John Fogerty
Revival

THE REVIEW

Once upon a time, there was a group named Creedence Clearwater Revival. They recorded seven albums in five years, from 1968 to 1972. They rightfully entered the history of rock both in the United States and worldwide. They had a leader named John. JOHN FOGERTY was the undisputed leader and the author of all the band's songs. Because of his despotic nature, he was viewed negatively by the rest of the band, including his brother who was part of it.

One day, Fogerty decided to give space in songwriting to the other members. They recorded an album titled "Mardi Gras". That was the end of the legend of CREEDENCE. The beginning of John Fogerty's solo career.

In these few lines, I wanted to summarize the legend of a band, from which American music from the '70s onwards owes a lot.

Fogerty's solo career has not been as prolific as that of his parent band. This album I am reviewing is only his seventh album in 36 years of solo career.

With "Revival," and the title may make it obvious, our yankee returns to certain sounds that made him immortal in the beautiful early years of his career. But it's a return that brilliantly unites the musical loves of his beginnings: rock'n'roll, rockabilly, country, blues, swamp, and gospel with a modern attitude that at times borders on punk aggression. Listen to "I can't take it no more" to believe it. After all, with a powerhouse like Kenny Aronoff behind the drums, he can afford it.

If with "Creedence song" he composes the perfect Creedence song complete with self-praise, with the country of "Broken Down Cowboy" and the rock'n'roll of "It ain't right", it's like going back forty years to when a certain way of doing country-rock was born.

The album can be easily divided into two parts: from track 1 to 5, it travels on country coordinates only to explode from track 6 into even sustained rock pieces like the final "Longshot", where it sounds like listening to AC/DC complete with a Hammond.

In short, from a sixty-four-year-old like Fogerty, an incredible proof of vitality, confirmed in live performances where he still hops around like a kid. This summer he should be passing through Italy for the second time in his career after the triumph last year in Milan. Not to be missed, as long as you ignore his temper. But are we interested in the music or not...?