Creedence Clearwater Revisited (CCR)

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Creedence Clearwater Revisited evokes much emotions from classic rock fans.

The idea of a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band formed by ex-CCR members Stu Cook and Doug Clifford is either the biggest obscenity in sixties rock revivals, or the only fully musically just and honest cover band phenomenon there is. To people who take rock & roll seriously, the existence of Creedence Clearwater Revisited is probably an abomination - the equivalent of George and Ringo going back on the road leading a Beatles cover band, complete with replacements for John and Paul.

But before anyone tunes out on this, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford have as much right to capitalize on the Creedence Clearwater Revival repertory as anyone other than John Fogerty - yes, he wrote the stuff, but they were the rhythm section, and as good a rhythm section as any American white rock 'n roll band of the '60s ever had, on songs where the beat, not to mention the textures of the bass and the drums, counted for a lot.

And they were with Fogerty and his brother Tom from the beginning, playing lots of thankless gigs for short-end money before lightning struck in 1968. And, since, Fogerty had kept this repertory at more than arm's length for more than 25 years after their break-up, and the songs were more popular than ever, it was almost inevitable that a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band would emerge. The unexpected aspect is that it was done by former Creedence Clearwater Revival members.

Following the break-up of Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1972, Cook and Clifford, who'd been friends since junior high, formed a production company together. Clifford later joined the latter-day Sir Douglas Quintet, while Cook joined a group of ex-members of the Doobie Brothers in forming the country-rock outfit Southern Pacific.

Creedence Clearwater Revisited founders Cook and Clifford kept fairly low-profiles as working musicians, although they were still busier musically than John Fogerty, who, for a variety of personal reasons, didn't really re-emerge in the public eye until the end of the 1980's.

Creedence Clearwater Revisited was initially supposed to be a short-run project, conceived in 1995 - Elliot Easton, formerly of the Cars, played lead guitar, and John Tristao handled the vocals. Creedence Clearwater Revisited was only supposed to play private parties, but soon the band was getting 100 gigs a year.

Suffice to say that these guys are singularly unlikely to ever be a major creative force (or even part of one) in rock music the way they were 30 years ago, and the chance of anything new or fresh issuing forth from Creedence Clearwater Revisited is practically nil.

But that's also true of Chuck Berry and a lot of other names bigger than Cook or Clifford, and Creedence Clearwater Revisited does put on a good show, and crowds looking for good time rock & roll music enjoy them, the same way that Rob Grill & The Grass Roots or whatever version of "Herman Hermits" Peter Noone is fronting can pull 15,000 to an outdoor venue on a decent summer night. At least Creedence Clearwater Revisited doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is, even if they're not too much more than a flesh-and-blood jukebox.

Of course, the eerie backdrop to the presence of Creedence Clearwater Revisited is the fact that John Fogerty (who cut a great blues-rock album in 1997) finally overcame his reticence about his old songs and issued his own live album, at virtually the same time that Creedence Clearwater Revisited got its double-live CD out.

So fans once limited to a choice of original Creedence Clearwater Revival recordings are now faced with Fogerty's own new versions of his old hits, and new live versions of those same hits by this band. Anyone under 25 without a lot of background in music will probably need a program to sort through it all.

Stu Cook and Doug "Cosmo" Clifford may not have intended it, but their band Creedence Clearwater Revisited has taken on a startling life of its own. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rhythm section (bass and drums respectively) from the legendary Creedence Clearwater Revival launched the Revisited project in 1995 to play live Creedence Clearwater Revival hits - touchstones of a generation. Though the pair initially planned to play private parties, Creedence Clearwater Revisited is now performing up to 100 shows a year at venues like the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and has announced the release of a double live album, RECOLLECTION.

"We never really had any intention of playing in the public," says Cook, "but a friend wanted to promote a couple of concerts. We got talked into it but didn't know how it would go over."

The reaction to those shows was astoundingly positive, Cook observed, and driven in part by a generation of kids "who weren't even born when the music came out." Likewise, the release of Creedence Clearwater Revisited's RECOLLECTION - a 22- track double CD on the MCA/Universal distributed Fuel 2000 label, which features passionate, authoritative versions of classic Creedence Clearwater Revival hits - was the result of public demand. "It was generated by requests of the people who came to the shows, "Clifford acknowledges. "Over and over they would go to the concession stand and ask ‘Do you guys have a CD?'"

Having now performed all over North America, Europe and Asia knocking out crowds who have missed the experience Creedence Clearwater Revival members performing the songs that are still repeatedly played on the radio and are a staple in films, Creedence Clearwater Revisited has come a long way.

"We thought if we could find the musicians that could capture the sound and recreate what the music was about, we'd do it," recalls Cook. "If we couldn't we wouldn't."

But they found the musicians, one in particular, in a surprising place. "Every interview we do, people say ‘Well isn't this a weird combo'", says Cook referring to Revisited lead guitarist Elliot Easton. Though Easton gained famed playing lead guitar in the cool detached New Wave band The Cars, "his guitar had the bluesy rock feel," Cook says, "In fact, Elliot has the same musical roots and grew up in the same stuff we did."

Cook and Clifford also found a lead singer, John Tristao, with the energy to power the songs. Creedence Clearwater Revisited is rounded out by talented multi-instrumentalist Steve Gunner.

"I couldn't imagine [the band] coming together and staying together better than this organization," offers Cook who likens Creedence Clearwater Revisited's intraband rapport to that of early Creedence Clearwater Revival, when the band was slugging it out in Central California as the Golliwogs.

Creedence Clearwater Revival's distinctive rock captured the imagination of the pop world - the songs made great three minute radio gems - and the more politicized subculture, and the successfully bridged the gap between the underground and mainstream audiences. Writer Greil Marcus wrote that "rarely in rock and roll history has there been so close a relation between creative achievement and audience response."

Creedence Clearwater Revisited's RECOLLECTION adds a new chapter to that legacy with the vibrant American spirit and exhilarating energy inherent in the songs. "People don't want to be involved in an endless debate," Clifford sums up about the Creedence Clearwater Revival break-up. "They want to hear music. Creedence Clearwater Revisited is an experience they're not going to get anywhere else
 

Rock