Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival [Time Life]

For a group that was essentially inactive from 1972 on, Creedence Clearwater Revival had more than their share of sales revivals, mostly courtesy of Fantasy Records' periodic reissues and their attendant marketing campaigns, most notably with Chronicle (1976) and its follow-up, Chronicle, Vol. 2 (1986), and the various re-compilations and assembly of albums (plus the release of The Concert) between and around them. But Time Life also got into the act during the late '90s, and showed that even though they were limited to what Fantasy would let them have under license, they could do a better -- or, at least, a more interesting -- job. The 23 songs on this single CD/double-LP package are drawn equally from singles and notable album tracks, with the result that one gets a much fuller picture of the group's overall output than one would by listening to either volume of Chronicle -- in addition to obvious single touchstones such as "Proud Mary" and "Bad Moon Rising," listeners also get more daring, subtle, and complex album cuts like "It Came Out of the Sky" and "Cross-Tie Walker." The sound is very good as well, Time Life being as much a stickler as Rhino Records for getting access to first-generation masters and making the most of them with whatever technology happens to be available at that moment in history -- though in honesty, the 20-bit K2 remasterings issued by Fantasy more than a decade later do run circles around the sound on this or any other older compilation. In terms of content, however, this is a very handy compilation of their best work in both idioms, single and long-play, and a great way to start listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival or skim over their most enduring music, assuming one wishes to do that rather than just plunge into it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Name Credits Charles McCardell Executive Producer Don Sheldon Creative Director Doug Clifford Drums George Horn Engineer Joe Sasfy Series Consultant John Fogerty Guitar, Vocals, Arranger, Producer Karen Hill Production Coordination Robert Hull Associate Producer Stu Cook Bass Tom Fogerty Guitar (Rhythm)