis had their "Calling All Stations," and even Led Zeppelin had their "III."
Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1971 album "Pendulum" was no exception. During its time, the album fell into the category of being [relatively] commercially successful, reaching Gold status, but it was coldly received by critics. After five smash hit albums that were greeted with critical warmth and high album sales, not to mention almost a dozen gold singles, critics began to predict CCR's end; tensions between the Fogerty brothers, John and Tom, were rising, as the rhythm section of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford began arguing for equal composing rights (those demands would be met on their next and last album). Somehow, the critics disgarded "Pendulum" as a disappointment, lacking the fire of CCR's previous recordings. And though the set contained a gold single, 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain?'/'Hey Tonight', "Pendulum" was not received with praise.
However, I believe that this album is a solid flow of great music and poetic lyrics that should not be ignored. At least four tracks on "Pendulum" are essential parts of CCR's legacy; 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain,' 'Hideaway,' 'It's Just A Thought,' and 'Hey Tonight' seem to tell their own stories of the history of the band. If there is anything marginally close to a flaw, it is the excessive use of the organ. But even that is not a flaw by quality, but by its break from CCR's tradition of rockabilly and southern creoles.
"Pendulum" is classic rock at its best, not just in the category of 'disappointments', but of anything ever produced. A necessity in any collection of a fan of true classic music.

Many people listen once to some of the songs on this album, dismiss it as not being CCR, and toss it off to the side and maybe even sell it in their next garage sale for a buck. What a shame. Fogerty has some very insightful lyrics here and is basically "foreshadowing" the band's eventual breakup. Check out the diference between the front and back covers and who left the band after this album. Get yourself a lyric sheet or guitar book with the words and listen closely to "Hideaway" and "It's Just A Thought". Forget your preconcieved notions of what you "think" Creedence should sound like, and "listen" to the music. A lot of folks had problems with CCR way back at the beginning after their 1st and then their 2nd albums. This is the same way. "Pagan Baby", "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and, especially, "Hey Tonight" are CCR aka John Fogerty thru and thru. No mistaking them. The other songs might not sound like CCR ("Sailor's Lament", etc.), but did "Run Through The Jungle" when you first heard it? While it's not my favorite CCR title, (Cosmo's Factory - Green River tie) I like it better than "Willie and the Poor Boys". P.S. Don't bother with the "greatest hits" stuff, purchase all their regular releases or you really miss some gems! bye.

I have never quite understood why this album gets such a horrid rap. (If any Creedence Clearwater Revival album deserves a horrid rap, it's "Mardi Gras," which only ended up proving to the remaining members that the songwriting talent in that band belonged to John Fogerty.) Granted that this wasn't quite the album-from-the-hit-singles which was the delightful predecessor, "Cosmo's Factory," but if that album was mostly CCR's answer to the Beatles' underrated late 1964 set "Something New," "Pendulum" - a strikingly introspective set, putting some of Fogerty's forebodings about both his band and his life to some of his loveliest music - was surely its "Rubber Soul". And if John and Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford were experiencing a kind of winter of their malcontent while making this set, you'd never know it by the smooth musicianship and soulful vocals. Go with it. It belongs.

This was CCR's final album with all four guys before Tom left. While it is not up there with Green River and Cosmos Factory, it still is a good album to listen to. Here is a breakdown of all the songs:

1) Pagan Baby - 6.5/10 - a ok rocker. Not one of their best for it is quite repetitive & a bit long, but still ok to listen to.

2) Sailor's Lament - 8/10 - John Fogerty always tried new things and this song is one. It is not a classic song, but still it is catchy & enjoyable to listen to.

3) Chameleon - 8/10 - I've heard this song is about Tom Fogerty. It is a hard-driving rocker and a bit better than Sailor's Lament.

4) Have You Ever Seen the Rain - 9.5/10 - The best song on the album. This is John Fogerty at his best and the band makes it a classic.

5) Wish I Could Hide Away - 8/10 - Another very underrated song. It seems Fogerty was feeling the strain of a band breaking apart and he delivers an emotional performance in singing this song.

6) Born To Move - 6.5/10 - Another subpar rocker. I felt the instrumental at the end too long and the song though catchy, lacks something. Maybe just too simple lyrically.

7) Hey Tonight - 8.5/10 - Another classic song. There is a reason this was a hit song; it is very good and still sounds great all these years later.

8) It's Just a Thought - 8.5/10 - A very reflective song that works very well.

9) Molina - 9/10 - I love this song. It is so catchy and has some great sax playing in it.

10) Rude Awakening #2 - 4/10 - It is too bad this album ends on such a poor song. One of the worst Fogery has written. It starts out ok, but then turns into a very tedious instrumental.

Despite the last song, this album is worth having. On a final note, the sound quality is wonderful. The remastering of the CCR albums blows away those old vinyl records & early CD versions.

This is not anywhere near Cosmo's Factory, but it's still a dang enjoyable album when it's in the mood. It's also experimental - who'd have thought Creedence would go weird? There are plenty of horns and keyboards here, which is a rarity for a group who usually just went with standard four-piece rock. It doesn't always succeed, but the horns merge perfectly on a few tracks ("Chameleon"), and there's some pleasant jazzy organ soloing ("Born to Move") and lovelorn ballads ("(Wish I Could) Hideaway"; "It's Just a Thought") in addition to the two major singles. The one you definitely know is the touching "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", a powerful social statement which I feel is the group's greatest song, while "Hey Tonight" is a great rocker, though it's a bit of an "Up Around the Bend" copy. Some of the experiment does get a bit overbearing, however. "Sailor's Lament" is pure suckage, ruined by too much of the horn section and two much of the backing vocals. "Rude Awakening #2" is one of the few inadequate moments in Creedence's canon, a psychedelic jam/sound collage that is just beyond the reach of this group. And while "Pagan Baby" wants to be a triumph of no-holds-barred rock, it's far too slow to be so, meaning it just comes off as a turgid, stomping disaster. These three songs are all big disgraces, and there is one generic rocker ("Molina"), but I enjoy a large part of this album.

Creedence sounds better as the years go by. These cuts and the other albums by the band take up all back to a historical period of the 60's and 70's that can and should not be forgotten....

I have long stopped listening to CCR, but recently I bought all their Albums again. I loved the tone and sound of this album when it came out. It was different, a bit more time and work seemed to be put into this recording. Now in retropect. If I were to only be able to own two of CCRs albums, it would be this one and their first. The others are filled with AM patter.

Now, I know that Pendulum is typically seen as one of the "weaker" Creedence albums, but I beg to differ! With cuts as strong as "Pagan Baby" and "Born to Move" how could you go wrong?? I used to play in a band that did a cover of "Born to Move", and it always got people on the floor. Sadly, most folks then came up and said "great tune! is that an original?" Buy this CD and help set the record straight...

At its time, this album seemed weaker than previous CCR albums. Maybe--but any record that encompasses the nearly punk starkness of "Molina" and the gorgeous yearning of "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" is none too shaby.