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Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fifth album in 2 years!

Will Culp | Greenville, South Carolina | 08/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cosmo's Factory(1970). Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fifth Album.



In 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival released Cosmo's Factory, which, along with their previous records, easily reached the Top 5 on the charts riding on the success of Cosmo's Factory's singles, which included four Top Ten singles('Travelin' Band', 'Who'll Stop The Rain', 'Up Around The Bend', and 'Lookin' Out My Back Door'), showing 'Cosmo's Factory' was Creedence Clearwater Revival's biggest success. Creedence Clearwater Revival used John Fogerty's guitar mastery and sneering vocals, Stu Cook's catchy basslines, Doug Clifford's on-spot drumming, and Tom Fogerty's minor rhythm guitar playing to make one of the Late 60's-Early 70's greatest bands, blending influences of R&B, 50's Rock, Progressive Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, and of course, good old Rock 'N Roll! So, is 'Cosmo's Factory' an overblown album by an overrated band, or simply a masterpiece? Read on to find out!



Track Ratings-



Ramble Tamble- "Ramble Tamble" starts off 'Cosmo's Factory' with a rambling(No pun intended) country rocker, using Fogerty's snivelling vocals behind his guitar's western riff, which eventually develops into a Progressive guitar rocker, as CCR jams it out for over 7 minutes to create an excellent Prog/Country Rocker!



Before You Accuse Me- "Before You Accuse Me" echoes back to 50's Rock like Elvis or Buddy Holly, blending a catchy guitar riff with Fogerty's low monotone to make a good 50's rock song.



Travelin' Band- 'Travelin' Band' finds CCR going back to the 50's again, a fast-paced number, much like 'Suzie Q', that blends catchy vocals with Fogerty's spontaneous solos to create an awesome rocker.



Ooby Dooby- "Ooby Dooby" is a cover of the classic 50's rock band Sun's song, and it easily bests the original with Fogerty's addictive vocals and piercing acoustic guitar riffs. Short but sweet!



Lookin' Out My Back Door- "Lookin' Out My Back Door' became a huge hit, and the clever blend of Pop/Country Rock works well. Fogerty's vocals are the main focus here, with his exuberant singing stealing the show, but the pulsing guitar beat backs him up perfectly. A catchy, addictive rocker!



Run Through The Jungle- "Run Through The Jungle" turns out to be a catchy rocker, blending Fogerty's sarcastic vocals and bluesy/country riff along with short solos to create a hit that's worthy of its status!



Up Around The Bend- "Up Around The Bend" reminds me of Queen, as it sounds like Arena Rock, with a piercing electric guitar riff along with a focus on Fogerty's distinct vocals, not to mention the complementary solo! A short but sweet hit that won't fail to please!



My Baby Left Me- "My Baby Left Me" is another Sun cover, and CCR blends a catchy 50's style rocker, yet sadly it's barely over 2 minutes!



Who'll Stop The Rain- "Who'll Stop The Rain" takes influences from Country and Blues, and blends both genres with Fogerty's sugary sweet guitar riff and harmonic vocals to make a catchy hit single that rocks!



I Heard It Through The Grapevine- "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" is a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic, and CCR's subtle blend of R&B and Rock, not to mention the forever unforgettable bassline, plus Fogerty's insane guitar work(Most of this song is his jamming out solos, thus the 11 minute time limit) really makes "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" an excellent cover song, and the Progressive Rock aspect makes it better than the original!



Long As I Can See The Light- "Long As I Can See The Light" ends the album slowly, as Creedence Clearwater Revival blends touches of R&B to create a soulful ballad, not to mention an extended horn section!



Overall, 'Cosmo's Factory' definitely lived up to my expectations for Creedence Clearwater Revival, as I found their sheer originality and depth of music(Country, R&B, Soul, 50's Rock, 60's Rock, Progressive Rock), to place them along with The Beatles as one of the best popular bands of their time! From Classic Covers("I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Ooby Dooby", "My Baby Left Me"), 50's Rock Experiments(Travelin' Band' and 'Before You Accuse Me'), Prog Rock masterpieces("I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Ramble Tamble"), not to mention the Psychadelic/60's Rock hits("Lookin' Out My Back Door", "Run Through The Jungle", "Up Around The Bend",) and more, 'Cosmo's Factory' has a little something for everybody, and all the songs are classics in my eyes.



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO FANS OF ROCK IN GENERAL, COUNTRY, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVIVAL, THE BEATLES, AND MARVIN GAYE! 'COSMO'S FACTORY' IS MY INTRO TO CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, AND I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!



Killer Kuts- "Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Ramble Tamble", "Up Around The Bend", and "Who'll Stop The Rain".



Also Recommended-



The White Album- The Beatles

Elvis- Elvis

Bayou Country- Creedence Clearwater Revival



Thanks For Reading!

"

OWNAGE!

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 03/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I tried my best to swim against the tide that declared this Creedence's best album, sitting in the back and shouting "GREEN RIVER! YEAAAAAAAH!" But now it has to happen. After hearing it again and learning how much butt it kicks, I just have to give it a perfect score in spite of every reservation I have about this group (like how they never came up with an original idea). And it's all because of John Fogerty. He was such a good songwriter that he was still able to crank out an uberfantastic pop album that's more or less flawless, even if it brings absolutely nothing new to the table. There's a good reason why seven of these eleven songs are pretty much played every day on every radio station everywhere. And the other four are pretty good, too! I'll be different and discuss those "other four" first. The opening "Ramble Tamble" is one of Creedence's best longer tracks - it starts off as a good boogie-rocker, then spins off into a guitar solo with a shockingly modern tone. The solo never really develops, but I love that guitar tone so much I'm perfectly willing to sit back and let John play. Guitar tone counts for a lot, you know. The other three are just generic blues covers, but good ones. "Ooby Dooby", "Before You Accuse Me", and "My Baby Left Me", to be exact. "Ooby Dooby" has stupid "do-dance-craze-that-no-one-remembers" lyrics, and "My Baby Left Me" has the same melody as "That's All Right", but they're fun and exciting. "Before You Accuse Me", meanwhile, rocks all over the place and is probably my favorite of "what's left". And by "what's left", I mean "everything but the singles and `Ramble Tamble'". Now, for the singles, which you all know and love. "Up Around the Bend" has my favorite Creedence riff ever; "Travelin' Band" is the best Little Richard song not written by Little Richard; "Lookin' Out My Back Door" is a lighthearted country-folk ditty about getting really, really wasted; "Run Through the Jungle" is a terrifying war protest, arguably the group's hardest rocker and one of their greatest songs ever, because of the vocal melody, ominous production, the lyrics, and the cool guitar noise; "Who Will Stop the Rain?" is one of their finest forlorn ballads (rivaled only by that other one with "Rain" in its title, what was it called again? It's kind of a good song, whatever it is); "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" is one of their best cover ever (and I have yet to hear a bad version of that song! It's not possible to make one! Unless you're the Eagles covering it, of course), an eleven-minute jam-on-crack made up mainly of Fogerty's evil hoodoo guitar tone of awesome doom; and "Long As I Can See the Light" is an excellent soul song with a fine horn section and good singing. I know this is one of the most trite rock `n' roll cliches imaginable, but humor me for a minute: if you're gonna get one Creedence album other than Chronicle, pick this up without hesitation."