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Bad Moon Rising: The Unofficial History of Creedence Clearwater Revival

Bad Moon Rising: The Unofficial History of Creedence Clearwater Revival

List Price: $17.95
Your Price: $12.57
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A somewhat biased look unless you read between the lines
Review: Having previously heard much of what was written here, I can't say that I really found a lot to be surpised about in this book. Anyone that doubts that John Fogerty was CCR all by himself should do a personal reality check. John wrote or arranged all of the music you've been hearing for the past 35 years, and for the most part kept Clifford, Cook, and his own brother Tom along because no one would have paid to see a one man band, no matter how talented. Then, instead of being grateful that they were given first class seats on the gravy train, Doug, Stu and Tom stab John in the back by backing Fantasy Records after John figured out he was being screwed six ways to Sunday. So can anyone really blame John for his animosity? I honestly can't say I blame him for refusing to play with Doug and Stu at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony. He'd carried them for years before that. It was about time he put them down. Don't get me wrong, John's no saint, but he's not the arch-villain that Doug, Stu and Tom's family make him out to be, especially considering that Doug and Stu are still making a living off of him to this day.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A somewhat biased look unless you read between the lines
Review: Having previously heard much of what was written here, I can't say that I really found a lot to be surpised about in this book. Anyone that doubts that John Fogerty was CCR all by himself should do a personal reality check. John wrote or arranged all of the music you've been hearing for the past 35 years, and for the most part kept Clifford, Cook, and his own brother Tom along because no one would have paid to see a one man band, no matter how talented. Then, instead of being grateful that they were given first class seats on the gravy train, Doug, Stu and Tom stab John in the back by backing Fantasy Records after John figured out he was being screwed six ways to Sunday. So can anyone really blame John for his animosity? I honestly can't say I blame him for refusing to play with Doug and Stu at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony. He'd carried them for years before that. It was about time he put them down. Don't get me wrong, John's no saint, but he's not the arch-villain that Doug, Stu and Tom's family make him out to be, especially considering that Doug and Stu are still making a living off of him to this day.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I love that book - it good
Review: I big CCV fan. They rulers. Good book, but harde for me to read my english no so goode.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Don't have this book i've always wanted to get it!
Review: I could'nt find this CCR biography on the life and times of this rock'n roll band with John & Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford. At my local bookstore in Cole's they did not have it, either did Chapters. Because it's not available in some parts of Canada where i'm from. But i'll have to get this and read about Creedence Clearwater Revival when it arrives someday in Thunder Bay!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: slow moving not very compellling reading
Review: i felt thebook was disjointed and somewhat patched together. Most creedence fans have seen the majority of the interviews the book uses. I also feel the book relied a bit to much on secondary sources for information. The book contains no John Fogerty interview and I felt that left a side of the story untold.

Rating: 0 stars
Summary: The triumph and tragedy behind the hits.
Review: I have felt compelled to tell the story of Creedence Clearwater Revival for over a decade. Their history is one of the most fascinating and tragic tales in rock. Remarkably, no one ever related this narrative in its entirety.

The annals of CCR exude rock and roll folklore: a pair of brothers and a couple of school chums form a rock band. They start with an $80 Sears guitar and amp, a snare drum on a plant stand and a piano. They sign the sort of old fashioned recording agreement where the harder you work, the more you owe. When their magnificently simple songs and distinctive style make them one of the world's most popular groups, the story becomes a chronicle of betrayal and bad advice in a business that grinds so fine only the toughest, most sinewy artists survive. Eventually, these pressures pit brother against brother and turned lifelong friends into bitter enemies. A band that came together for the sheer joy of playing Carl Perkins songs, became four men who reunited in court to give depositions.

Nearly 40 years after the band came together, the time could not be riper for this book. Over the past couple of years, John Fogerty released his first albums after a decade of musical silence and litigation. The first record, Blue Moon Swamp, won him his first Grammy award for Best Rock Album. As a composer, the National Association of Songwriters saluted him with their Lifetime Achievement Award; for his instrumental abilities, Gibson Guitars honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award. More importantly, he toured, playing his songs for the first time in nearly a quarter century, releasing a live album and video of the shows. Doug Clifford and Stu Cook also continue playing the songs that made them famous with Creedence Clearwater Revisited. They also put out a stellar live album.

