Customer Reviews

Pendulum

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not from CCR's generation of hippies and Vietnam veterans but a twenty year old in a generation of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys. What does this have anything to do with CCR? I don't listen to my generation's music hardly ever. I must be a born again dope smoking hippie because all I listen to is classic rock. My dad handed me down this album when I was in junior high in the late 1990s and it was my first awakening to what great music sounds like. I'm very familiar at this point with most of the music of the late 60s and 70s and I will still claim CCR's Pendumlum is one of the greatest albums of its kind from this period of rock and roll. I think what makes CCR so great is their ability to molt jamming rifts in which you can dance up and down to into sweet melodic jams in which you can chill. They do it perfectly with John Fogerty on lead guitar and his brother Tom on rhythm playing together with Stu Cook on bass and Doug Clifford on drums. I can't think of too many bands with a better combination. Pendulum is one of those albums you could probably listen to anytime of day and with any kind of mood. I guess if you're into the way harder material from that time, Pendulum might be a downer but not necessarily. I listen to Deep Purple and Zeppelin to Fleetwood Mac and Jackson Browne. I think CCR is that place in between all of these bands. I'm in love with all the songs on this album so its hard to say exactly which ones to listen to for a first glance. When I first started listening to CCR, I was definitely digging the softer sounds and the melodic tunes in music so I think I will always be more affectionate to "(Wish I could) hideaway" "It's just a thought" but jams on "Pagan Baby" and "Hey Tonight" are equally as fantastic. I know my perspective on this album compared to other CCR albums may be biased since this album was my first and it has great sentimentality attached. But there is a reason that this album converted me from the 90s back to 1970. I now listen to everything including hip hop and old country but CCR will always have me, especially this album.

For some reason,a lot of CCR fans dislike PENDULUM .True,it is not as good as COSMO'S FACTORY,GREEN RIVER or WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS;however,I place it ahead of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL,BAYOU COUNTRY,and MARDI GRAS.By this stage,CCR had more chart success in three years than most band only dream about.John Fogerty wanted to experiment with keyboards and saxaphone(all group members could play more than one instrument).Several styles of rock were played with:reggae(SAILOR'S LAMENT),soul(CHAMELEON,BORN TO MOVE),old rock'n'roll(MOLINA),progressive instrumental rock(RUDE AWAKENING NO.2),and hard boogie rock(HEY TONGHT,PAGAN BABY).The old CCR style was still present,however(HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN,IT'S JUST A THOUGHT and HIDEAWAY).As a result of the experimentation,most critics complained that PENDULUM was a wildly uneven album.I prefer to think of it as a noble musical experiment.Also,as a result of John's perfectionism,Tom Fogerty quit the group not long after PENDULUM's release.This paved the way for CCR as a trio and MARDI GRAS.But that,as they say,is another story.

This is actually my favorite CCR album. Funny that, as many fans only rate it one notch above MARDI GRAS. The major sticking point for most is the departure from the CCR formula into some different kinds of music - most of it kinda Soul-y. John Fogerty, always an underrated musician, had already mastered guitar and drums and was now playing organ and sax.

The opening "Pagan Baby" really rocks out, if you like "Ramble Tamble" from COSMO'S FACTORY you'll love this - Fogerty truly achieves guitar-hero status! Both sides of the then-current 45 ("Hey Tonight" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" - the latter covered to charming effect by REM in concert back in 1985) are first-rate. There's also some neglected gems like "It's Just a Thought" and "Hideaway". Top notch stuff. Even the villified instrumental "Rude Awakening #2" (where #1?) has a beautiful opening section. I play this more than any other Creedence LP, 'nuff said.

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 sixth studio album in 2-1/2 years, Pendulum, marked their finale as a four-piece; two months after its December 1970 release, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty would quit the group for good. Unlike the summary of their musical inventions heard on 1969's Cosmo's Factory, their latest LP found John Fogerty pushing the group in new directions, including more blatant nodes to New Orleans funk, Stax soul, and experimental studio productions. The album's press - both at the time and with this reissue - suggested the new focus was partly motivated by the dismissive attitudes of the band's peers. With a string of top-5 singles and a lack of trendy sounds on their albums, Creedence wasn't always given their due as innovators. Fogerty may have felt stung, but instead of capitulating with nods to current trends, he sought to lead the band in new directions. Fogerty may well have felt restless after stringing together Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poorboys, and Cosmo's Factory in just 18 months. Fogerty wrote all of the album's songs for the first time, employed sax solos and a vocal backing chorus and, most conspicuously, added generous helpings of Hammond B-3.

Given all those changes, the album opens with a characteristic heavy rock jam that would have fit the group's debut. The organ lining the album's single, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," portends the larger changes to be found within the album, and those innovations first kick in with the organ, saxophone and chorus backing of "Sailor's Lament." Fogerty's keyboard provides a spooky introduction to "(Wish I Could) Hideaway," offering melodramatics that harken back to the group's earlier cover of "I Put a Spell on You." Fogerty's fascination with Stax turns blatant on the funky "Chameleon," and the structure and riff of "Born to Move" provide a solid nod to Rufus Thomas' "Walking the Dog."

