Creedence Clearwater Revival

小簡(jiǎn)介
Creedence Clearwater Revival(克里登斯清水復(fù)興合唱團(tuán)，簡(jiǎn)稱CCR)，是20世紀(jì)60年代到70年代最受喜愛的一支超級(jí)搖滾樂(lè)隊(duì)。他們的音樂(lè)植根于美國(guó)南方的民間音樂(lè)，早年的歌曲帶有強(qiáng)烈的布魯斯色彩，對(duì)Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sea Level, Dixie Chicken, ZZ Top等樂(lè)隊(duì)有重要影響。
CCR的靈魂人物是John Fogerty，1959年,還是高中生的John與兩個(gè)朋友Doug Clifford和Stu Cook一起組建了名為The Blue Velvets（藍(lán)色絲絨）的樂(lè)隊(duì)并開始在學(xué)生舞會(huì)中演出。后來(lái)John Fogerty的堂兄Tom Fogerty加入樂(lè)隊(duì)，樂(lè)隊(duì)改名為Tom Fogerty and the Blue Velvets并錄制了一些單曲，逐漸有了些名氣。
1963年，樂(lè)隊(duì)簽約Fantasy唱片公司并改名為The Golliwogs（丑玩偶），但是唱片公司為迎合當(dāng)時(shí)披頭士帶來(lái)的英倫入侵熱潮（British Invasion），要求樂(lè)隊(duì)模仿英國(guó)樂(lè)隊(duì)的風(fēng)格。John在回憶那段日子時(shí)說(shuō)：“The Golliwogs的每一首歌都顯得那么不自然，我總是要考慮公司的意見，我覺得像是被捆綁住了。”
1967年底，樂(lè)隊(duì)的機(jī)遇終于到了。Fantasy唱片公司易主，被John的好朋友，原公司的業(yè)務(wù)主任Saul Zaentz所收購(gòu)。自此樂(lè)隊(duì)與公司簽訂了新的唱片合約并改名為“Creedence Clearwater Revival（克理登斯清水復(fù)興樂(lè)隊(duì)）”。對(duì)此解釋為：“Clearwater”符合當(dāng)時(shí)提倡“回歸自然”的社會(huì)潮流，“Revival（復(fù)興）”表示樂(lè)隊(duì)的決心和勇氣，而“Creedence”則是取自樂(lè)隊(duì)成員Tom一個(gè)朋友的教名。Saul告訴John，他要把樂(lè)隊(duì)培養(yǎng)成和The Grateful Dead一樣成功的樂(lè)隊(duì)。
1968年樂(lè)隊(duì)發(fā)行了第一張同名專輯《Creedence Clearwater Revival》, 專輯中一首改編自Dale Hawkins的經(jīng)典老歌《Suzie Q》為小伙子們奏響了成功的序曲。John將這首歌重新編曲，改編后全曲長(zhǎng)達(dá)9分鐘，后半段近4分鐘的器樂(lè)演奏融入了舊金山當(dāng)?shù)負(fù)u滾樂(lè)的迷幻風(fēng)格，John賦予這首老歌新的生命。這首歌率先在KWBR電臺(tái)播出后，得到了當(dāng)?shù)谼J們的肯定，并將這首歌在加州的許多電臺(tái)音樂(lè)節(jié)目中播出，很快就傳遍了整個(gè)西海岸地區(qū)。樂(lè)隊(duì)的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演出也人滿為患，俱樂(lè)部里擠滿了歌迷。這張專輯進(jìn)入了排行榜第52位，并取得了金唱片的銷量，不久又躥生到了第11位。樂(lè)隊(duì)在1969年先后發(fā)行了三張專輯，專輯的創(chuàng)作和制作的大部分工作都是John一個(gè)人完成的，他卓越的音樂(lè)天分和創(chuàng)作才華得到了充分的體現(xiàn)，也進(jìn)一步鞏固了他在樂(lè)隊(duì)的核心地位。樂(lè)隊(duì)第二張專輯《Bayou Country》剛發(fā)行不久就創(chuàng)下了百萬(wàn)銷量，成為白金唱盤。這張融合了節(jié)奏布魯斯、鄉(xiāng)村搖滾、西海岸搖滾風(fēng)格的專輯了沖入排行榜的第7位，其中單曲《 Proud Mary 》位列單曲榜第2名。樂(lè)隊(duì)從第三張專輯《 Green River 》開始在音樂(lè)上逐漸擺脫了當(dāng)?shù)氐拿曰脫u滾樂(lè)的影響，John似乎對(duì)鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)、傳統(tǒng)布魯斯音樂(lè)等美國(guó)南部地區(qū)的音樂(lè)風(fēng)格情有獨(dú)鐘，這使得樂(lè)隊(duì)在當(dāng)?shù)兀ㄅf金山地區(qū)）顯得尤為不同，更像是一支南方樂(lè)隊(duì)，他們的音樂(lè)充滿了密西西比州的田園氣息?！?Green River 》同上一張專輯一樣取得了排行榜第7位的成績(jī)。
CCR在短短的一年時(shí)間里迅速走紅，1969年8月他們受邀參加了盛大的Woodstock音樂(lè)節(jié)。當(dāng)時(shí)他們可能還不敢相信，很多樂(lè)迷都是特意為看他們演出而來(lái)的，但是樂(lè)隊(duì)謝絕了在音樂(lè)節(jié)的記錄片中出現(xiàn)。年底樂(lè)隊(duì)延續(xù)他們的強(qiáng)勁勢(shì)頭，第四張專輯《Willy and the poor boys》排在專輯榜第3位并在歌詞方面有所突破。單曲《Down on the corner》和Fortunate Son 》樂(lè)隊(duì)第一次涉及了政治問(wèn)題，表達(dá)了對(duì)越戰(zhàn)的不滿，這也順應(yīng)了當(dāng)時(shí)的反戰(zhàn)潮流，這兩首單曲分列單曲榜No.3、No.14。而在歌曲《It Came Out Of the Sky》中樂(lè)隊(duì)則公開抨擊了總統(tǒng)Richard Nixon。John 和他的伙伴們近十年的努力換來(lái)了現(xiàn)在的成績(jī)，但成功似乎來(lái)得太過(guò)突然，這時(shí)John與樂(lè)隊(duì)其他成員之間逐漸出現(xiàn)了一些分歧。在錄制單曲《Down on the corner》時(shí)樂(lè)隊(duì)其他成員就認(rèn)為這首歌根本就不是搖滾樂(lè)。
