Let's choogle

Let's choogle

It was totally appropriate that John Fogerty’s first Japan show in 38 years opened with “Almost Saturday Night,” even though it might have been even more appropriate if Fogerty had played the song himself rather than a recording of it. One thing that may have been lost over the years in terms of the legacy that Creedence Clearwater Revival bequeathed to popular music is that CCR was first and foremost a dance band in the classic tradition. They were a group that played for working class people on the weekends. They were local entertainers. “Nice to see you,” Fogerty said when he finally came. “Let’s have some fun.”

And fun we had. Not so much because Fogerty played all his hits, but because those hits were written and performed with the idea of thrilling people rather than impressing or enlightening them (they eventually did that, too, but it was just gravy). Now that Fogerty is a national treasure who finally owns his publishing and can do whatever he pleases, he can afford a big band of studio slickers to take with him on the road. I mean, Kenny Aronoff? Doug Clifford may have been a limited drummer, but he did as he was told. Aronoff can’t help but draw attention to himself with that bald head, those muscleman arms, and that huge attack. In fact, the attack was overkill in general. Did Fogerty really need three extra guitarists? Much of the beauty of the original Creedence sound was its spare but efficient arrangements, which were all but lost in the wall of sound that came from the Green Stage.

But the songs stood, and while Fogerty looked every bit his sixty-plus years and sort of acted it, he’s grown into that incredible voice of his. The audience responded most warmly to the songs that seemed to capture a certain age and sensibility, especially the two “rain” songs, “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” Fogerty seemed genuinely touched that everyone sang along with the latter, perhaps unaware that a good number of Japanese pop artists have covered the song. The ovation for “Bad Moon Rising” and the fist-pumping affirmation of “Fortunate Son” proved people knew what they were about and approved wholeheartedly.

But the songs that really made this Saturday night were those for dancing. Is there a tougher, funkier Top 40 song by a white man than “Born on the Bayou”? Does the booty have a chance against the slippery back beat of “Green River”? Does that sudden syncopation break after the introduction to “Midnight Special”–a song Fogerty didn’t write but adapted to the dance hall perfectly–ever fail to upset your equilibrium? “Down on the Corner” is itself the ideal delivery device for the sentiment it presents: all you need to dance is the proper beat and frame of mind.

Fogerty’s age didn’t reduce his effectiveness in this regard, though his infamous corniness seemed to be enhanced. “Proud Mary” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” feel even more eye-rollingly obvious, and while his post-CCR song, “Centerfield,” proved he could still carry a tune in 1984, that tune’s baseball metaphor seems better suited to Jim Croce, though I fear the Japanese crowd failed to pick up on the new line, “Don’t forget Ichiro.”

And what was that baseball bat-shaped guitar? For sure, the guitar breakouts felt fresher than they had any right to be, and it’s easy to get the impression that the selection of songs were determined by jamming priorities. “Keep on Chooglin’” was a natural choice, but “Ramble Tamble,” one of CCR’s overlooked gems, was a brilliant surprise. (Bizarrely, a guy in back of me yelled out “Ramble Tamble” as a request and I thought to myself, “Yeah, sure,” but that was the next song Fogerty did). Giving the fiddle player some on “Big Train” was big of John but I would have prefered he used that time for “Suzie Q.” Now I’m being obvious.

photo: Kumazawa Izumi