Search - Creedence Clearwater Revival :: Pendulum

This Digipak version of the record is VERY different than th

gbear | St Paul, MN | 11/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've always thought it odd that the album cover for the original vinyl release of this record showed the songs in a completely different order than they appear on the disc itself. The LP cover starts out with Chameleon, Molina, and It's Just A Thought. The actual record starts out with Pagen Baby, Sailor's Lament, and then Chameleon. A few times the tracks follow each other in the same order but not often.



I have the 20K bit CD of this album, and the songs follow each other in the same order as the original record, with Rude Awakening as the final track.



The new Digipak CD runs the tracks in the same order that they appear on the back cover photo, with an extended version of Hey Tonight as the final non-bonus track.



I wonder which one is John Fogerty's preferred version?



I actually like the 20K version a lot more because Creedence albums are so complete a listen in their original versions. Creedence albums, even when they were only 30 minutes long, had a start-to-finish vibe that really gets messed up by the bonus tracks, most of which seem to be recorded after Tom Fogerty quit. Digipac Pendulum does include one essential bonus track, 45 Revolutions Per Minute. Very whacked out.



The only other Digipac where the extra tracks add anything is their very first record with Susy Q, which has some ABSOLUTELY KILLER bonus tracks that really augment the album.



"

Starting to slip

B. E Jackson | Pennsylvania | 09/17/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pendulum shows a legendary band not *quite* on their A game. Given the circumstances however, that can easily be forgiven. CCR was on the verge of falling apart anyway.



"Born to Move" is my favorite song by far. I love that verse melody, and the organ jam that follows is *amazing* and thankfully lasts for a pretty good bit of time. I can't believe how good it is! "Pagan Baby" has some guitar soloing that borders on mindless, but who cares- it's played tastefully and melodically anyway. I wish the verse melody was better though- that *definitely* sounds mindless to me.



"Rude Awakening" is the bands idea of experimentation, and well, it definitely works for the first two minutes- I LOVE that guitar playing. Then it gets... atmospheric and weird, haha. I can't really explain what happens after the first two minutes, but I believe I hear muffled sounds of keyboards, saxophone and who knows what else. Interestingly enough, an actual melody comes in about one minute before the entire experimental pieces comes to a much needed close!



I've never been a huge fan of "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" and in all honesty, I tend to compare it to the superior "Who'll Stop the Rain?" from the bands previous album- Cosmo's Factory. An unfair comparison perhaps, because they're both two completely different songs, but I can't help it! Rain is rain!



"Hey Tonight" RULES. One of my all-time favorite verse melodies. "Wish I Could Hideaway" has a really sad introduction, and then Fogerty's vocals continue with the sadness vibe. I love this song actually- it's pretty, but it packs a *serious* emotional punch. Speaking of songs that make me feel like crying, "It's Just a Thought" is another major highlight. I simply love that vocal melody.



The album also contains some pretty short, energetic rockers in "Chameleon" and "Molina", two excellet songs.



So there you have it guys- CCR delivers with a halfway decent album here, but never returns to their true form ever again. An important part of musical history ended right here. I'll say more than half of this album is terrific actually, and it's worth owning. Cosmo's Factory and Green River are probably the bands best albums though."