CCR在1970年4月份開始了第一次歐洲巡演。9月，樂(lè)隊(duì)在巡演結(jié)束后發(fā)行了被認(rèn)為最優(yōu)秀的一張專輯《Cosmo’s factory》，上市三周就取得了300萬(wàn)張的白金銷量，該專輯成為了英、美兩地排行榜的雙料冠軍。其中單曲《Travelin’ band》和《Who will stop the rain》分別位列單曲榜NO.2和NO.13。樂(lè)隊(duì)此時(shí)已到達(dá)了事業(yè)的頂峰，隨著披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的解散CCR成為了當(dāng)時(shí)最為炙手可熱的明星樂(lè)隊(duì)之一。同年底樂(lè)隊(duì)又發(fā)行第6張專輯《Pendulum》同樣取得了白金銷量。盡管如此，樂(lè)隊(duì)成員的內(nèi)部關(guān)系卻急劇惡化。Tom并不想待在弟弟的光環(huán)下，因此一直悶悶不樂(lè)。而另一成員Stu也聽到了關(guān)于“他不過(guò)是John的累贅”之類的傳言，同時(shí)隊(duì)員們也因?yàn)槭杖氲姆峙洳还珜?duì)John有所抱怨。樂(lè)隊(duì)在推出了《Have you ever seen the rain》和 《Hey Tonight》兩首單曲后，Tom Fogerty終于對(duì)外宣布離隊(duì)單飛的消息，理由是音樂(lè)理想不合，其實(shí)大家都知道Tom不甘心在樂(lè)隊(duì)中配角的位置。接下來(lái)，樂(lè)隊(duì)就以三人組合的形式展開貫穿全美、歐洲、新西蘭、澳洲及日本的巡回演出。
CCR的歌迷們?nèi)匀唤o予樂(lè)隊(duì)足夠的支持，漫長(zhǎng)的全球巡演圓滿收?qǐng)?。?lè)隊(duì)開始了新專輯的籌備，實(shí)際上此前的6張專輯完全是由John一人負(fù)責(zé)創(chuàng)作并制作完成的，這時(shí)Stu和Doug都要求在新專輯中加入自己的作品并參與制作部分，他們認(rèn)為在樂(lè)隊(duì)里一直沒(méi)有得到足夠的尊重。于是1972年樂(lè)隊(duì)發(fā)行了他們的第7張專輯，專輯名字很耐人尋味 ——《Mardi Gras》（《狂歡節(jié)的最后一天》），這張樂(lè)隊(duì)史上最差的專輯也成為了CCR的最后一張專輯。最終，樂(lè)隊(duì)在完成了7月份的歐洲巡演后，于1972年10月16日正式對(duì)外宣布了解散的消息。
Tom Fogerty在離開樂(lè)隊(duì)后的個(gè)人事業(yè)很平淡，他曾經(jīng)加入過(guò)Jerry Garcia的個(gè)人樂(lè)隊(duì)，之后又組建了一支名位“Ruby”的樂(lè)隊(duì)并發(fā)行了三張專輯，1990年9月6日Tom Fogerty死于艾滋病。Stu Cook 和 Doug Clifford先后加入過(guò)“The Don Harrison Band”和“Southern Pacific”兩支樂(lè)隊(duì)。1995年，兩人聯(lián)合幾位樂(lè)手重組了CCR樂(lè)隊(duì)，他們?cè)诿绹?guó)各地的演出中演唱CCR的老歌并發(fā)行過(guò)一張演唱會(huì)專輯。
樂(lè)隊(duì)的提前解散使之與公司簽定的唱片合約無(wú)法完成，因此作為CCR樂(lè)隊(duì)的經(jīng)理人John Fogerty陷入了與Fantasy唱片公司的合同糾紛中。直到80年代初John轉(zhuǎn)投Warner Brothers旗下后才再次迎來(lái)輝煌，憑借專輯《Blue Moon Swamp》獲得了第40界葛萊美最佳搖滾專輯。
1993年Creedence Clearwater Revival樂(lè)隊(duì)入選搖滾名人堂。
At a time when rock was evolving further and further away from the forces that had made the music possible in the first place, Creedence Clearwater Revival brought things back to their roots with their concise synthesis of rockabilly, swamp pop, R&B, and country. Though CCR was very much a group in their tight, punchy arrangements, their vision was very much singer, songwriter, guitarist, and leader John Fogerty's. Fogerty's classic compositions for Creedence both evoked enduring images of Americana and reflected burning social issues of the day. The band's genius was their ability to accomplish this with the economic, primal power of a classic rockabilly ensemble.
The key elements of Creedence had been woodshedding in bar bands for about a decade before their breakthrough to national success in the late '60s. John's older brother Tom formed the Blue Velvets in the late '50s in El Cerrito, CA, a tiny suburb across the bay from San Francisco. By the mid-'60s, with a few hopelessly obscure recordings under their belt, they'd signed to Fantasy, releasing several singles as the Golliwogs that went nowhere. In fact, there's little promise to be found on those early efforts, primarily because Tom, not John, was doing most of the singing. The group only found themselves when John took firm reigns over the band's direction, singing and writing virtually all of their material.
