2009 release from the Rock legend and former leader of Creedence
Clearwater Revival. Thirty six years after the release of his
first solo album (Blue Ridge Rangers), Fogerty returns to his
Country roots with this album featuring guest appearances from
Bruce Springsteen and Don Henley. 12 tracks featuring Fogerty's
unique covers of 10 of his favorite songs plus two self-penned
tracks. Rather than the one-man-band affair of the original Blue
Ridge Rangers album, the new set features an all-star cast of
players including Kenny Aronoff, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, Hunter
Perrin, Jason Mowery, Chris Chaney, Jay Bellerose, Dennis Crouch,
Jodie Kennedy, Pedersen and Oren Waters.
About the Artist
----------------
What happens when one American legend takes on 12 American
classics? If that legend is John Fogerty, the simple answer is
musical magic. On The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, Fogerty
reinvents such treasures as the Everly Bros.' "When Will I Be
Loved" (a stunning duet with fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famer
Bruce Springsteen), Rick Nelson's "Garden Party" and John
Denver's "Back Home Again" with uncommon grace and unbridled
zest.
As longtime Fogerty fans will recall, the Blue Ridge Rangers made
their first appearance in 1973 when the Grammy® winner released
an album of classic covers (including "Jambalaya" and "She Still
Thinks I Care") under that moniker. The name was deceptive: the
Rangers were Fogerty and Fogerty alone. He played all the
instruments including drums.
The thought of revisiting the Blue Ridge Rangers as a vehicle to
create another set of beloved covers has never been far from
Fogerty's mind. "I thought about it at least once a month," he
says. "I told myself if I ever get to do this again, I'm going to
have real guys playing; I'd find the best guys I could and have
fun and so that's what happened this time."
Indeed, on The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, Fogerty surrounds
himself with such top-flight musicians as Buddy Miller (guitar),
Greg Leisz (pedal and lap steel, mandolin and dobro), Jason
Mowery (fiddle, mandolin and dobro) and Kenny Aronoff (drums).
They circle and entwine each other in joyous musical call and
responses (complete with hooting and hollering), weaving in and
out of each song. Call it a country record if you must, but it's
really the sound of America. And the sound of Fogerty: real
instruments, real talent. No artifice.
Fogerty, who arranged and produced the set, encouraged his fellow
musicians to bring their own ideas to the songs. The album's
great live feel comes from the fact that the basic tracks were
recorded in three or four takes over a seven-day period. Then,
the players hung out in the studio during each other's overdubs,
egging on their compatriots. "It seemed to be a very rewarding
way to make music," Fogerty says. "I really believed in the songs
and the vibe. There was not really a preconceived notion. There
[was] an openness, but the thing has to ring true to how I feel."
Nowhere is that openness more evident than on 1964's "Haunted
House." Fogerty & Co. take what many considered a novelty song
made famous by Jumpin' Gene Simmons about an alien and turn it
into a full-on rave-up. "It was my idea that I wanted it to
basically be a country jam," he says. "It was a vehicle to have
the musicians trade verses. This was important to me; to hear
that fun."
And therein lies another key to the album's unforced grace. When
cover songs, it may be tempting to labor over whether
to remain faithful to the original or to morph the song into a
new creation, Fogerty dided any such worries and simply went
with his gut. "If when I get done with a particular song and I
don't have any more questions, I'm pretty sure it's done," he
plainly says.
While it may seem odd this member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
and author of such iconic tunes as "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon
Rising," "Born on the Bayou," "Fortunate Son" and "Who'll Stop
the Rain," would turn to tunes penned by others, remember that he
is also a great lover of music. (The lone Fogerty composition on
the set is the swampy "Change in the Weather," originally on
1986's Eye of the Zombie.)
Many of the songs have been Fogerty favorites for decades and
have, as he puts it, "become part of my ." Some selections,
such as "When Will I Be Loved" and "Moody River," go back to his
adolescence. Many, such as John Prine's "Paradise" and John
Denver's "Back Home Again," are from revered contemporaries. "I
Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)" is a salute to one of
his musical heroes, Buck Owens, and his groundbreaking guitarist
and Buckaroos' leader Don Rich.
Others were last minute additions. Miller brought "Fallin',
Fallin', Fallin'" to Fogerty's attention while the band was in
the studio in Los Angeles. "I'm not sure if I've ever heard that
one before," Fogerty says, "but it was delightful and was a good
vehicle to bring the band together with that sort of western
swing."
The criterion for inclusion on the album was a deceptively simple
one: "If I'm allowed to just get up with a bunch of people in a
country bar somewhere, these are the songs I'll do," Fogerty
says. "There was some talk in the beginning about having some
[theme]; personally, I wasn't buying into that. To me, the common
thread is really about presenting a certain feeling about music."
Otherwise, he says, the pressure of fitting tunes into a
preselected theme weighs down the process "like ing balls in
your knapsack."
The song most likely to surprise listeners is a remake of Pat
Boone's last No. 1 in 1961, the unlikely murder ballad "Moody
River." "I can imagine Pete Seeger singing it. There are so many
things to sink your teeth into," Fogerty says. "By the way, Pat
sings his butt off. I think our version is far more eerie
sounding than Pat was allowed to do.
"Garden Party," a song by another former teen idol, holds special
significance for Fogerty, who inducted Nelson, who died in 1985,
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Like Nelson, Fogerty
has remained true to himself and his music, even when doing so
was extremely painful. "I'm the guy who didn't sing his own songs
for 25 years because, basically, those songs had been taken away
from me and also used in ways I really disagreed with," Fogerty
says, referring to his decades-long battle with Saul Zaentz over
his publishing. "Therefore, I could really identify with a guy
saying, 'If memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck.'"
The Eagles' Don Henley, a fan of the first Blue Ridge Rangers
album, and Timothy B. Schmit provide sumptuous harmonies on
"Garden Party." "The Eagles were born to sing those parts,"
Fogerty says. "We were all fans."
The most personal song for Fogerty is Denver's "Back Home Again."
The message of returning to a loved one's arms after a journey
"involves [my wife] Julie and my emotions towards her," he says.
Plus, he's a tremendous Denver fan. Fogerty vividly recalls
halting an interview during the 1985's Farm Aid to hear Denver
perform. However, Denver's angelic voice haunted him when he
thought about cutting the track: that is until Julie convinced
him to try. "I thought I didn't have a prayer of doing it
justice, but Julie really kept insisting; she kept empowering me
and enabling me.I was terrified of it. I don't sound like John
Denver. Somehow I found another way to sound alright."
The album closes with Fogerty and Springsteen's yearning take on
"When Will I Be Loved," marking the first time the two legends
and longtime admirers of each other have recorded together.
"I've wanted to do something with Bruce forever, probably 20-some
odd years," Fogerty says of his tour mate on the Vote for Change
outing. Fogerty traveled to Springsteen's New Jersey home to
record the Boss's part. "The hardest part was it was in a very
high range for Bruce's voice, but he got it done. He didn't
complain; he didn't wimp out. It sounds great. It was remarkable
how much of a chance he would take."
But in the end, as Fogerty notes, whether he was with
Springsteen or the Eagles or with the band, when it came to
making The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, "I just sing my own
style." And no one does that better than John Fogerty.