Review Summary: Bayou Country is a record that saw CCR cutting their teeth; falling head-first into the sound that came to define them.
In hindsight, I was a fairly normal child in all respects except for my taste in music. While my friends were riding the last great gasp of the grunge wave, I was lost in the sixties and seventies—blasting tunes from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Jimi Hendrix. I stumbled upon Creedence Clearwater Revival during my last year of Little League. CCR became my soundtrack for my yard maintenance duties. I had Creedence tapes for days; I was able to amass the bands entire discography; I lovingly made tapes and blasted the greatness through my Sony Walkman.
I knew it then and still know it today; CCR was a different animal. In a time of psychedelic mind expansion, and gnarly jams sometimes spanning hours, CCR took it back to the small towns and to the Swamps. They played a stripped-down, simple brand of blues based country rock, and they were magnificent. They gave a soundtrack to America’s common man. The band gave me anthems that seemed to speak for me (a southern boy) when I couldn’t find the words in my pubescent glory (and misery).
CCR is one of those bands to me—like my first job of mowing the lawn. I look back on it (and them) with reverence and not even time can taint the splendor of that memory. In the same way they defined a period in history, the late sixties and early seventies; they used their voice to protest the Vietnam war, while telling the stories of the common man, the average-everyday Americans that make this country unique, and make this country great.
Bayou Country is a record that saw CCR cutting their teeth; falling head-first into the sound that came to define them. It was earthy, it was bluesy, it was a little bit country, and it was a lot rock ‘n roll. The record starts with what has become a southern anthem, ‘Born on the Bayou,’ and just gets better from there. ‘Graveyard Train,’ is a slower, cerebral scorcher. The band locks into a great groove, and then they wale, and stretch it for eight-and-a-half minutes. ‘Keep on Chooglin’ is another highlight for me. It’s another long track; but it’s simple groove allows the great guitar work and lyrics to dance around the melody for a nice groove. The album is well put together in the classic sense. It has a nice common theme pervading the entire album, but the tracks stand on their own too. The band does some nice covers, ‘Good Golly Miss Molly,’ and ‘Proud Mary.’ Most would consider these low points of the album, but the band makes them their own without straying too far from the things that gave the originals credibility.Â*
This record, Bayou Country, would be a fantastic place to start for any listener. And the meat of their career, their first five records, all have their places amongst the finest rock ’n roll records ever recorded; remaining as relevant today as they did then. You know, those sounds from those bands, like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones that seem to belong here, they remain as relevant today as they day and times that they were recorded.
So I urge all, whether a music aficionado, aspiring enthusiast, or simply someone who enjoys good music from time-to-time, get out their and check out this record, or any of CCR’s first five, and fall in love (like I did) with perhaps the world’s most American band.
