Creedence Clearwater Revival – Mardi Gras

Awesome production, mixed with TERRIBLE songwriting. Fogerty's songs are weak save for "Someday Never Comes", Doug's songs are just plain stupid except for "Need Someone to Hold", and Stu's songs are beyond hopeless.

There is literally no reason to listen to this album unless you hate yourself that much.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - “Mardi Gras” on Fantasy

Whenever I’m asked that dreadfully impossible to answer question- “who is your favorite rock band?” - the answer always seems to come out the same: CCR. While many people I know grew up with a musical backdrop supplied by mainstays like the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or maybe Led Zeppelin, those bands meant nothing to me in my youth. But Creedence, that’s another story... Their music was always there, as far back as I can remember. The local oldies station I grew up on seemed to play a CCR song just about every hour, and the band had so many hits, they were able to keep a rotation that never seemed to stagnate. To me CCR still represents something pure, an apex of songwriting and musicianship, unhindered by overly flashy technical playing and devoid of flower power production values. No bones about it, this was just straight up good ole rock n roll. Catchy as hell refrains riding swampy grooves, deceptively simple in its approach, this is timeless music.

I love every album in CCR’s catalog, and even the pre-CCR material they recorded as the Golliwogs. While there is no shortage of accolades from both casual and hardcore fans for the group’s amazing 5 LP stretch that started with 1968’s self-titled album and journeyed through 1970’s “Cosmo’s Factory”, it seems that their last two studio releases, “Pendulum” and “Mardi Gras”, don’t get the love they deserve. Anyone listening to either of those records with fresh ears has to be left wondering why this is the case. Perhaps the bar was set so high by their previous success that anything would have left the public wanting. It’s also the case that internal struggles within the band certainly created an audible shift in the group’s sound, and although the music was still of a high caliber, it may have dodged record buyers’ expectations as to what exactly a CCR record was supposed to sound like. This is particularly true in the case of 1972’s swan song “Mardi Gras”.

By most accounts, John Fogerty was a bit of a tyrant and held the keys to the castle close to his vest during CCR’s reign of chart success. The guitarist/singer handled all songwriting and production duties, as well as all the lead vocals, and from the outside this seemed to be quite a winning formula. On the inside however, his control issues were causing more than a bit of tension, so much so that brother and rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty had decided to leave the group after “Pendulum”. When it came time to record “Mardi Gras”, the remaining rhythm section of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford found themselves shoved between a rock and a hard place. By arguing for more creative input, the pair had become the target of Fogerty’s frustration, with him insisting they provide 2/3’s of the material for “Mardi Gras” despite the fact they felt tentative about the prospect. Further, Fogerty also refused to do anything other than play guitar on their contributions. Many believe that this was simply an attempt by Fogerty to sabotage the band, and to make a point about the supreme value of his leadership in the wake of the record’s failure. On one hand, this worked because the album wasn’t exactly well received despite selling just fine, and the two “hits” were both Fogerty contributions. Fogerty had made his point and the band dissolved soon after the LP’s release. However if we zoom out, we can see that this “death” could have just as easily been the “birth” of a new era for CCR.

While it might certainly be true that Cook and Clifford’s vocals don’t carry nearly the power and confidence of Fogerty’s, their songwriting previews what could have been an exciting extension to the group’s defined sound. The shared vocal duties, as well as the elements of country and soul we hear creeping further in, nudge them towards something that resembles The Band in many aspects, and I for one think it would have been fascinating if the group had been allowed to continue to develop in this direction. There’s no doubt that Fogerty’s songs here are the strongest - “Sweet Hitchhiker” treads heavily on their classic sound, the country charm of “Looking for a Reason” channels Hank Williams, the beautiful melancholic melody and message of “Someday Never Comes”, and a fantastic cover of “Hello Mary Lou” - but Clifford and Cook serve up some winners too. Cook’s “Take It Like A Friend” is a tough and funky groove that seems to be a not-so-subtle swipe at Fogerty with the lyrics “if maybe you'd move over, gave someone else a chance to try their luck; Instead, you run up closer, try'n to grab a page before they close the book...” Ouch! Must have been pretty tense in the studio during that one. “Tearing Up The Country”, sung by Clifford, is a great honky tonk boogie that adds to the album’s downhome flavor. My favorite among the pair’s contributions has to be the Clifford led “Need Someone To Hold”, a soulful ode to loneliness which sounds like one of the greatest songs Levon Helm never sung. “What Are You Gonna Do”, “Door to Door”, and “Sail Away” may not be among the best songs CCR ever recorded, but they definitely aren’t bad songs, especially for two guys just dipping their toes into songwriting, singing, and production. Further, one can only imagine how these songs might have sounded if Fogerty had actually thrown himself into the work, fully supporting his bandmates as they stepped out into the spotlight, instead of half-heartedly participating.

