John Fogerty - Long Road Home Ult Fogerty Creedence Collection (25 tracks) +Album Reviews

Fogerty Through The Years

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 11/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Long Road Home is subtitled the ultimate John Fogerty Creedence Collection. While it is tough to make an appellation like that because someone's favorite tracks are always left out, this twenty-five song collection comes pretty darn close. Spanning Mr. Fogerty's almost forty year career the collection include his beloved CCR hits like "Proud Mary", "Born On The Bayou", "Green River", "Who'll Stop The Rain", "Down On The Corner" and two versions of "Fortunate Son" to his solo works like "Centerfield", "Old Man Down The Road", live versions of "Rockin' All Over The World" and "Almost Saturday Night" to the title track from last year's Deja Vu (All Over Again). The only complaint is that the collection relies heavily on his CCR work and that two of his solo albums, the overlooked Eye Of The Zombie and Blue Ridge Rangers are not represented at all and the two tracks from his self-titled 1975 album are recent live version not the original versions from the out of print album. Those are minor complaints about a truly first rate release that shows the greatness of one the best songwriters in rock history and a major influence on countless artists."

Great single disc collection of CCR/Fogerty classics

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 11/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although it's missing a few important tracks, "The Long Road Home" is a great single disc collection of JF's solo hits and CCR classics. Fogerty returned to work with Fantasy after the original owner Saul Zaentz (Fogerty felt that Zaentz cheated the band out of the royalities they deserved and was generally less than honest with them)sold the company. Interestingly, the live tracks concentrate on his CCR material for the most part ("Almost Saturday Night" was originally recorded for Fogerty's second solo album "John Fogerty" aka "Old Shep").

Regardless, there's a consistency to Fogerty's songwriting throughout his career and a return to the same themes much as Springsteen or Lennon returned to similar themes throughout their career. Sonically these have never sounded better on CD. I am disappointed that some of the singles that Fogerty recorded for Fantasy in an effort to fulfill his contract and tracks from the MIA third Fogerty solo album aren't included here as well (the third solo album original mastertapes were destroyed at Fogerty's direction but some solid sounding bootlegs have been floating around for years). That would make this a definite must buy for fans who have most of his material. Heck, even if they were offered in a limited edition two CD set fans would eat this up.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for a one-stop shop grab bag of great CCR titles, Fogerty solo songs and live tracks this is the CD to purchase. The tracks aren't arranged chronologically--which actually works pretty well and makes some of the more familiar material sound fresh again.

Like The Beatles' "1" this is far from comprehensive but has some of Fogerty's most important songs from throughout his career. You can argue about which tracks are missing (I've always loved "It Came Out of the Sky" with its biting satiric story of a farmer who makes a bundle off a crashed UFO but it wasn't a hit so probably doesn't qualify for inclusion) but it's hard to argue with the quality of the man's songwriting. Highly recommended."

INFINITELY BETTER THAN THE SUM OF THE HISTORY!

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 11/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fogerty is an icon who made records the old fashioned way: he earned the respect for the direct, no frills homage to rootsy rock and roll. In fact, he might rightly be credited with having inspired the roots renaissance.

This collection is so much more than just a culling of hits that those of us from a certain age, with thinning hair and expanding waistlines, mightremember. These songs still reverberate with an urgency and a directness that grunge, punk, and whatever else only vaguely understood. In the course of 3 minutes, Fogerty could capture everything from baseball's field of dreams to the political hypocrisy that sons of the wealthy still exploit. Anyone smell a US president here? Anyway, for someone from Bakersfield, California, Fogerty's heart, and certainly his soul, dwelled poetically and rhythmically in the Delta. Voodoo, Northern Mississippi blues and the earnestness of folks who called them as they saw them ring out in his lyrics. The music was always immediately recognizable, and instantlt infectious. Fogerty was brilliant all through his career.

There are some terrific live performances here that justify the CD all by themselves, and actually leave you wanting more. When is the last time you could say that about a Greatest Hits type of package? For my money, I'd have loved to see more from PENDULUM, but to Fogerty's credit, he has in fact picked the very best of what he stood for. Hopefully sales of this disc will encourage him to record again. He is an American classic, and this is an extraordinary resume."

Fogerty Comes Full Circle

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 11/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since I already owned everything on this career retrospective except the four live tracks from a July 2005 concert date, I figured I'd just pass. But when an area retailer discounted it to under nine dollars, I couldn't resist. Listening to these 25 tracks is a jaw-dropping experience. It illustrates in no uncertain terms why Fogerty was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this past summer.

CCR tracks like "Fortunate Son" have the same urgency today as they did 35 years ago. And "Deja Vu (All Over Again)" from last year's release shows that Fogerty hasn't lost his poignancy when it comes to crafting lyrics that strike a responsive chord with the working class.

But Fogerty also knows that rock 'n' roll is mostly about having fun, and that's exactly what songs like "Almost Saturday Night," "Travelin' Band," "Rambunctious Boy" and "Hot Rod Heart" are all about.

In a two-year period from February 1969 through February 1971, CCR not only had eight songs in the Top 10; each of those singles sold more than a million copies, making CCR the most successful American band in the history of pop music.

The compilers obviously chose to focus on Fogerty the composer as well as the performer. So you won't find CCR's million-selling rendition of Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q." You also won't find any of his covers from his first solo album THE BLUE RIDGE RANGERS.

However, the 24-page booklet with an essay by Billboard writer Jim Bessman includes some terrific photos and thorough track listing info.

While this collection could easily have been expanded to two discs, it's great to find Fogerty back on the label (Fantasy) that he began his career with back in 1968. And almost forty years later he's still an amazing live performer and releasing new music that maintains the high standards set by CCR. [Running Time - 77:02] VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"

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