LEGACY: THE CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL YEARS John Fogerty (Concord) *****
This was decades in the making. The title means what you think it does as Fogerty, with his sons Shane and Tyler, faithfully re-recorded the 20 CCR classics that make up Legacy in John’s home studio. The arrangements are identical to the originals. He’s shaken off a poisoned past to embrace and perform these songs with love and enthusiasm, thanks mainly to his wife Julie.
At the dawn of the 70’s I was coming into my own as a rock & roll fan. CCR’s Green River is the first record I remember buying but still, when I heard Fogerty had ‘pulled a Taylor Swift’ and re-recorded his own stuff, I was skeptical. Several articles later (including one in People) convinced me to take a shot and boy I’m glad I did. Fogerty’s legal troubles in regard to his old band are legendary and easily researched; a strict contract with their label Fantasy Record and label chief Saul Zaentz bound him to the company for years and gave the label control over his publishing rights, meaning he didn’t own those classic songs he wrote. John even gave away the Rickenbacker guitar he wrote and played those songs on to help distance himself from painful memories. As we all know, he refused to play any CCR songs for years.
Julie did two things to make Legacy possible. She went to work tracking down that legendary guitar, putting it under the Christmas tree for him. Acting as his manager, she engineered a deal that allowed John to purchase the CCR catalog so for the first time in his life, he actually owned the songs that helped define a vital era of rock & roll and the album became a chance to share his legacy directly with his sons. “(Legacy) was at my son Shane’s insistence” John says. “He played some guitar licks, and it was wonderful to teach him how they went. It’s dad passing on the musical baton. It feels great.”
Warm fuzzies aside the important question is how do the songs on Legacy stack up against the classic originals? Quite well. Arrangements and performances feel nearly identical and although John is no longer an angry young man in his 20’s (he just turned 80 in May) and as he sings them today, that distinctive voice still works quite well. I became a CCR fan in 1970, still am today, and find this album to be excellent- that should tell you something. All of your faves may not be among these 20 tracks, so here’s to hoping for Legacy II.
HOT TRACKS: Born On The Bayou, Proud Mary, Hey Tonight, Green River
SEE IT THROUGH Scott McDonald (Bongo Boy Records) ****++
What we have here is some seriously excellent rock & roll. Urgent, heartfelt and topical, the songs on See It Through bristle with rock & roll excitement. As soon as I heard the first single Wave, I knew I had to hear the rest. Some albums lift you up and put you in a great mood when you put them on, See It Through is exactly that kind of record.
See It Through, spectacularly well produced by McDonald and co-produced by Brian J. Anthony, reminds me of bands like Honeymoon Suite with an identifiable sound plus riffs and hooks that stay with you. Scott is an excellent singer with sonic and emotional range but, as the Spotify summary notes, the main attraction is his songwriting. Over frankly irresistible musical beds you’ll find songs that embrace the realities of today’s world, themes of perseverance, self-discovery and hope chief among them. The music feels good and McDonald’s lyrics back that up. Of that single Wave, one review calls it “built on hooks, dynamics and emotional honesty”, which really describes the entire disc. Scott McDonald is swinging for the fences on this one, and it’s headed over the centerfield fence.
Scott McDonald calls Lehigh Valley home which makes me think Pennsylvania must have quite the rock scene. See It Through was recorded in that state at Brian J. Anthony’s studio and I can only imagine the place was positively crackling with creative energy and mojo, what the aforementioned Spotify note says was “a combination of high end equipment and an inspired atmosphere (that) led to an album that pulses with energy and emotion.” True that. Lots of high test rock & roll on See It Through, what I’d call a ‘superior highway album’, but when he gears down for the mid-tempo ballad One Mistake I Can’t Repeat you’re still engaged.
Final verdict? See It Through is excellent, major league rock & roll. Go to Spotify right now and look this album up; I’m not kidding.