It saddens me to think that one of the greatest bands ever ended in such a contentious fashion, and is even more of a pity when considering that they were STILL making fantastic music despite the tension and ugliness that was destined to rip it all apart. I can’t help but love Fogerty - his voice, his guitar playing, his songwriting are all nothing short of AMAZING - but I’m also put off by the way he has openly dogged his former bandmates. Cook and Clifford, along with Tom Fogerty’s always ratchet-tight rhythm guitar work, were crucial components to the band’s sound, and I’d consider them among the finest rhythm sections in all of rock history - subtle and hard grooving, and always playing for the benefit of the song and not their egos. They deserve respect, even from the likes of a genius like Fogerty. Not that I’d trade anything for those first 5 records by CCR, as those are a tremendous feat, but it IS exciting to wonder where they might have gone had they been able to weather this storm. Unfortunately, we’ll never know, but “Mardi Gras” gives us at least little peek of what could have been a new chapter for CCR. In an alternate universe, I could easily hear this incarnation of the band carrying forward a rootsy sound, continuing to chart hits, and maintaining their relevance well into the decade of the 1970’s.

As someone listening to this album 50 years in the future, I LOVE this because it’s cool to have an album that all members contribute vocals too. There’s only 6 albums from Creedence Clearwater Revival and this album is practically a bonus. It’s nicknamed “fogertys last revenge” for a reason. He’s directly wanting an out to leave by the band by not contributing anything other than lead guitar on other members songs.

Although for a fan listening to this 50 years ago I can’t even imagine the frustration . I think the solution to turn this into a 8/10 would’ve been to have Clifford sing Stu’s songs instead cause Stu just isn’t a lead singer but rather a backup vocalist. Clifford’s songs are actually pretty good .

The only reason this was released was because Fogerty wanted the band to end though.

OK - Ive approached this album from a different angle. The old Cosmic Country is what should be borne in mind. No this is not "classic"CCR, BUT if you view this from the perspective New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Sir Douglas Quintet, Grateful Dead, Gene Parsons. All the contributions would have worked fine in a double album ala Byrds "Untitled". Plainly John F was a curmudgeon as can be seen by his sporadic output over the years. Try mixing this up with Pendulum from 1970 and Tom Fogerty's first/second albums to see what I mean.

Excellent AAPP qrp pressing of “fogertys last revenge “

I’m hearing so many things I hadn’t heard on my OG, super clean

If I had been Stu Cook or Doug Clifford listening to the playback of the Mardi Gras songs I wrote and sang on, I would've walked right up to John Fogerty and apologized profusely for challenging his dominance over the band I was lucky enough to have fallen into. In this age of custom playlists, the best you can do with this album is take the 4 Fogerty-led tunes and tack 'em onto the end of Pendulum as bonus tracks, then consign the C&C garbage to yer recycle bin and click "Empty".

Very thin record, but the sound is really nice. Show that there is more to pressing than just adding mass.

This cut is fantastic. Not good enough to distract from Stu’s abysmal contributions, but good enough to enjoy John and even Doug’s songs. The only reason to own this is to hear the magic Kevin and Steve put on “Someday Never Comes,” it’s so much more emotional and gut wrenching on here. I’ve never heard it like I did here.

I don’t like being reminded that this was the follow up to Pendulum, both being extremely well recorded albums. From Bayou Country to Cosmo’s Factory, their recording is nowhere near as clear and well separated as it is on Pendulum and Mardi Gras. I’m happy Pendulum gets a great spacious recording, but very sad Mardi Gras got that as well instead of the high quality engineering going to Bayou, Green River, Willy, or Cosmo’s.

Every bit as bad as its reputation, unfortunately. Creedence Clearwater Revival had an extraordinary two years, from 1968-1970. eight top-10 singles (reaching #2 *five* times, but never achieving that elusive #1). Their first five albums albums were praised, and rightfully so. "Pendulum" was met with somewhat less enthusiasm, but still contained one of their most memorable songs and several very good ones. "Mardi Gras" was made under harshly acrimonious circumstances, and it shows. It's still unclear why Fogerty decided to dump the songwriting duties on Stu Cook and Doug Clifford (Tom Fogerty had already quit the band by this point). Was it because they kept demanding a bigger role? Was it because John had run out of ideas? Was it because he just didn't give a hoot anymore? Was it because he was setting them up for failure? The story has always differed depending on whom one asks, so the answer will never be known. What is well known, however, is the shoddiness of this album. Fogerty's three songs are not among his best; "Sweet Hitch Hiker" has a swagger unbecoming to the band, while "Someday Never Comes" is a lifeless song about his marriage breaking up and "Lookin' for a Reason" is essentially an admission of defeat in regards to the band situation, but pales in comparison to "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", a better song about the band breaking up. And that's the good stuff. As for Cook and Clifford's songs...it really is a tossup between who is the worse singer and who is the worse songwriter. Not one of their songs comes close to matching Fogerty's most pedestrian songs, and the execution is sloppy and off key. It's hard to believe this is the same band who once seemingly could do no wrong. And the fact is that it really isn't the same band. Many times in my life I have avoided albums for decades because the critics had savaged it, only to finally give it a listen and discover that the critics were dead wrong and I had missed out for so long. This album, which I had also avoided for decades and finally heard, is not one of those. Caveat emptor.

the second Sail Away is not a reprise really it is just a filler :] to make up the numbers and the exact same track as previously but here we have an album in which John Fogerty having been badgered by members of the band to let them write and PERFORM tunes decided eff it let us give them that rope to hang themselves ... so many of the tracks here are a disaster; 3rd of 4th rate Country swill :] there are only 3 Fogerty tunes on the albums and YET YET it is still a Creedence album so better than many other recordings from that time ...