John Fogerty: Premonition

Last year's Blue Moon Swamp was John Fogerty's first new release in years, but while the album was a more-than-passable effort from the former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman, it didn't do much (belated Grammy aside) to boost his profile. As many pop-culture pundits have noted, you only get one comeback, and Fogerty apparently used his up long ago. What raised the eyebrows of longtime fans and critics, though, was his ensuing tour, which found Fogerty finally trotting out the CCR hits that have been tied up in one of the most protracted legal battles in music history. Furthermore, for a fortysomething guy, Fogerty's voice had hardly changed since his days in one of the most respected rock groups ever. Backed with a talented band that included powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, Fogerty blew away everything in his path. Premonition documents one night of that tour, taped for a VH1 special and companion video, and though the album is really just an excuse for a series of return engagements, it's still nice to have a souvenir. Predictably, the emphasis is on CCR classics like "Proud Mary," "Fortunate Son," and "Who'll Stop The Rain," though Fogerty does play several of his solo-era songs (including "The Old Man Down The Road," the track that sparked a ridiculous lawsuit accusing Fogerty of plagiarizing himself). Twenty-five years after Creedence disbanded, the mystique of Fogerty's songs has yet to fade, even if his countless hits are rarely accorded the same value as those of The Beatles and Rolling Stones. Perhaps this is because Fogerty's music feels rooted in the folk tradition of Woody Guthrie and other great protest singers, whereas The Beatles and Stones were always pop stars first and foremost. Like that infamous lawsuit implied, Fogerty's songs all have an air of canonical familiarity to them, like he discovered them in some old Smithsonian collection. For those who follow Fogerty's career, Premonition may seem a little redundant, but it's great to hear one of America's finest songwriters belting out his soul.