HOT TRACKS: Wave, One Mistake I Can’t Repeat, See It Through
SELLIN’ JELLY The Vaudevillian (Bandcamp) ***
The album title and the name of the band are a pretty good indication of what you can expect here. This is straight up jugband blues, and The Vaudevillian is the perfect name for this inventive duo and the risqué songs that populate Sellin’ Jelly. Not everyone is into this kind of stuff but if you’re looking for a good time, this duo will show you the way.
Listening to this album is like time traveling back to the thirties, with Sellin’ Jelly sounding and feeling like to the soundtrack to some early grainy black and white movie, the ones where everyone is walking too fast, all the men wearing their white boater hats while the ladies in ornate gowns hold parasols to shade themselves from the sun. I’ve listened to Maria Muldaur’s jugband albums in recent years, but The Vaudevillian take it a step or three further down that country lane. Norah and James hail from Ontario and the music has a basic, primitive charm that will appeal to anyone with a fondness for that era. Other than their voices you’ll hear banjo, resonator guitar, washboard, kazoo and spoons and folks having a grand ol’ time.
The Vaudevillian are favorites on festival stages and it’s no wonder; just listening to Sellin’ Jelly is conducive to smiles, laughs and the tapping of the foot. Norah and James are clearly having a grand time and that can’t help but rub off on whoever might be listening in. As for the character of the album, on their Facebook page they say “we loved creating this dirty 30’s record, with blush inducing numbers to make you laugh and squeak with delight!” That much is obvious with song titles like Your Biscuits Are Plenty Big Enough For Me, Dead Man Rise and My Girl’s Pussy. Double entendre maybe, but we know what they’re really thinking, don’t we…
The appeal for music like this is narrow- you’ll either get it and like it, or not… but I applaud them for not going for the lowest common denominator. They’re following their muse and whether or not old fashioned jugband music is your thing, that’s enough to call Sellin’ Jelly a win. Check it out on Bandcamp.
https://www.facebook.com/thevaudevillianmusic
HOT TRACKS: Play With Your Yoyo, Dead Man Rise, Grind So Fine
OUR TIME TO RIDE Chamnbers DesLauriers (Forty Below Records) *****
The husband and wife team of Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers have released a powerful, soulful new record. Driven by Annika’s earth-shaking voice and Paul’s dynamic guitar playing, Our Time To Ride is an exciting trip- a stirring mix of blues, soul and rock & roll..
As Blues In Britain observed, “Chambers DesLauriers have delivered a fabulous album- all winner but no fillers.” Our Time To Ride was recorded in Montreal by Grammy-nominated producer Eric Corne (John Mayall, Sugaray Rayford, Joe Louis Walker) and rounding out their sound is the band’s touring rhythm section of Gary Davenport (bass) and Sly Coulombe (drums). Keyboards were handled by Sasha Smith and Jesse O’Brien, horns by Mark Pender and David Ralicke, with background vocals from Nicoya Polar and Corne. So that’s the technical stuff.
The important for Our Time To Ride or with anybody’s record for that matter, is how does it sound? How does it feel? How does it hit you? I don’t know that you’re going to find an album with more soul and heart than this one, that’s for sure. As Ms. Chambers belts it out it’s hardly surprising to learn that she began singing in the southern Baptist church as a child. As for Paul he’s a multiple Maple Blues Award winner in addition to placing 2nd at the 32nd Annual Memphis Blues Challenge. This is a soulful, powerful piece of work that highlights outstanding performances from Annika and Paul time and time again, who play off of each other in a very powerful and beautiful way- the passion of his guitar playing matching his wife’s amazing voice.
Perhaps Maple Leaf News put it best when they observed this band “is like a freight train. It is certainly an apt metaphor for what this group is doing now.” Our Time To Ride is an explosive record filled to the nuts with knockout performances and grooves you can ride all day long. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve heard it some time.
HOT TRACKS: Love You Just The Same, In The Heart Of The Night, Temperature of One-O-Nine
