John Fogerty

John Fogerty - The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again - 2009 - Verve

A very welcome new collection of some of the great John Fogerty's favorite classic songs. The album, which is the follow-up to 1973's Blue Ridge Rangers, includes covers of songs by John Prine, Buck Owens, John Denver, and Delaney & Bonnie, as well as John 's own Gospel blues "Change in the Weather." Rather than the "phantom" formation of the original Blue Ridge Rangers , (where john played all of the instruments), "Rides Again" features a star cast of players including The Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit, and Don Henley who harmonize on "Garden Party". Bruce Springsteen, duets with John Fogerty on the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved." This great album really highlights the huge influence that country and roots music have had on John Fogerty's career. John Fogerty has said, "The songs on The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again are mostly songs I have carried with me for a lifetime. They are songs that influenced me and helped form who I am as a musician and certainly as a songwriter. There is something very American about all these songs and the original arrangements and also their musical setting here, on this album. That musical place where these songs reside is where I go to create my own music." There is speculation that John Fogerty plans to put the Blue Ridge Rangers on the road again. It will be interesting to see if this ever materialises. N.B: The album also includes a DVD that features a “making of” feature as well as some early acoustic performances of the songs, and a trailer for the DVD Live from the Royal Albert Hall. There is info on the Creedence legend's "CMT Crossroads" album @ CMT Crossroads which also features country star, Keith Urban. Listen to John's "Deja Vu All Over Again ", and "Centerfield" albums, and if you haven't heard his brilliant "Blue Moon Swamp" album, try and find time to listen to it. CCR issued many albums, mostly excellent, but the band's "Cosmo's Factory" album is a xlassix album of rock,, soul, and R&B.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

"Paradise" (John Prine)
"Never Ending Song of Love" (Bonnie Bramett/Delaney Bramlett)
"Garden Party" (Rick Nelson)
"I Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)" (Buck Owens)
"Back Home Again" (John Denver)
"I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" (Ray Price/Rusty Gabbard)
"Change in the Weather" (John Fogerty)
"Moody River" (Gary Bruce)
"Heaven's Just a Sin Away" (Jerry Gillespie)
"Fallin' Fallin' Fallin'" (D. Deckleman/J. Guillot/J.D. Miller)
"Haunted House" (Robert L.Geddins)
"When Will I Be Loved" (Phil Everly)

MUSICIANS INCLUDE -

John Fogerty, Kenny Aronoff, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, Hunter Perrin, Jason Mowery, Chris Chaney, Jay Bellerose, Dennis Crouch, Jodie Kennedy, Herb Pedersen, Oren Waters, Bruce Springsteen, Timothy B. Schmit, and Don Henley

SHORT BIO

John Cameron Fogerty achieved fame as the lead singer/songwriter and guitarist in Creedence Clearwater Revival and has since gone on to a chart-topping solo career. Born in Berkeley, CA, Fogerty and his brother Tom organized the group that would become Creedence as the Golliwogs in the late '50s. As Creedence, they released nine Top Ten singles, all written by Fogerty, between 1969 and 1971, starting with the standard "Proud Mary." They also scored eight gold albums between 1968 and 1972, all fueled by Fogerty's simple, driving rock songs and his burly baritone, intoning deceptively poetic ("Bad Moon Rising") and even political ("Fortunate Son") lyrics. Creedence split up in 1972. Fogerty at first confused his considerable following by releasing an album of covers, on which he played all the instruments, under the name the Blue Ridge Rangers in 1973. This was followed by a formal solo album, John Fogerty, in 1975, and then silence for more than nine years while the artist worked out business problems with Creedence's old label. But Fogerty returned at the end of 1984 with a Top Ten single, "The Old Man Down the Road," and a number one album, Centerfield. Eye of the Zombie was a less successful follow-up in 1986. Following the failure of Eye of the Zombie, Fogerty went into seclusion. For the next 11 years he remained quiet, finally resurfacing in 1997 with Blue Moon Swamp; the live Premonition appeared just a year later. In 2005 he released the Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty/Creedence Collection and its accompanying DVD Long Road Home: In Concert, the first compilation of its kind to feature both CCR classics and Fogerty's solo work. After a number of concert appearances, Fogerty released Revival in 2007. © William Ruhlmann, allmusic.com