John Fogerty
The Long Road Home
The Ultimate John Fogerty
Creedence Collection

Review By Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
Click here to e-mail reviewer

  A cold day in hell happened, John Fogerty resigned with the label he fought with in the courts for years. That is right; John Fogerty of CCR fame has resigned with Fantasy/Concord to record a new album of material and a DVD in 2006. But wait, that is not all, the best thing that happened is the release of a career defining CD encompassing 25 tracks spanning Fogerty's career with CCR and his solo work!

It certainly has been The Long Road Home for this American icon. All Fogerty ever wanted was recognition, credit, and the respect of his work from the label, finally, he has it. He feels as if the label is honoring his artistry. And indeed, they are with this spectacular release.

Everything is remastered for a second time around and the results are fantastic. I covered all the remastered albums and the box set and felt as if I died and went to rock 'n' roll heaven; it even sounded good on my cheap little car stereo. Well this one takes the cake. There is not one bad cut on this disc. All the hits from Fogerty's successful albeit underrated solo career and then all the classic CCR tunes all come to life in your living room. It gave me chills and made me smile. Maybe now there is a chance the boys in CCR will reunite, you just never know, well, I guess that would be asking for too much now wouldn't it? If Fogerty can resign with his nemesis after over 30 years, I guess anything is possible though.

Besides all of the crisp and clear remastered studio cuts, you get to hear some rousing versions of tracks live. "Almost Saturday Night," "Fortunate Son," "Bootleg," "Hey Tonight," "Rockin All Over The World," and a smokin' blues-rockin' version of "Keep On Chooglin" are some of the highlights of this disc. He sounds more like a Steve Vai type in the opening minute of "Keep On Chooglin" than John Fogerty, it is very impressive, the dude can still rock like folks half his age.

This was an absolute treat for me. The older I get the more I love this music. Twenty-Five tracks does not cover a career like Fogerty's, it encapsulates it effectively. This release does a fine job considering they kept it down to a single CD. This is a good setup for what is to come. Some labels are very smart with the way they market their artists and there is no one that deserves it more than John Fogerty, I hope he makes a ton of money and enjoys his new relationship with the label. I am sure that history will not repeat itself; everyone has learned their lessons and moved on, now its time to enjoy the music!

Enjoyment:

Sound Quality: