Pendulum (Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970)

I spent a good chunk of this morning's drive behind a 2014 Nissan Mid-Life Crisis and got to wondering if this is my favorite Creedence album. I generally go back and forth between the first album and this one, which is some ways bookend a short but successful burst of productivity by CCR.

This morning, I also decided to breeze through these in-between albums, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Generally these albums are well-served by the "greatest hits" packages (Cosmo's Factory is covered by Chronicles so intensely, the only songs I hadn't heard were the rhymers, "Ramble Tamble" and "Ooby Dooby"), so most of what I had been missing were instrumental-ish or cover songs. So I will stand by my convictions that either Pendulum or the debut album are my favorites.

Pendulum is fairly under-represented in the CCR canon, especially if you are familiar with the first volume of Chronicles. "Hey Tonight" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" are unquestionably classics, but there is so much more in this album. Aside from the jaunty "Pagan Baby" that kicks off the album, keyboards and horns (introduced in Cosmo's Factory) have moved front and center, with solos and extended jams abounding. I think they had pushed the old CCR formula to its limits earlier in the year (this would be their fifth album in two years) and were seeking new musical territory. Nothing is more obvious than the final track, which, with limited success, meanders into avant-garde territory.

Pendulum marks the end of an era for CCR. There was another album to come, but it was a complete disaster, permanent destroying the band in the process. Following Pendulum, Tom Fogarty quit the band, upset over his increasing negligible role in the band. The remaining members went on to record the cringe-worthy Mardi Gras, an ill-advised attempt to distribute writing responsibilities equally among the three. Needless to say, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford were not singers, yet they were forced to sing their own material. Meanwhile, John Fogarty, who had written virtually all of the band's original material, had almost entirely checked out, letting his bandmates flounder. It is no surprise that the band was officially finished following its release. I can't say I really care much about John Fogarty post-CCR.