Creedence Clearwater Revisited

OK, so John Fogerty won't be there, but CCR's original rhythm section will be. So will John Tristao, a '60s one-hit wonder boy who actually opened for the original Revival way back when. And if you don't know that Tristao once fronted the band People and had a hit with a song called "I Love You," then you weren't around for the original CCR anyway, so the new lineup won't matter a bit. What will matter is that this revisited Creedence consists of roadworthy veterans who'll perform some of Americana's greatest hits — "Proud Mary," "Born on the Bayou," and "Suzie Q," to name a few. Sure, some of these songs have been unsung by characters like Al Bundy and Earl's brother Randy and unsounded in sillies such as Blade and The Waterboy, but they've also been cited by scribes such as Nick Hornby and Steven King (in, respectively, A Long Way Down and The Shining) and employed by such cinematic heavyweights as Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July), Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now), and the brothers Coen (The Big Lebowski). In the end, though, it's less about who still needs Creedence to color their pretend world and more about the kind of world Creedence once believed in. And how a foursome of Southern California swamp-blues enthusiasts was able to make believers out of the sour of disbelief. If you close your eyes and dig the moment, you just might reawaken to the ways a certain generation learned its legacy.