Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cosmo's Factory

THE REVIEW

"They’re selling independence,

Actors in the white house"

"They are selling our independence, there are actors in the White House"... Punches to the face hurt a lot, especially if knuckles hit us. Even more painful are certainly the punches that come straight to the nose! Those are terrible, although fortunately for me, I've never physically experienced them.

The Creedence Clearwater Revival are like a punch straight to the face, hurting at first glance, with their wild and angry fury against the world they themselves renounce and criticize. They are a river of influences, moving with incredible fluidity, almost ephemeral, passing from swamp rock to semi-primordial blues, rock and roll, and that unmistakable soul touch. But it’s nothing new; already with Green River and Willy And The Poor Boys our beloved CCR had spoiled us too much. They were the baddest, the dirtiest, the rawest of that genre, and probably no one has ever matched them. To describe their hatred and dissent towards society, there was no need to be visionary and "literal" like Bob Dylan, nor to be psychedelic like the legendary flower children of Jefferson Airplane. They, in a simple, yet direct and somehow even prophetic way, managed to perfectly outline the dissent towards a world that was nothing but decay...

"Cosmo's Factory" is nothing but the most evolved branch of their music, where their essence is best described. It’s not only their best album, but it also rightfully enters among the best albums in the history of rock. The Creedence were that memorable band that made me re-evaluate southern rock, a genre I usually dismissed as pretentious and too simplistic. Understand me, I was and still am ignorant about music. But without any hesitation, the record starts with "Ramble Tamble", a prophetic race against time and the world, now devoid of real values. They are just watered-down values, lacking essence, simply "dirty water of mud". That acid riff, as direct as a jab, tears through the air, after about 2 minutes, the air becomes gloomier, the atmosphere of tension seems similar to that of the worst horror film, the acid guitar, "soothed" by the blues guitar, and the pounding drums, while those mournful piano notes try in every way to cleanse the world's filth, but it’s all in vain: the world is rotten, and the CCR know this very well, our independence no longer exists, the puppets in the White House have already taken it from us, we are just pawns in an ephemeral chessboard. This is simply a damned tirade, a prophecy, but what a prophecy, still current after 46 damn years. How many truths are hidden under this song. But it's just the beginning, eheheheh...

We move quickly to a quieter track, "Before You Accuse Me", a tormented love story, the man declares to the woman "before you accuse me, take a look at yourself". That phrase, well, it’s legendary, it can be seen in every single damn moment of our lives, both in our tortuous love stories (not in my case, I am a solitary being), but also when people are only capable of judging others, but not themselves, I myself make this terrible mistake, but alas, I can’t help it, to hide the crap that I am...

"Travellin Band", with a decidedly more rock and roll-focused rhythm, talks about the vicissitudes of a young man, who wants to play in a "travelling band", lightheartedly, but the call of the army looms over the world, and lashes out at everyone and everything, as no one will ever take him towards the right path. Just 2 minutes of pure rock and roll poetry...

Then it moves to a wonderful, albeit very simple rock and roll piece, "Ooby Dooby", which tries to call the listener to a moment of leisure, which unfortunately is missing, after all, it's always like this. At the moment when lightheartedness seems to have arrived, it vanishes suddenly, both in thriller films (think of the ending of "Vertigo"), and in life too. Happiness in simple things tends to vanish all at once...

"Lookin' Out My Back Door", with a slightly more country than rock and roll vibe, talks about a surreal, carefree situation, but this calm and tranquil atmosphere will soon vanish...

A real nightmare is about to arrive, "Run Through The Jungle", a real nightmare, it’s better to run through the jungle, says Fogerty, rather than live this nightmare. Better to lose oneself in a thick undefined cloud, rather than live in the terror of the world, a world worn out by practically unstoppable wars... The devil has given the order, "Fire at will", "Take aim", while the poor unfortunate, victim of a society that literally pisses in his face, is destined to succumb, inexorably.

"Up Around The Bend" seems to calm the dark rhythm of the previous track, but as the good Gun Club teaches, it's all an illusion, even this time. "Leave behind the sinking boat," shouts Fogerty, "go where the lights end"... Fogerty wants to urge the listener to abandon the frenzy of big cities, and retreat to the "woods", that is, in the more rural places of America, now forgotten due to the decay of values...

"My Baby Left Me", on the other hand, presents more melancholic connotations, telling the story of a man left by his woman, and in despair, he cries because he will not be able to see her anymore, because she left him without really explaining and without even "saying goodbye"...

Now we come to one of the most moving and graceful tracks of the Creedence's career: "Who'll Stop The Rain". Who will stop the rain? Who will stop the world's suffering? Who will stop the corruption? Men, in the face of rain, seek the sun, but will they find it? Will it eventually stop raining, or will it last forever? There are no answers, although it seems implied. There doesn’t seem to be a real solution to everything. The man who will stop the rain seems destined never to arrive, indeed, perhaps he doesn’t exist at all.

"I Heard It Through The Grapevine", a blues reinterpretation of Marvin Gaye's song of the same name, giving a very dark tone, almost absent in the original, with a theatrical and grotesque interpretation by His Majesty John Fogerty. In 11 minutes, one experiences a wonderful sensation, a mix of fear, unease, but also adrenaline, guaranteed by that very slow and pounding riff at the beginning.

Thus, we reach the end, what is probably, along with "Ramble Tamble", my favorite track by CCR, about 3 and a half minutes in which influences condense, giving the ideal and perfect ending to this immense masterpiece. It happened to me, one day, to listen to it again after months during a food fair in Mantua (Apulian specialties, but this is an unnecessary and superfluous detail) in a stall. I almost burst into tears. A real gem, ideal for closing this monumental 43-minute masterpiece. I’m talking about "Long As I Can See The Light", with that pounding drum, the sax taking a few seconds of velvety romance, while Fogerty delivers a monumental performance in this stratospheric ballad, a romantic, yet at the same time very, very dark story, about a man who leaves, and will return only when he can see the light. Who knows when he will see it. Probably never.

It was a very bloody boxing match, my first listen with the CCR, it knocked me down with uppercuts, jabs, and hooks, but I learned many lessons. Saviors, in this world, don’t exist; one must know how to live life, loving what is simple and direct, without asking too many questions, but also without really trying to be subdued by the world that hates us, even if in the end, in a pool of dirty water of mud, it’s better not to drink it...

I apologize to the debaser users, who I believe were outraged by the previous review, very provocative and stupid...