"If I only had a dollar, for every song I've sung..."
Written: Feb 16 '07 (Updated Feb 19 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Travelin' Band...Fortunate Son...and almost all songs in between
Cons: ...not much.
The Bottom Line: This is essential for Fogerty fans. For the rest of the rock and roll world, it's highly recommended.
|
|
|
| joshg2fl's Full Review: John Fogerty - The Long Road Home In Concert |
“What I’m about is playin’ rock and roll….so let’s get to it.” – John Fogerty
September 15, 2005. John Fogerty takes the stage of the Wiltern Theater swinging with both fists. Fogerty holds nothing back as he begins with perhaps his most hard-rocking track, Travelin’ Band…the song is faster and harder than my Creedence Chronicle CD ever implied it could be. John continues his good rocking with Green River…he even tacks on a short jam session to make the fun last a little longer.
I’m watching John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame playing a show that supports his The Long Road Home greatest hits album. (I’ve found little to substantiate this, but I have a hunch that “the long road home” refers to the reuniting of John Fogerty with his original record label, Fantasy Records.) I’m not watching a Creedence show, but I can’t say I’m complaining. John has lined up some excellent musicians for the night. In particular, drummer John Molo really adds an extra layer of power to the songs…as does Bob Britt’s guitar work. The DVD sounds great and has been edited well…there’s about 100 different camera angles, which are non-distracting about 95% of the time.
Back to the show, though. John moves to acoustic guitar for Who’ll Stop the Rain. Each track in typical CCR fashion moves along quickly. Fogerty’s songs are short…and, this isn’t an official complaint, because there’s nothing wrong with a short rock and roll radio hit. But, in concert the songs seem to go by too quick…
After the three song CCR prelude ends, the show takes on a different tone as Fogerty relaxes into one of his solo songs, Blue Moon Night. The song feels less rushed than the previous three, as though John is taking it easy by playing a non-Greatest Hits track. Sort of like…the greatest hits stuff is for the crowd, but this moment of expressing more recent music is for him.
The in-between song dialog isn’t always pretty. But, it doesn’t really matter what John says, because as soon as the Creedence intros hit, you realize you’re watching rock and roll personified. Fogerty is of the caliber of Elvis, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash. Any nay-sayers deserve big red ‘redo’s written across the top of their papers. Listen to a song like Lodi or Looking out my Back Door. These are ‘hits’ of a different caliber. They’re truly classic songs that need no re-interpretation. They’re as strong today as they were 25 years ago…they have a timeless quality that must be the sign of some sort of genius and/or exceptionally good luck.
Fogerty jumps into Hot Rod Heart by having the crowd count the song off. Again, he seems to enjoy the non-Creedence Chronicle Volume One material in a special way. The songs may not be as well known as his classic hits, but the spirit and sweat he puts into them makes you enjoy the less familiar songs to a level that is equal to the classics. A song like Rambunctious Boy reminds you that although Fogerty hasn’t had any radio hits lately, he’s still been making great Delta-Bayou-influenced, country, rock and roll songs.
After a little hurricane discussion Fogerty rolls his way into Born on the Bayou. …feel free at this point to throw out any subtle implications that I’ve made that he’s not into the old stuff as much as the newer stuff. He belts out Born on the Bayou like he’s playing it for the first time. …and, he may be playing it live for one of the first times since Katrina.
By the way, a funny thing has slowly happened by this point in the show. John seems a little more laid back…maybe the nerves have dissipated into the rock and roll…he seems like he’s into the spirit of the show and although the next song Bootleg doesn’t carry as high of an energy level (except when those acoustic guitars jam out), it doesn’t matter, because Run Through the Jungle is ready to make it’s way into the setlist. It starts out dark, creepy, sultry… just like a spooky night in the marshy jungles of Louisiana…everything it should be. It would have been nice if he would have stayed with that patient vibe, but he speeds it up just a hair for my taste.
One of the highlights of the night is watching John and his acoustic guitar play Deja Vu (All Over Again). It’s has a special feel, because it seems like something bigger than a rock concert is going on….a message is being stated which continues on into a somber Have You Ever Seen the Rain?. The war-trilogy finishes up with bluesy Tombstone Shadow.
He begins Keep on Chooglin’ with a guitar solo that would not sound out of place at a Van Halan concert. I’m not sure what the song’s about, but John has a fun time jamming out to it. It’s also the perfect lead-in to Sweet Hitchhiker. The show begins increasing its energy level. John and his band have no intentions of letting up until the show’s end. Hey Tonight…Down on the Corner...Centerfield (which he plays with a baseball bat shaped guitar)…Up Around the Bend…the only breathers come as he changes guitars.
There’s an extended jam for The Old Man Down the Road, and then John summons all his rock and roll powers and lets loose with Fortunate Son. The drums, guitar, bass…everything pulse itself together for one last jolt of furry that blasts away the first 10 rows.
The band leaves the stage and comes back for the encore. After the intensity of Fortunate Son, Bad Moon Rising seems like slow dancing material. It’s good though. John, his band, and the crowd are in that perfect end-of-the-show state where nothing can go wrong. Rockin’ All Over the World seems to be a fitting close to the show…although, he has one song left…Proud Mary.
John takes his time before Proud Mary. He shakes hands with the crowd, sips a beverage, says some thank yous and then finishes off the night in perfect CCR fashion. There’s nothing to complain about here, except maybe a little more accent with “Big wheel keep on touwnin’ / Proud Mary keep on bouwnin’”…I guess no show is perfect.
…and, even though no show is perfect, for Fogerty fans, this DVD is pretty close. It offers tangible proof that Fogerty’s bayou-tinged rock-n-roll is an essential slice of rock history. By the looks of the crowd at this concert I may be a youngster in the Fogerty-fan demographic. However, while watching the show I never once thought, “I wish I could have seen him back in the CCR days”. I think that speaks highly of the relevancy of Fogerty’s current music. It’s not strictly a greatest hits show. The songs and their interpretations have a current feel that leaves me satisfied, not wishing for a time machine to the early 70s.
The Long Road Home is a DVD that will fit well into the library of any fan of good rock and roll music. I’m not sure it will go down in history as essential rock and roll footage…there’s probably not enough of a legendary story behind it. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good document to the fact that Fogerty can still rock with the best of them. If you’re searching for a visual Fogerty fix, you aren’t going to go wrong with The Long Road Home.
----------
This DVD contains one extra. It's a music video of Deja Vu (All Over Again) that shows Vietnam clips while the live track plays. It's worth watching, but I think it's safe to say that the Special Features are slim on this one.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
joshg2fl
|
|
Location: Kenosha, WI
Reviews written: 111
Trusted by: 39 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.