Tag: John Fogerty


Dec
2017

Mojo Reviews Challenge #014 – Dave Edmunds – Chronicles (1994)

categories: Mojo Reviews Challenge, music

Dave Edmunds
Chronicles
1994 – Connoisseur Collection

Dave Edmunds has always been a bit of a Zelig like figure for me. He is associated with and hangs out with a lot of artists I love. But I have never explored his music.

I, of course, know two songs. Both were hits and written for Edmunds – Girls Talk by Elvis Costello and I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock N Roll) by Nick Lowe. He is scattered on various compilations (Live Stiffs, the Stiff Records box set, etc) I own, and guested on other records that I his name didn’t front.

I guess what kept me away from Edmunds was that he wasn’t a songwriter, and he didn’t have a special point of view. He just sang cool songs of others. Listening to this compilation, it is very compilation-y. This is a classic 90s best of where they just filled the disc to capacity.

This album is filled with familiar songs. They are all covers – John Fogerty’s Almost Saturday Night, the classical piece Sabre Dance (heard in lots of films) and more. The songs sound pretty good, Edmunds is a fine player and singer. I drift towards the less produced stuff like Crawling From The Wreckage.

In the end, I already had better versions of these songs. And for me, these songs are OK – they all seem to touch upon good time 50s rock n roll, which is not my favourite genre. It’s riff heavy, simple lyrics – I know people who love it, and they are the biggest Dave Edmunds fans I know. It is nice to have a great version of Girls Talk. The version of I Knew The Bride is fine.

After this, I’m not rushing out to buy a whole lot of Rockpile or Dave Edmunds albums. This pub rock era of British music was full of filler, and if this is the best, then I’ve heard it before. It ticks a box, solves a mystery. I’m sure he’s a blast live, he looks neat and has a good voice. His frequent collaborator Nick Lowe talks about Cruel To Be Kind (which Edmonds plays on), saying it was simply his turn to have a hit. Edmunds, he just kind of had a turn.

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Apr
2012

Continuous Hit Music: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

categories: Continuous Hit Music, music

Continuous Hit Music – a weekly exploration of vinyl finds in 2012. Read ‘em all here

Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Title: Cosmo’s Factory
Original Release: 1970
Label: Liberty
Store: Pigeon Ground, 102 Salisbury Road, Camperdown, Sydney
Price: $8
(Original AU pressing)

Pigeon Ground is a hidden treasure. It’s been there as long as I can remember. On this little road with no other shops around. This little shop that was rarely opened, that sold oldwares, second hand clothes and some records. They have a pretty big selection of secondhand stuff – focussing on soundtracks, fuck and soul. But plenty of pop rock too. They also have a new section, all imports, focussing on the beat records – be it Ramones or Gil Scott Heron. In short it’s a very cool store. I feel like a loser just walking in. I feel like I should own more film soundtracks or something.

A visit to Pigeon Ground is always an event. You’re never just ‘in the area’. It’s on the way to Newtown, so a quick stop isn’t hard. But there is no other reason to stop. You park on some odd suburban street and you make your way into the shop.

There’s always something to find at Pigeon Ground. I could walk away with half the shop. This week I decided I needed to stock up on my Creedence vinyl, having recently seen John Fogerty in concert. For $8, and in good condition, I was pretty happy to find Cosmo’s Factory.

Fogerty‘s recent Australian tour had a neat gimmick. Depending on your town, you got either Green River or Cosmo’s Factory in full. The Sydney show was Green River, which was great, because I love Green River. I hung off every note, and in order. Cosmo’s Factory though – that was a suprise for me. I’ve never really spent time with it as an album.

It’s one of the longest CCR albums. And it has lots of hits – 6 that charted here – including ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain‘, ‘Looking Out My Back Door‘, ‘Up Around the Bend‘ and more. Having spent more time with it, it’s pretty great. It’s rounded out by a number of solid rockers, a couple of cool covers and all the good things about a CCR album.

Hidden at the end of the record is one of Fogerty‘s best, and my second favourite Creedence song – ‘Long As I Can See the Light‘ (the first being ‘Wrote A Song For Everyone‘). A slow, soulful ballad that’s pitched at the very top of Fogerty‘s range, it’s a sombre end to a pretty good-time album.

This is an Australian pressing on Liberty Records. It has an excellent old ASSN Gold Record Award sticker on the bottom left. The artwork print is awful, but the record sounds pretty damn good.


Apr
2012

Random bits of writing around the web

categories: music

I’ve been doing a bit of writing for other blogs in the last couple of months. Now, you can enjoy them here.

A Rational Fear – Searching For My Favourite Bland…
A sort of rant talking about band names.

MAX – Live Review: John Fogerty
Just like it says on the box, on the website for the MAX channel.

The In Sound From Way Out – Cheer up Sleepy Jean and Goodbye Davy Jones
A personal goodbye to one of my faves.

The In Sound From Way Out – Nada Surf exclusive album stream – “The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy”
An introduction to the new Nada Surf album stream for EMI Australia’s blog.

The In Sound From Way Out – Blur at the Brit Awards
A quickly written piece after watching Blur at this year’s Brit Awards.