Personnel: John Fogerty (vocals, guitar, dobro, mandolin, electric sitar, harmonica, piano, bass guitar, drums, percussion); Matt Nolen (guitar, keyboard); Tom Fogerty, Billy Burnette, Mike Canipe, Bob Britt, Johnnie Lee Schnell (guitar); Howie Epstein, Paul Bushnell, Stu Cook, George Hawkins, Bob Glaub (bass guitar); Doug Clifford, John Molo, Kenny Aronoff (drums); Luis Conte (tambourine); Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters (background vocals).
In 2005, John Fogerty re-signed with Fantasy Records, the label of his legendary former band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Given Fogerty's tumultuous history with the company, this reunion proved to be especially significant, and allowed for the first retrospective of the revered performer's entire career. With its non-linear order, THE LONG ROAD HOME chronicles the winding path of Fogerty's artistic output over its 25 tracks, ranging from Creedence's late-1960s/early-'70s material (the swampy "Born on a Bayou," the wistful "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?") to Fogerty's successful mid-'80s work (the baseball anthem "Centerfield") to his late-'90s comeback (the revved-up "Hot Rod Heart"). Since THE LONG ROAD HOME focuses on Fogerty's own songs, a few beloved Creedence cover tunes (including "Suzie Q" and "I Put a Spell on You") are absent, but fans will be rewarded by energetic live versions of "Fortunate Son" and "Hey Tonight" that were recorded in 2005.
What the critics say...
Uncut (p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "A memento of Fogerty's return to Fantasy Records....[It] gathers 14 CCR classics, five solo tracks and six recent live performances..."