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In Concert John Fogerty John Fogerty's past plays out perfectly at Palace Theatre show
By Jeffrey Lee Puckett © The Courier-Journal
"Born On the Bayou." "Green River." "Lodi." "Lookin' Out My Back Door." "Suzie Q." "I Put A Spell On You." In order. With enormous conviction. And with an energy that made it seem as if Fogerty had first recorded the songs last week instead of nearly 30 years ago. By the time he was 10 seconds into "Green River," the show had already turned into a celebration, not just of his brilliantly American rock 'n' roll, but of rock 'n' roll itself. This was music that most of the capacity audience had been listening to their entire lives, and all of the effort we've put into "Suzie Q." and "Bayou" -- singing in our cars or soloing on the tennis racket -- was easily matched by Fogerty. It was a moment. Fogerty is touring in support of a fine new record, "Blue Moon Swamp," but the real news for most fans is that he's once again embraced the songs that made him famous -- those he wrote for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He hit us with that first salvo of CCR classics, concentrated on new material with an occasional blast of Creedence, and then finished with a flurry that included "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Fortunate Son," "Travelin' Band" and "Proud Mary." It's a testament to the new songs that they weren't lost in the shuffle. Fogerty hasn't performed any CCR hits for more than 20 years because of various legal entanglements, but absence must surely make the heart grow fonder because it was hard to tell who was having more fun between him and the audience. And while it feels like blasphemy to say it, several songs last night sounded better than the originals. For one thing, Fogerty's voice hasn't lost a decibel, and we're talking about one of rock's great banshee wails. Second, his guitar playing is infinitely improved, giving him the luxury of dropping blues-drenched, richly textured solos wherever he wants. And then he has Kenny Aronoff for a drummer. Aronoff is nuclear-powered to begin with, but his playing last night was also infused with pure joy, and the look on his face made it clear that he considered it a privilege to play these songs. We could relate. It was a privilege to hear them. And it was gratifying to see Fogerty, one of rock 'n' roll's masters, playing like a kid again, finding release in three chords and a monster chorus.
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