On their first album as Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968, the group played it both ways, offering extended, quasi-psychedelic workouts of the '50s classics "I Put a Spell on You" and "Suzie Q." The latter song became their first big hit, but the band didn't really bloom until "Proud Mary," a number-two single in early 1969 that demonstrated John's talent at tapping into Southern roots music and imagery with a natural ease. It was the start of a torrent of classic hits from the gritty, Little Richard-inspired singer over the next two years, including "Bad Moon Rising," "Green River," "Down on the Corner," "Travelin' Band," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Up Around the Bend," and "Lookin' Out My Back Door."
Creedence also made good albums, but their true forte was as a singles band — their LPs contained some filler, both in the forms of average original material and straightforward covers of rock & roll chestnuts. When the Beatles broke up in early 1970, CCR was the only other act that provided any competition in the fine art of crafting bold, super-catchy artistic statements that soared to the upper reaches of the charts every three or four months. Although they hailed from the San Francisco area, they rarely succumbed to the psychedelic indulgences of the era. John Fogerty also proved adept at voicing the concerns of the working class in songs like "Fortunate Son," as well as partying with as much funk as any white rock band would muster on "Travelin' Band" and "Down on the Corner."
With John Fogerty holding such a strong upper hand, Creedence couldn't be said to have been a democratic unit, and Fogerty's dominance was to sow the seeds of the group's quick dissolution. Tom Fogerty left in 1971 (recording a few unremarkable solo albums of his own), reducing the band to a trio. John allowed drummer Doug Clifford and bassist Stu Cook equal shares of songwriting and vocal time on the group's final album, Mardi Gras (1972), which proved conclusively that Fogerty's songs and singing were necessary to raise CCR above journeyman status.
It was John Fogerty, of course, who produced the only notable work after the quartet broke up. Even his solo outings, though, were erratic and, for nearly ten years, nonexistent as he became embroiled in a web of business disputes with Fantasy Records. His 1984 album Centerfield proved he could still rock in the vintage Creedence mode when the spirit moved him, but Tom Fogerty's death in 1990 ended any hopes of a CCR reunion with the original members intact.