Creedence Clearwater Revival
Live In Europe

THE REVIEW

I was about ten or eleven years old when I discovered how to operate my father's turntable. Until then, my timid forays into pop and rock music had been limited to a few "dubbings" of Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Phil Collins cassettes.

I constantly had a thirst for exploration, for discovering new things, and those vinyl records with strange covers piqued my curiosity quite a bit: the cows on Atom Heart Mother, those medieval drawings on "Lizard" by King Crimson, and that dollar-shaped record "E Pluribus Funk" by Grand Funk Railroad... what kind of eccentric people would create such covers? The first time I managed to start the needle on a vinyl, it was a record from the collection "The Great History of Rock" dedicated to the Rolling Stones, and the riff of Satisfaction seemed to me the coolest thing I had ever heard. Good times, what a beautiful experience it was to discover rock music! A passion that has never left me and is still an integral part of my life.

One day my father came home from work and saw me tinkering with his vinyl records and said: listen to this one (he put on "Proud Mary") this is true American rock! mmm... Creedence Clearwater Revival... live in Europe!? The record featured a highway with interchanges and flyovers (which I later discovered was not the cover available commercially... could I have a rare copy????). It's needless to summarize the importance of Creedence in the history of rock, from Woodstock to being representatives of southern rock in the world, and the extreme popularity of their singles is undeniable: heard and reheard everywhere, on the radio, on TV, in cinemas, and reinterpreted multiple times in all possible versions.

"Live in Europe" was released when the band had already definitely disbanded, and they had tried to continue despite the significant defection of Tom Fogerty (guitarist and main composer) as a trio with a lackluster album (Mardi Gras 1972) and a new tour. But the response was not the best, the audience seemed to lose interest in that somewhat outdated music, shifting attention towards new musical trends. It was the early 70s, the most prolific and avant-garde period of rock and roll. The musical quality, even without the guitarist, is at excellent levels, and the songs sound lively and engaging, "Up Around the Bend," "Hey Tonight," and "Keep on Chooling" sound better than in the studio. This live can't be compared to the much more renowned rock live albums of those years (Live at Fillmore East by Allman, Made in Japan by Deep Purple, or Alive by Kiss); it's missing some important tracks, but it should be considered as a great archaeological relic of the band and its last moments of life, played admirably and highlighted by an extremely engaging performance. The testimony of a dignified end, a demonstration of professionalism and consistency until the end.

After the breakup, John Fogerty will continue playing Creedence's hits for another forty years as a solo artist (the mortgage doesn't pay itself), while the others, except for poor Tom who died in '90, pursued different paths, except for a brief period under the moniker "Creedence Clearwater Revisited." Anyway... dear old Creedence, how much more great albeit not too original music you could have still produced... and to think that today, with all these "Revival" bands that are so trendy, considered as geniuses (Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes...bah!), you had already figured it out back then... And while the whole world was bleach-dyeing their clothes and tripping on acid, you with your flannel shirts and cowboy hats were still playing indestructible and anachronistic rock and roll... pioneers!