Pick of the Week: Creedence Clearwater Revival

By Keith Hannaleck
iBerkshires Columnist
11:40AM / Sunday, November 01, 2009

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The Singles Collection

OK, so you are probably wondering when the reissues from Concord covering Creedence Clearwater Revival are going to stop right? I would venture to guess until all the material in their vaults is completely exhausted.

Why not? The music is still popular and it sells. If I was running the label I would do the same thing. It is different if a label is always repackaging the same materials over and over again (see Led Zeppelin). In a sense they are here, but different versions are being made available. They sent this music to the right person, too.

I love this band and have covered all of the reissues including the first round of all their studio albums, the box set then the remastered digi-pack versions of the studio albums for the 40th anniversary with new bonus tracks. Sound like overkill to you? I guess it depends on your taste in music and what kind of listener you are. From this corner, I have to say that I do appreciate what is going on here.

"The Singles Collection" comes housed in nice cardboard slip case with two CDs, a DVD of four vintage videos (pre-MTV videos and, yes, there were music videos long before MTV, which just popularized it) that shows a very young band at work. The videos are great from a historical perspective and give you an idea of what everyone looked like back in the '60s. Don't expect pristine polished videos but for CCR fans, it's a real treat. I am wondering if more time was put into the videos that they could have been restored to better versions; possibly not. Also included with the package is a poster of all the singles artwork suitable for framing. 

I never heard all the single versions of these classic tracks and, yes, they really are different than the album versions - shorter and different mixes as one might expect. I personally enjoy the album versions of the CCR catalog and some of the extended guitar jams from their leader John Fogerty. As I have always said about CCR music, it never gets old or wears on me. As Ben Fong Torres so powerfully describes in the detailed liner notes and CD booklet, "Radio needed acts like CCR" and the faithful still do and fans that have yet discovered them will, they just don't know it yet. 

The sound quality is excellent and the packaging is above average for this set and I am glad that I had a chance to hear the versions of these songs. I also appreciate everything that came with the set to make it different and collectable. Next out is the same set issued in 45 RPM vinyl. That will quickly become a collector's item and will likely be under a few Christmas trees this year.

If you want to hear some different versions of the original CCR swamp-rock boogie or need an introduction this is a good place to start.

Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck offers up weekly music picks for iBerkshires. Find more reviews at muzikreviews.com and contact at info@muzikreviews.com.

Disc One 01. Porterville 09. Bad Moon Rising 02. Call It Pretending 10. Lodi 03. Suzie Q (Pt. 1) 11. Green River 04. Suzie Q (Pt. 2) 12. Commotion 05. I Put A Spell On You 13. Fortunate Son 06. Walking On The Water 14. Down On The Corner 07. Proud Mary 15. Travelin' Band 08. Born on the Water 16. Who'll Stop The Rain

Disc Two 01. Run Through The Jungle 08. Door To Door 02. Up Around The Bend 09. Someday Never Comes 03. Long As I Can See The Light 10. Tearin' Up The Country 04. Lookin' Out My Back Door 11. I Heard It Through The Grapevine 05. Have You Ever Seen The Rain? 12. Good Golly, Miss Molly 06. Hey Tonight 13. 45 RPM, Part 1 07. Sweet Hitch-Hiker 14. 45 RPM, Part 2

Disc Three 01. I Heard It Through The Grapevine 03. I Put A Spell On You 02. Bootleg 04. Lookin' Out My Back Door Genre: Rock Label: Fantasy (Concord Music Group) Web site Amazon Link Source Link

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