Cosmo's Factory [Extra tracks][Original recording remastered]

Unlike most, Creedence Clearwater Revival has been served very well by the various "best of" packages that have been issued over the years. So why bother with the original albums? Individual cases can be made for the others; but Cosmo Factory is one of the greatest rock albums made. With its kind of cheesy cover it is easy to misjudge Cosmos Factory as a piece of junk. But appearances are deceiving. Inside are eleven cuts which have burned their way into the modern American songbook.

"Run Through The Jungle" and "Up Around The Bend" were put out over the radio as a pair and were the first songs the public heard off the album. The radio DJ at the time explained that the record company was trying to find out which song the public liked so that they could issue a single. As it turned out both were popular which aided the sales of the album itself. This started a cascade "hits" from Cosmos Factory-five from one album in all. The remaining six cuts began to have lives of their own on the fledgling FM album rock stations all over the country.

"Travelin' Band" was wildly popular. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" was so universally appealing that country music quickly adopted the song as one of its own. "Who'll Stop The Rain" became almost transcendental as 1970 saw one of the most terrible and traumatic periods of the Vietnam War. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" struck us as particularly cool running at over eleven minutes-revamped as it was into the swamp rock idiom. Even kids who weren't drawn to Motown loved the song.

"Ramble Tamble" was basically built around a single riff; but what a hell of a riff it is. We tend to regard "Before You Accuse Me". "Ooby Dooby" and "My Baby Left Me" as mere covers and album fillers. Long time listening, however, shows this assessment underestimates their appeal and warmth. Their use anticipated by a few years the revival of 1950's era rock in the 1970's. Finally, "Long As I Can See The Light" has grown to be a sentimental favorite although it has never been a "hit" on the popular charts or the FM play list.

Cosmos Factory caught sense of the time. It looked back to the uneasy recent past, picking up what it could, and moved forward to a bright but uncharted and uncertain future. Looking back, no one could have told you what was to happen. The Vietnam War ended with nothing anyone on any side of the controversy could be proud of. Race relations went on to become more angry and bitter. The much-touted "Age Of Aquarius" was found to be an empty promise. Musically, the "Next Beatles" never came. Indeed, the music of the 1970's was a subject of deep disappointment at the time. (Although assessments for the music of that era have grown more positive.) It turns out that some of the surest footing into the "future to be" is found on this album. God bless ya, boys.

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Yet it's hard to argue against 'Cosmo's Factory', as it features so many top hits. 'Who'll Stop the Rain' didn't stop scaling the national charts until it hit number one, and 'Travelin' Band' and 'Lookin' Out My Back Door' both peaked at number two. Even the 'b-sides', appearing on this album, 'Run Through the Jungle' and 'Up Around the Bend' received significant airtime.

And none of those are even close to being the best song on the album!

That distinction would lie with one of the greatest covers of all time, Creedence's version of 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', all 665 seconds of it (good thing there wasn't one more second in there!). While this California band most often projects a southern-rock veneer, 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' exudes a rhythm that makes you swear you're in the midst of an Indian war dance. The sound is nothing less than pure genius. John Fogerty's vocals are gripping, and his lengthy guitar solo's are intoxicating. Creedence is a great cover band, so much so that most of their covers easily transcend the original versions. 'Cosmo's Factory' includes three other fine covers, 'Ooby Dooby', 'Before You Accuse Me', and 'My Baby Left Me'. But Marvin Gaye may as well have signed over his 'Grapevine' rights to John Fogerty and CCR... it's that good.

Add to these highlights the appropriate closer, 'Long As I Can See the Light' ("Put a candle in the window..."), and the opener, a seven minute rambling rocker called 'Ramble Tamble', and you have one of the finest albums of the early 1970's.

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