So why is Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Country on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
CCR’s “Proud Mary” makes me think about what the essence of “timeless” means when it comes to art. There’s something about the clean tone of the guitar, the vibe of the song loose and freewheeling and yet expertly crafted as rock solid tight. There’s something about John Fogerty’s vocal performance, the way he pronounces toyyyrnin’.
There’s something about the alchemy of the way all the parts fit into a seamless whole that feels effortless.
There’s all of that, but then there’s the personal aspect, the fact that I heard “Proud Mary” and Creedence Clearwater Revival at some point in my childhood growing up on Long Island, New York, and somehow that wonderfully compelling sound just locked in and became part of my musical DNA.
Which is all a roundabout way of saying that “Proud Mary” is a truly great song that sounds just as good today as it did when I was a kid, and almost certainly always will. And there’s timeless for you.
I’d be remiss, too, if I failed to mention that Ike and Tina Turner’s cover version of the song is a spectacular one.
“Born On The Bayou” is an all time road song for me. It helps if you’re rolling down an open freeway in the south, but really this is a great one to throw on anytime you can get up to a speed where turning the sound up and rolling the windows down feels like the right move.
“Penthouse Pauper” is a gem of a deep cut, kind of a Cream-esque blues rocker by way of the downhome country rock American south*.
* Which is hilarious of course because John Fogerty and the band hail from San Francisco’s east bay.
Also see: CCR’s self-titled Creedence Clearwater Revival: #532 of best 1,000 albums ever
Personal stuff that’s somehow related to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Country
My man Adam and I took a five-week road trip around the United States many years ago. I burned a bunch of my tuition loan money to fund the trip after dropping out of my first go at graduate school.
I think of the drive between Florida’s panhandle and Houston, Texas as real bayou country. And indeed there are stretches along the I-10 in Louisiana west of New Orleans and heading toward Texas where you really feel like you’re in swamp country.
We stayed in Beaumont, Texas at one point during the trip, at the home of the parents of an acquaintance of ours who we knew in New York City. It was an odd little visit, the details of which mostly escape me at this point. But the one distinctive memory I have about the experience is that the mother of our friend (who was home visiting family, and thus things synced up for us to stay at her parents’ house) told us that she had had a one-night stand with The Doors’ lead singer Jim Morrison back in the day.
Rock ‘n roll.
Some stats & info about Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Country Rock, Blues Rock, SF Bay Area Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5
- When was Bayou Country released? 1969
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #524 out of 1,000
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Country on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Country that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Left a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day, and I never lost one minute of sleeping, worrying ‘bout the way things might have been.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.