Creedence Clearwater Revival
Mardi Gras

THE REVIEW

The latest studio effort from the American band, an intentionally driven musical suicide at the height of their fame.

In 1972, in anticipation of the new album, John Fogerty, the charismatic leader of the group, forced his bandmates to collaborate in writing the lyrics and the music, but the result was evident from the start: a collapse of the (until then) perfect Creedence machine, ruthless criticism, and incredulous fans.

The songs not sung by Fogerty are forgettable: from the pale imitation of themselves in “Take it like a Friend” to the shameful second-rate country rock in “Tearin’ up the Country,” from the faltering catchy rock of “What are you gonna do?” to the bland neither-fish-nor-fowl mix of “Sail Away,” concluding with the anonymous “Door to Door.”

Among these, the overall pleasant “Need Someone to Hold” stands out moderately well.

The album catches almost a passing grade with the tracks sung by the leader: the carefree country rock of “Looking for a Reason,” the beautiful and moving “Someday Never Comes” (the best track on the album), and the apt reinterpretation of Ricky Nelson’s classic “Hello Mary Lou.” Finally, in the final moments of side B, the more than good and quite famous “Sweet Hitch-Hiker.”

The dark colors of the cover, the girl depicted there, and the content of the grooves certainly do not evoke the festive atmosphere of “mardi gras.” There's almost nothing sumptuous and delicious here. It's a twilight, a total failure in terms of criticism and sales (they would redeem themselves four years later with the multi-million selling compilation “Chronicle”). The Creedence disbanded the same year.

John Fogerty would continue with a happy and fruitful solo career, his brother Tom would have less luck, while the remaining Stu Cook and Doug Clifford would alternate their respective personal projects with the side project Creedence Clearwater Revisited, through which they still today reprise the great hits of the parent group in a touring manner.