I took on this project with the goal of maintaining objectivity and balance. As a music journalist I have over two decades of writing experience under my belt. Bad Moon Rising gave me the chance to really focus these skills. The book involved enormous amounts of research. This includes rare CCR artifacts, from revealing editions of the group's own fan club organ to close to a thousand pages of court transcripts and depositions. In the early 80s, I conducted my own interview with the late Tom Fogerty. I also conducted and acquired previously unpublished interviews with many of the principal players in this tale. They offered unique information that allows this amazing real life drama to play out on paper with all the intensity and energy the story demands, but with all the facts as well. I hope you feel this story is as important as I do. It offers the people who grew up listening to Creedence a chance to get a look behind the hits, a clear eyed look at the men who actually created these long beloved songs and sounds.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This is a very good book to read, but flawed.
Review: I have to give the author credit for writing a book about this band, one of my favorite groups. This story should have been written some time ago. The book for the most part is well researched and fairly even-handed. People who might not know much about the band other than their (or more truthfully, Fogerty's) hits will be very surprised at how interesting and sad this story is. The biggest flaw I have with this book is that their is no John Fogerty interview for this book. To get Fogerty's side he uses past magazine and interviews in those articles and he uses them well. But since this is a complex and emotional story that is largley he said/they said, for me this is a vital missing element.Fogerty comes very badly in some sections of the book and while what was written and said may or may not be true, I feel it comes off very one-sided.Cook and Clifford (who came across to me as very ungrateful. I mean, John Fogerty was primarily the reason the band reached the heights they did. If it wasn't for him, they would not be where they are today)however, did give interviews for this book and at times while they are respectful, a good portion of the time they spent criticizing Fogerty's personality, methods, etc. ( again, if Fogerty is that bad, why do Cook and Clifford trying to get him to come back and re-form the band? It's obvious they can't make it on their own). Also, as Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the songs they play in concert, except "Suzy Q" and "I heard it Through the Grapevine" are all John Fogerty songs. The same John Fogerty they complain about. Cook and Clifford don't even sing their own songs off Mardi Gras ( they may be greedy, but they're not stupid. They know who made the money for them). It's these sort of contradictions that I wish the author would have expanded on and it's these things are why I think the book comes off as a bit one-sided. Overall, though, the author does a solid job of writing on this subject and since this is the only book written on Fogerty and the band, I recommend it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A must read for a certain few...Others might want to pass.
Review: If Mr. Bordowitz had considered whom he was targeting this book toward, he might have published an excellent biography of CCR. As it is, however, there are so many completely unnecessary reprinted reviews by critics that they become irrating after about half way through the book. His chronicle of each single and album release is always followed by countless reviews from critics telling the reader what is already common knowledge to even the slightest music fan...CCR was the best ever American rock and roll band. And when the the members split and released solo efforts, we already knew that all but John's recordings really sucked (at least commercially). Not having direct cooperation from the principles involved in this greatest of all American tragedies seriously hurts this recounting of their careers. There are obvious holes in the details involving certain situations that could only be explained by those involved, and without reading between the lines, some may become lost in trying to interpret what is written. All in all, Mr. Bordowitz's chronicle of CCR is a compilation of interviews and printed records involving CCR since their beginnings, all of which is common knowledge to some while totally foreign to most...It is these people who will get the most from this book. Others who have been able to keep up with CCR through the years will not find anything of value here. For any CCR fan, this is a valuable historic reference to have. Especially considering that there is so very little published about these people. It does, at least, bring it all together...even if it doesn't answer all of the questions. It is very difficult not to play the Monday morning quarterback after reading this book. It seems that there were so many situations that could have been resolved with so little effort from all of the parties involved. What happened to CCR is a true tragedy, and a lesson that should be studied by anyone involved in the music business. Mr. Bordowitz, I do appreciate and commend your efforts in bringing this together.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: all devoted creedence fans MUST READ!!!!!
Review: if you love creedence music but dont much about their history then this book is a MUST READ and money well worth spent.Your CCR record/cd collection is incomplete without this book by its side.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bordowitz Sees Fogerty Through Clear Waters
Review: Insightful...authoritative...Bordowitz tells the story of one of rock's most un-understood rock heroes whose story is seldom told. A gem, and hopefully the first of many great tomes by this new author!


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