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Rating: The fifth album by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the most successful band of the late '60s in America, was released in 1970, and it was immediately hailed as a “milestone.”
In the album's 11 tracks, John Fogerty and company reach the peak of their career, not only for the beauty of all the songs but for the mastery with which they reinterpret, update, and enhance the legacy of the fathers of rock 'n' roll.
“Cosmo's factory” (named after the drummer’s nickname, Doug “Cosmo” Clifford) is a true factory of hits: from their renditions—not just mere covers—of “Before you accuse me” by Bo Diddley and “Ooby Dooby” by Roy Orbison, where they show their admiration for the early rock, to the originals by guitarist-singer-factotum John Fogerty, “Who’ll stop the rain,” “Run through the jungle,” “Long as I can see the light,” all songs that tell stories of the Vietnam War.
However, two songs stand out above the rest, bearing witness to the vein of a band that made rock 'n' roll their sole manifesto in a time when everything was being politicized: “Travelin’ band” is a brisk and rhythmic romp, while the torrential cover of “I heard it through the grapevine,” already a hit by Marvin Gaye, deserves its own place in rock history: 11 minutes of exceptional musical virtuosity, where bassist Stu Cook's riff competes in skill with Cosmo's drumming, while John Fogerty scratches in the background with his unmistakable voice, 11 minutes that alone secure Creedence's place among the rock eternals.
42 fundamental minutes in rock history, an indispensable album for a group that didn’t love labels, divistic attitudes, or rock star poses, but solely focused on the substance of their music, a group considered essential to their musical development by figures of the caliber of Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp... judge for yourselves...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Ramble Tamble (07:12)
CHORUS:
Move,
Down the road
I go.
CHORUS
There's mud in the water,
Roach in the cellar,
Bugs in the sugar,
Mortgage on the home,
Mortgage on the home.
There's garbage on the sidewalk,
Highways in the back yard,
Police on the corner,
Mortgage on the car,
Mortgage on the car.
CHORUS
They're selling independence,
Actors in the White House,
Acid in digestion,
Mortgage on my life,
Mortgage on my life.
CHORUS
Ramble tamble tamble
Ramble tamble tamble
Ramble tamble tamble
02 Before You Accuse Me (03:27)
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
You say I've been buyin' another woman clothes,
But you've been talkin' to someone else.
I called your mama 'bout three or four nights ago.
I called your mama 'bout three or four nights ago.
Your mama said, "Son,
Don't call my daughter no more."
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
You say I've been buyin' another woman clothes,
But you've been takin' money from someone else.
Come on back home, baby; try my love one more time.
Come on back home, baby; try my love one more time.
You've been gone away so long,
I'm just about to lose my mind.
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
You say I've been buyin' another woman clothes,
But you've been talkin' to someone else.
04 Ooby Dooby (02:08)
Hey Baby, jump over here;
When you do the Ooby Dooby I gotta be there;
CHORUS:
Ooby Dooby, Ooby Dooby, Ooby Dooby, Ooby Dooby,
Ooby Dooby Ooby Dooby Ooby Dooby
Ooby doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah.
Well, you wiggle to the left, you wiggle to the right;
You do the Ooby Dooby with all your might;
CHORUS
Well, you wiggle an' you shake like a big rattlesnake;
You do the Ooby Dooby till you think you're gonna break.
CHORUS
I'm movin' and struttin' 'cause now I know
How to do the Ooby Dooby, baby, let's go.
CHORUS
06 Run Through the Jungle (03:08)
Whoa, thought it was a nightmare
Lo, it's all so true
They told me "Don't go walkin' slow"
'Cause Devil's on the loose
CHORUS:
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa don't look back to see
Thought I heard a rumblin'
Callin' to my name
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries "Take aim!"
CHORUS
Over on the mountain
Thunder magic spoke
Let the people know my wisdom
Fill the land with smoke
CHORUS
07 Up Around the Bend (02:43)
There's a place up ahead and I'm goin' just as fast as my feet can fly
Come away, come away if you're goin', leave the sinkin' ship behind.
CHORUS:
Come on the risin' wind, we're goin' up around the bend.
Ooh!
Bring a song and a smile for the banjo, better get while the gettin's good,
Hitch a ride to the end of the highway where the neons turn to wood.
CHORUS
Oooh!
You can ponder perpetual motion, fix your mind on a crystal day,
Always time for a good conversation, there's an ear for what you say.
CHORUS
Yeah!
Oooh!
Catch a ride to the end of the highway and we'll meet by the big red tree,
There's a place up ahead and I'm goin', come along, come along with me.
CHORUS
Yeah!
Do do doo do...
10 I Heard It Through the Grapevine (11:09)
Oo Bet you're wond'ring how I knew
'Bout your plans to make me blue
With some other guy that you knew before?
Between the two of us guys you know I love you more.
It took me by surprise I must say
When I found out yesterday.
Oo, I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oo I heard it through the grapevine
And I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.
You know that a man ain't supposed to cry,
But these tears I can't hold inside.
Losin' you would end my life you see,
'Cause you mean that much to me.
You could have told me yourself
That you found someone else.
Instead I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oo I heard it through the grapevine
And I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.
People say "Believe half of what you see, son,
and none of what you hear."
I can't help bein' confused;
If it's true, won't you tell me dear?
Do you plan to let me go
For the other guy that you knew before?
Oo, I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oo I heard it through the grapevine
And I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.
I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oo I heard it through the grapevine
And I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey yeah.
11 Long as I Can See the Light (03:34)
Put a candle in the window, 'cause I feel I've got to move.
Though I'm going, going, I'll be coming home soon,
'Long as I can see the light.
Pack my bag and let's get movin', 'cause I'm bound to drift a while.
When I'm gone, gone, you don't have to worry long,
'Long as I can see the light.
Guess I've got that old trav'lin' bone, 'cause this feelin' won't leave me alone.
But I won't, won't be losin' my way, no, no
'Long as I can see the light.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Oh, Yeah!
Put a candle in the window, 'cause I feel I've got to move.
Though I'm going, going, I'll be coming home soon,
Long as I can see the light.
Long as I can see the light.
Long as I can see the light.
Long as I can see the light.
Long as I can see the light.
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Other reviews
By Massimof
"Who'll Stop The Rain?" is so beautiful, airy, and sweet that it 'opens' the heart.
John Fogerty and his mates were and will always be a bright beacon in today’s dark and foggy sea of rock ’n’ roll.
By STIPE
'Cosmo's Factory' managed to exemplarily synthesize the sound and spirit of an era.
'Who’ll Stop The Rain' became a symbol of an entire generation, expressing all the malaise, tensions, and hopes of modern man.
