Friday, November 14, 2008

There's A Bad Moon On The Rise, Alright

I thought a musical interlude would be appropriate at this point because, frankly, sometimes this blog weighs a ton.


Let me say this about Fogerty and Creedence: they are the tightest bar band you could ever hope to stumble over. Now, of course, they're far from "just" a bar band. They are tight, tight, tight. The lyrics are polished and inimitable. I couldn't right from that space because I didn't live it and that's what makes Fogerty's music so righteous - honesty. There's no artifice and lot of humor. And, interestingly, the band's output doesn't follow the 90% rule of music that says 90% of all pop songs are ballads. CCR and Fogerty's lyrics are first-person: this happened to me and I'm going to tell you this story, as is exactly in keeping with the oral history methodology and story-telling tradition that's uniquely American and especially Southern. Anyway, as you watch this clip, notice how tight the tempo is and how unadorned the orchestration except for the perfectly placed, signature, finger-picking by Fogerty at just the right spots. The talent in his voice, which distorts just where I'd want it to, as a producer, can't be faked. You either got it or you ain't. And that's when the goose-bumps begin, beyond an intellectual understanding of the music, it drills into your soul.

Mind you, I'm not some kind of crazed mega-fan. Yes, I really dig their tune-age, man. But what I look for in music, or what finds me, I should say, is simply elegance. Creedence may be a relic, but that unique sound should be run through your aural canal every so often. I goruntee you will feel a new dimension each time. Enjoy!
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