Search - Ccr :: Cosmo's Factory (Dig)

WHEN THE MUSIC STILL MATTERED

Crabby Apple Mick Lee | INDIANAPOLIS, IN USA | 04/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Given their legendary status today it is difficult to believe that Creedence Clearwater Revival was widely regarded as a rather "light weight" band in its time. Some of rock's more celebrated tastemakers even turned up their noses and pronounced Creedence Clearwater Revival a bubblegum act. "After all, what are their little pop songs compared with Jimi Hendrix? The Beatles? Jefferson Airplane?" As time has gone by, Creedence Clearwater Revival has stood with the best of them. Unfortunately, like most of the great 1960's rock bands, Creedence Clearwater Revival would not survive long into the next decade. The Beatles were no more by the spring of 1970. Hendrix would die in the Fall of the same year. Jim Morrison died in the early Summer of 1971. And Creedence Clearwater Revival disintegrated by 1972. In spite of the fact that for years all of the band members lurked in obscurity (John Fogerty deliberately so), with the release of their very first greatest hits compilation, Creedence Gold, their stature has only grown and their song catalogue has traveled well over the years. Unlike most, Creedence Clearwater Revival has been served very well by the various "best of" packages that have been issued over the years. So why bother with the original albums? Individual cases can be made for the others; but Cosmo Factory is one of the greatest rock albums made. With its kind of cheesy cover it is easy to misjudge Cosmos Factory as a piece of junk. But appearances are deceiving. Inside are eleven cuts which have burned their way into the modern American songbook. "Run Through The Jungle" and "Up Around The Bend" were put out over the radio as a pair and were the first songs the public heard off the album. The radio DJ at the time explained that the record company was trying to find out which song the public liked so that they could issue a single. As it turned out both were popular which aided the sales of the album itself. This started a cascade "hits" from Cosmos Factory-five from one album in all. The remaining six cuts began to have lives of their own on the fledgling FM album rock stations all over the country."Travelin' Band" was wildly popular. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" was so universally appealing that country music quickly adopted the song as one of its own. "Who'll Stop The Rain" became almost transcendental as 1970 saw one of the most terrible and traumatic periods of the Vietnam War. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" struck us as particularly cool running at over eleven minutes-revamped as it was into the swamp rock idiom. Even kids who weren't drawn to Motown loved the song."Ramble Tamble" was basically built around a single riff; but what a hell of a riff it is. We tend to regard "Before You Accuse Me". "Ooby Dooby" and "My Baby Left Me" as mere covers and album fillers. Long time listening, however, shows this assessment underestimates their appeal and warmth. Their use anticipated by a few years the revival of 1950's era rock in the 1970's. Finally, "Long As I Can See The Light" has grown to be a sentimental favorite although it has never been a "hit" on the popular charts or the FM play list.Cosmos Factory caught sense of the time. It looked back to the uneasy recent past, picking up what it could, and moved forward to a bright but uncharted and uncertain future. Looking back, no one could have told you what was to happen. The Vietnam War ended with nothing anyone on any side of the controversy could be proud of. Race relations went on to become more angry and bitter. The much-touted "Age Of Aquarius" was found to be an empty promise. Musically, the "Next Beatles" never came. Indeed, the music of the 1970's was a subject of deep disappointment at the time. (Although assessments for the music of that era have grown more positive.) It turns out that some of the surest footing into the "future to be" is found on this album. God bless ya, boys."

Seriously, flawless

Matt | 11/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have the CCR complete recordings box set--and while I wouldn't give up a single disc of it, this one is clearly the best album they ever made. I would put Cosmo's Factory next to Led IV, Abbey Road, London Calling, and Dark Side of the Moon--it's definitely on the short list of the MOST classic "classic rock" albums ever made. Most bands would be lucky to have a Greatest Hits album even approaching this quality.



Check out "Willy and the Poorboys" too; it's nearly as good, and it's quintessential Creedence."

Really Rocks

David L Hutchins | Mesa, AZ | 08/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For many years I was a classical music snob and didn't pay much attention to rock bands. CCR was probably one of the first really "rocking" band to win me over to rock and roll. This is undoubtedly their best album. I agree with one reviewer that the album cover was cheesy and didn't really reveal how good the contents were. If you can only own one CCR album, this should be the one. This is an essential for your collection. This is good music, even though "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" does get a little tedious before it ends. A little shorter version might have been a good idea."