John Fogerty Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years
John Fogerty's Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years arrives as a deliberate act of reclamation, a septuagenarian artist reasserting ownership over a catalog that helped define American rock. Across professional reviews, critics agree the record largely succeeds: Fogerty's voice retains a "powerfully soulful" grit, and reworkings such as “Up Around the Bend”, “Fortunate Son” and “Porterville” recapture the bracing immediacy and political bite that made the originals enduring.
The critical consensus, an 80/100 drawn from three professional reviews, frames the album as both faithful recreation and subtle reinvention. Reviewers consistently praise how tracks like “Born On The Bayou (John's Version)” and “Down On The Corner (John's Version)” preserve swamp-rock atmosphere while translating live intensity into studio clarity. Record Collector highlights “Porterville” as a rediscovered gem, PopMatters applauds the sustained fury of “Fortunate Son”, and Uncut notes vocal cues that anchor newer takes to the originals. Critics repeatedly emphasize the project's dual purpose: artistic restatement and legal reclamation of a historic catalogue.
Not all responses are unqualified. Some critics ask whether these versions surpass the pristine originals, pointing out that faithful revisitation can invite direct comparison. Still, reviewers agree Fogerty's vocal endurance and the record's careful arrangements make Legacy a meaningful document of legacy stewardship rather than a mere nostalgia exercise. For readers wondering whether Legacy is worth hearing, the consensus suggests it offers essential, often stirring perspectives on familiar songs while affirming why those songs remain vital.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Fortunate Son
1 mention
"its especially prescient on Fortunate Son"— Record Collector
Born On The Bayou (John's Version)
1 mention
"In “Born on the Bayou”, John Fogerty’s growling drawl and grungy guitar chords splash the canvas"— PopMatters
Porterville
1 mention
"Porterville was tucked away on Side Two of Creedence ’s eponymous 1968 LP"— Record Collector
its especially prescient on Fortunate Son
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Up Around The Bend (John's Version)
Who'll Stop The Rain (John's Version)
Proud Mary (John's Version)
Have You Ever Seen The Rain (John's Version)
Lookin' Out My Back Door (John's Version)
Born On The Bayou (John's Version)
Run Through The Jungle (John's Version)
Someday Never Comes (John's Version)
Porterville (John's Version)
Hey Tonight (John's Version)
Lodi (John's Version)
Wrote A Song For Everyone (John's Version)
Bootleg (John's Version)
Don't Look Now (John's Version)
Long As I Can See The Light (John's Version)
Down On The Corner (John's Version)
Bad Moon Rising (John's Version)
Travelin' Band (John's Version)
Green River (John's Version)
Fortunate Son (John's Version)
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In his characteristic, conversational way Marty Lipp celebrates John Fogerty's decision to re-record with purpose on Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, arguing that the best songs - “Up Around the Bend” and “Fortunate Son” - still land with the same bracing immediacy. He revels in Fogerty's unchanged, "powerfully soulful" voice and praises how remakes like “Born on the Bayou” and “Down on the Corner” preserve the swamp-rock atmosphere. The narrative frames these tracks as rightful heirs to the originals while noting the album's broader triumph: reclaiming ownership and reminding listeners why these songs mattered then and now.
Key Points
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The best songs, notably “Up Around the Bend” and “Fortunate Son”, succeed because Fogerty reproduces the original power and immediacy.
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The album's core strengths are faithful recreations, Fogerty's undiminished voice, and a reclaimed ownership narrative.
Re
Critic's Take
John Fogerty sounds, at 80, like a man reclaiming his history with relish on Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years, and the best songs here - “Porterville” and “Fortunate Son” - prove why. The reviewer's tone is affectionate and forensic, noting that “Porterville” was a tucked-away gem and that the fury in “Fortunate Son” still lands, vocally and politically. He praises the faithful replication of classics - the guitar solo on “Up Around The Bend”, the fretwork on “Proud Mary” - while flagging subtle, telling variations on the drone numbers. Overall, the album reads as a lovingly mixed, fan-reassuring greatest-hits set that nonetheless finds room to sharpen older material.
Key Points
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Porterville stands out because it resurfaces a tucked-away gem and ties into Creedence’s driving drone signature.
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The album’s core strength is its forensic faithfulness to original arrangements combined with a surprisingly undiminished vocal power.
Themes
Critic's Take
Michael Bonner writes with a keen, slightly sardonic relish that John Fogerty has mostly vindicated himself on Legacy: the Creedence Clearwater Revival years. He singles out “Lodi” as the track that makes a case for revisiting these songs, and he notes how “Bad Moon Rising” and “Travelin' Band” retain those telltale vocal cues that make the originals unforgettable. The tone is admiring but practical - Fogerty has reclaimed his songs and largely reproduces them with feral vigour, yet the reviewer questions why listeners would prefer these new versions to the pristine originals.
Key Points
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The best song is "Lodi" because Fogerty's age allows him to inhabit its weary narrator more convincingly.
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Legacy's core strength is its meticulous, faithful recreation of CCR's originals and the enduring power of the songs.