Creedence Clearwater Revival (Abbreviated as CCR) is one of those bands who have skyrocketed Swamp Rock (I still don’t know why they call it ‘Swamp’ Rock!) to fame. Their songs are punchy and full of energy. Maybe it’s one of those songs you sing or play by the campfire. I absolutely adore this band, for their unique taste in music and corny lyrics. Three of my personal favorites are “Who’ll Stop The Rain“, “Born On The Bayou” and “Bad Moon Rising“, which I’ll be reviewing today. So, let’s get to it!
Creedence Clearwater Revival
History: “Bad Moon Rising” is a song from CCR’s 1969 album “Green River” (Maybe that’s why they call ii ‘Swamp’ Rock!). This song was the lead single from this album, and it was actually released four months before the actual album was. This song performed extremely well in the U.S. as well as in the U.K. (Surprise, surprise!). It peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It is CCR’s second gold single (Born On The Bayou/ Proud Mary being the first one). Interestingly, there are over 20 different cover versions of this song, ranging from Folk to Psychedelic Rock. There is just one version of this song, viz. the 2 minutes 20 seconds Studio Version. [Source: Wikipedia]
What it tries to convey to us: John Forgerty, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band; wrote this song after watching The Devil and Daniel Webster. According to him, the film’s hurricane scene inspired him to write the song. The song tells (Or rather warn us) to pack our things together and brave the oncoming apocalypse. According to me, “Bad Moon Rising” in this context means, “bad times ahead”, the moon being a bearer of the bad times.
Review: The song starts with a typical country type guitar (Courtesy Tom Fogerty), and the drums are introduced at 00:03 (Courtesy Doug Clifford). The tempo of the song is very upbeat, and the duration of the song being less than 2:30, is very energetic. The bass is minimal, but more than enjoyable (Courtesy Stu Cook). John Forgerty starts the vocals at 00:05. The accent he has used in this song is also the typical Country type. What makes the song click is the ambiance it presents to us. If you close your eyes while the song is playing, you’ll picture yourself around a campfire, Forgerty playing the guitar and singing the song, and the others cheering him on. It’s the typical ‘Hoedown’ music. The chorus also starts at 00:26, and the second stanza immediately after it. The chorus is small, but packs an energetic punch. After the second chorus (which begins at 00:58), the *brief* bridge is initiated. The solo is short, but amazing (Courtesy John Forgerty). Again, it brings you around the campfire scene. The bridge ends at 01:30 and the last stanza begins immediately. The funny part of the song is that even though the lyrics of the song are quite disturbing, the song doesn’t make you feel that way; and keeps your mood up (If you remember, this song is about an impending apocalypse). The last chorus will start at 01:52, and will loop again, before it ends at 02:18. The duration of the song is short, but it’s extremely fun to listen to. You’ll love the short stanza’s, the quirky music and the upbeat chorus.
Rating: Short song, short chorus, short bridge, BIG rating. It gets a perfect 10/10 for the awesome campfire feel of the song, and the corny lyrics and rhythm. Go listen to this one guys!
Lyrics for “Bad Moon Rising” : http://artists.letssingit.com/creedence-clearwater-revival-lyrics-bad-moon-rising-cfj5khw
Download link for “Bad Moon Rising” : http://frowl.org/heyjupiter/xmix/badmoonrising.mp3 (Right Click anywhere on page, and click “Save As“)
“Bad Moon Rising” is a song from CCR’s album “Green River”
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