The Fairfield Four includes: James Hill, Isaac Freeman (background vocals).
The Lonesome River Band: Ronnie Bowman, Don Rigsby, Kenny Smith (background vocals).
The Waters: Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters (background vocals).
BLUE MOON SWAMP won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and was nominated for the 1998 Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. "Blueboy" was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
Personnel include: John Fogerty (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, bouzouki, mandolin, sitar, organ, tambourine); Donald "Duck" Dunn, Howie Epstein, John Clayton, Michael Rhodes , Phil Chen, Bob Glaub (bass instrument); Kenny Aronoff (drums, percussion); Chester Thompson , Vinnie Colaiuta, Eddie Bayers, Jeff Donavan, Chad Smith (drums); Luis Conte (claves, maracas, tambourine, percussion).
Recording information: The Lighthouse, North Hollywood, California.
On his first album in 11 years, CCR mastermind Fogerty comes charging out of the gate with undiminished authority. BLUE MOON SWAMP is full of the straight-ahead roots-rock that made Creedence a legend. It's rumored that the recording of this album was painstakingly slow, with Fogerty spending months to get the right drum and guitar sound for each track. It's the mark of a true craftsman that for all it's intensive production and the large cast of guests, BLUE MOON SWAMP still sounds like Fogerty just ambled into the studio with a few pals and laid it all down.
While there are a few stylistic diversions, like the Tex-Mex-flavored "Bring It Down To Jelly Roll," the bulk of the material is virtually identical in approach and tone to that of Fogerty's glory days. The amazing thing is that he never sounds tired or stale. If anything, he sounds more self-assured and powerful than on his previous solo outings. When Fogerty trots out the tremolo-guitar intro to "A Hundred And Ten In The Shade," you can feel the pure, blues-inflected rock and roll inspiration that lies at the heart of his finest work.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, pp.64-65) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (6/12/97, pp.111-112) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...a remarkably vibrant batch of songs....His guitar work is clean and neat, but carefully understated and never intrusive....his voice is the star of this 12-song set. He has developed a supple, blue tenor sound..."
Entertainment Weekly (5/30/97, pp.68-70) - "...you'll have a hard time finding a more charming roots-rock record this year. Fogerty took driving trips through the Delta as prep work, and the album's relaxed amalgam of blues, country and hard rock has the ease that comes with studied absorption of the terrain, not just genre literacy..." - Rating: A-
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #34 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
