Released in the summer of 1968 - a year after the summer of love, but still in the thick of the Age of Aquarius - Creedence Clearwater Revival's self-titled debut album was gloriously out-of-step with the times, teeming with John Fogerty's Americana fascinations. While many of Fogerty's obsessions and Creedence Clearwater Revival's signatures are in place - weird blues ('I Put a Spell on You'), Stax R&B (Wilson Pickett's 'Ninety-Nine and a Half'), rockabilly ('Susie Q'), winding instrumental interplay, the swamp sound, and songs for 'The Working Man' - the band was still finding their way. Out of all their records (discounting 'Mardi Gras'), this is the one that sounds the most like its era, thanks to the wordless vocal harmonies toward the end of 'Susie Q,' the backward guitars on 'Gloomy,' and the directionless, awkward jamming that concludes 'Walking on the Water.' Still, the band's sound is vibrant, with gutsy arrangements that borrow equally from Sun, Stax, and the swamp.