As a producer Fogerty gives his rhythm section its due on "It's Just a Thought," moving the bass and drums forward and rewarding listeners with some of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford's terrifically melodic playing. The album closes with the Little Richard styled rocker, "Molina," and the six-minute prog-rock experiment "Rude Awakening, No. 2." The latter provides a "heavy" bookend to the album's opener, but aside from the acoustic guitar intro, it's rather tortuous. Closing track pretentions aside, this is a solid album whose new directions may not measure up to the group's peak, but might have proved fruitful had the group not dissolved with 1972's Mardi Gras. Bonus tracks on the 2008 CD reissue include the promotional single "45 Revolutions Per Minute (Part 1 and 2)," which finds the band experimenting in the studio with a "Revolution #9" like montage of production tricks, backwards tape, sound effects, musical bridges, comedy bits, and San Francisco DJ Tom Campbell. Wrapping up the disc is a live take of "Hey Tonight" recorded by the three-piece Creedence in Hamburg on their last tour of Europe. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

This is a great album. Truly undeserving of all the criticism. I think Pendulum is CCR's most instrumentally tight album. Just check out John Fogerty's riffs on Pagan Baby, or the awesome organ solo on Born To Move. Not a bad song on here, except maybe for Rude Awakening #2. Creedence fans must own.

I really like this old band!!! There is one thing that all old rock had and that some of today's rock has lost: it expressed a great joy of life, it inspired love for life. And CCR surely are one of the best examples, because their music had another quality that today's rock has completely lost: it had humour!!! Just listen to songs like "Cameleon" or "Hey Tonight"! But PENDULUM is also the album of one of the most beautiful rock-ballades ever written: "Have You Ever Seen The Rain"! And if you really like rockĀ'n roll you'll surely enjoy the instrumental part of "Pagan Baby": when I listen to it, I simply can't stay quiet! So this is really a complete album and it is really good music for a party: just try it out and you'll see.

I know all of CCR's music and rank this often-overlooked CD right up there with their best ("Willie and the Poorboys", "Green River"). The instrumental jams of "Pagan Baby" are among the very best in the annals of Rock 'n Roll. The drumming, also, is unparalleled. The superb balled "Hideaway" is, perhaps, one of John Fogarty's best pieces of songwriting and vocalizing, but seems to have become ABF (all but forgotten). Even though Fogarty has become completely uncool as he ages (like so many great former songwriters--witness Elton John}, his music lives on and crosses the generations like Beatles music--my kids love CCR! May they NEVER become ABF!

Many avid CCR fans would say this is their weakest album. However, even though it's not filled with as much of their trademark "Bayou, meets Rock, meets rock-a-billy-meets country sound we've become accustomed to, it stretches and shows Fogerty's ability to write and sing with soul.Just listen to the soulful singing of (Wish I Could) Hideaway, or the Stax drenched sounds of Born To Move. Pendulum is a departure for sure, but a very tasteful and listenable departure. Highly Recommended!

Pendulum shows a legendary band not *quite* on their A game. Given the circumstances however, that can easily be forgiven. CCR was on the verge of falling apart anyway.

"Born to Move" is my favorite song by far. I love that verse melody, and the organ jam that follows is *amazing* and thankfully lasts for a pretty good bit of time. I can't believe how good it is! "Pagan Baby" has some guitar soloing that borders on mindless, but who cares- it's played tastefully and melodically anyway. I wish the verse melody was better though- that *definitely* sounds mindless to me.

"Rude Awakening" is the bands idea of experimentation, and well, it definitely works for the first two minutes- I LOVE that guitar playing. Then it gets... atmospheric and weird, haha. I can't really explain what happens after the first two minutes, but I believe I hear muffled sounds of keyboards, saxophone and who knows what else. Interestingly enough, an actual melody comes in about one minute before the entire experimental pieces comes to a much needed close!

I've never been a huge fan of "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" and in all honesty, I tend to compare it to the superior "Who'll Stop the Rain?" from the bands previous album- Cosmo's Factory. An unfair comparison perhaps, because they're both two completely different songs, but I can't help it! Rain is rain!

"Hey Tonight" RULES. One of my all-time favorite verse melodies. "Wish I Could Hideaway" has a really sad introduction, and then Fogerty's vocals continue with the sadness vibe. I love this song actually- it's pretty, but it packs a *serious* emotional punch. Speaking of songs that make me feel like crying, "It's Just a Thought" is another major highlight. I simply love that vocal melody.

The album also contains some pretty short, energetic rockers in "Chameleon" and "Molina", two excellet songs.

So there you have it guys- CCR delivers with a halfway decent album here, but never returns to their true form ever again. An important part of musical history ended right here. I'll say more than half of this album is terrific actually, and it's worth owning. Cosmo's Factory and Green River are probably the bands best albums though.

On "Pendulum," Fogerty experiments with new approaches and although many Creedence fans find this album their least favorite I feel it has the most musical integrity of all six albums (I'm not counting "Mardis Gras"). After "Pagan Baby," which features one of rock's best guitar solos, a series of unique songs follows, each of which is distinct and avoids cliches (unlike "Travelling Band" and "Looking Out My Back Door" on "Cosmo's Factory"). Fogerty's voice is outstanding, particularly on "Hideaway." He plays both the sax and organ well and seems to be trying to fuse all his talents to create a less commercial style, which is perhaps why this album is not as loved as some of the earlier ones. The only exception is "Rude Awakening #2," which after the first two (very pleasant) minutes descends into a nightmarish cacophony of organ, drums, and studio effects.