Creedence Clearwater Revival - Woodstock '69

All Music Guide

There's not a whole lot of live, unreleased Creedence Clearwater Revival around. Plus, it's always seemed strange that they played at Woodstock, but were not featured in the original movie and soundtrack of the event (though four songs from their set were eked out on the 25th Anniversary box set edition of the soundtrack). So this bootleg with 13 songs from their Woodstock performance fills a couple of hungers, even if it's not so great in either performance or sound quality. It's certainly of decently listenable fidelity, however, and if nothing else it's always fun to hear John Fogerty's burning vocals in a live situation, though the band's a bit ragged and rushed, and the drums a little muffled and cookie tinlike. The songs selected for the set were a good, wellrounded portion of their early repertoire, including the hits "Green River," "Born on the Bayou," "Proud Mary," "Suzie Q," "Commotion," and "Bad Moon Rising," as well as standout album tracks like "Bootleg" and "Keep on Choog...lin'." Their extended version of "I Put a Spell on You" might be a highlight, as the stretchedout interpretation lends itself well to a concert setting. If a bettersounding tape of this performance ever emerges, its release wouldn't embarrass the band at all; this doesn't embarrass them either, actually, but would probably never pass muster for official release due to its slightly belowpar audio. - Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide Read more Less