“Creedence Clearwater Revival: 40th Anniversary Editions Box Set” by CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL (June 2009 Fantasy/Concord Music Group 7CD Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Sweet Hitch-Hiker…"

There's a lot to get through in this fab little box set - so here are the chooglin’ details. 

US released June 2009 - "Creedence Clearwater Revival: 40th Anniversary Editions Box Set" by CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL on Fantasy/Concord Music Group. Inc. 0888072315716 (Barcode 888072315716) is a 7-disc box set of '40th Anniversary Edition' CD Reissues/Remasters in Mini LP Replica Sleeves that breaks down as follows:

1. "Creedence Clearwater Revival" (54:56 minutes)

1. I Put A Spell On You

2. The Working Man

3. Susie Q

4. Ninety-Nine And A Half

5. Get Down Woman

6. Porterville

7. Gloomy

8. Walking On The Water

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album issued July 1968 in the USA on Fantasy F-8382 and April 1969 in the UK on Liberty LBS 83259
BONUS TRACKS:

Track 9 is "Call It Pretending", the non-album B-side of their 1st US single "Porterville" - it was first issued on Scorpio Records 412 in 1968 - credited as THE GOLLIWOGS - "Porterville" is on the 1st album]

Track 10 is "Before You Accuse Me" (a 1968 Outtake)

Track 11 is "Ninety-Nine And A Half" (Recorded for KSAN Radio Station live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, 14 March 1969) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 12 is "Susie Q" (a Dale Hawkins cover, as per track 11) [Previously Unreleased]

2. "Bayou Country" (56:33 minutes)

1. Born On The Bayou

2. Bootleg

3. Graveyard Train

4. Good Golly Miss Molly

5. Penthouse Pauper

6. Proud Mary

7. Keep On Chooglin’

Tracks 1 to 7 are their 2nd studio album issued February 1969 in the USA on Fantasy F-8387 and June 1969 in the UK on Liberty LBS 83261

BONUS TRACKS:
Track 8 is "Bootleg" (an Alternate Take)

Track 9 is "Born On The Bayou" (Live In London, 28 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 10 is "Proud Mary" (Live In Stockholm, Sweden, 21 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 11 is "Crazy Otto" (Recorded for KSAN Radio Station live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, 14 March 1969)

3. "Green River" (44:43 minutes)

1. Green River

2. Commotion

3. Tombstone Shadow

4. Wrote A Song For Everyone

5. Bad Moon Rising

6. Lodi

7. Cross-Tie Walker

8. Sinister Purpose

9. The Night Time Is The Right Time

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 3rd studio album issued September 1969 on Fantasy F-8393 in the USA and December 1969 in the UK on Liberty LBS 83273

BONUS TRACKS:
Track 10 is "Broken Spoke Shuffle" (Instrumental Outtake)

Track 11 is "Glory Be" (Instrumental Outtake)

Track 12 is "Bad Moon Rising" (Live In Berlin, 16 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 13 is "Green River/Susie Q" (Live in Stockholm, Sweden, 21 September 1971) *

Track 14 is "Lodi" (Live in Hamburg, 17 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

4. "Willy And The Poor Boys" (43:21 minutes)

1. Down On The Corner

2. It Came Out Of The Sky

3. Cotton Fields

4. Poorboy Shuffle

5. Feelin’ Blue

6. Fortunate Son

7. Don’t Look Now

8. The Midnight Special

9. Side O’ The Road

10. Effigy

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 4th studio album issued December 1969 in the USA on Fantasy F-8397 and March 1970 in the UK on Liberty LBS 83338

BONUS TRACKS: 
Track 11 is "Fortunate Son" (Live in Manchester, UK, 1 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 12 is "It Came Out Of The Sky" (Live In Berlin, 16 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 13 is "Down On The Corner" (a jam in the Fantasy Studios with BOOKER T & THE MG'S in 1970)

5. "Cosmo's Factory" (53:28 minutes)

1. Ramble Tamble

2. Before You Accuse Me

3. Travellin’ Band

4. Ooby Dooby

5. Lookin’ Out My Back Door

6. Run Through The Jungle

7. Up Around The Bend

8. My Baby Left Me

9. Who’ll Stop The Rain

10. I Heard It Through The Grapevine

11. Long As I Can See The Light

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 5th studio album issued July 1970 in the USA on Fantasy F-8402 and September 1970 in the UK on Liberty LBS 83388

Track 12 is "Travelin' Band" (Remake Take) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 13 is "Up Around The Bend" (Live in Amsterdam, Holland, 10 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

Track 14 is "Born On The Bayou" (a jam in the Fantasy Studios with BOOKER T & THE MG'S in 1970)

6. "Pendulum" (54:20 minutes)

1. Pagan Baby

2. Sailor’s Lament

3. Chameleon

4. Have You Seen The Rain?

5. (Wish I Could) Hideaway

6. Borne To Move

7. Hey Tonight

8. It’s Just The Thought

9. Molina

10. Rude Awakening

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 6th studio album issued December 1970 in the USA on Fantasy F-8410 and January 1971 in the UK on Liberty LBG 83400

BONUS TRACKS: 
Tracks 11 and 12 are "45 Revolutions Per Minute Part 1 and Part 2" [A & B-sides of a US promo-only 7" single on Fantasy 2832/3 released in 1970 - nearly all dialogue]

Track 13 is "Hey Tonight" (Live in Hamburg, 17 September 1971) [Previously Unreleased]

7. "Mardi Gras" (28:48 minutes)

1. Lookin’ For A Reason

2. Take It Like A Friend

3. Need Someone To Hold

4. Tearin’ Up The Country

5. Someday Never Comes

6. What Are You Gonna Do?

7. Sail Away

8. Hello Mary Lou

9. Door To Door

10. Sweet Hitch Hiker

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 7th and final studio album issued April 1972 in the USA on Fantasy F-9404 and in the UK on Fantasy FAN 9404

(No bonus material)

All 7 Mini LP Card Repro Sleeves follow their US releases - 1 to 6 has blue Fantasy labels on each CD (with Full Radial Stereo wording) while 7 has the tan coloured Fantasy label. "Pendulum" is a gatefold as per the original issue - and each card repro also has an inner sleeve too. Unfortunately the inner merely pictures the album front, which is hardly imaginative and a bit disappointing. The booklet gathers up ALL SIX INLAYS of the October 2008 remasters and runs them into one beautiful and chunky read. It's a genuine treat to look at. But a lazy downer, however, is that there are no extra notes for the "Mardi Gras" addition.

Another official CCR release, the 2LP "Live In Europe" set issued in November 1973 has 1 of its 14 tracks represented here as a bonus track (* on "Green River"). But the big draw for fans will be "Mardi Gras", which wasn't reissued in 2008 as a remaster. Originally released in April 1972 - and with only 3 decent John Fogerty tracks to get excited about - it's always been seen as a last bum note in an otherwise near-perfect run. Still, it's nice to finally have a remaster of it. And "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" (lyrics above) still blows me away.

The sound quality across all the discs is fantastic - remastered by GEORGE HORN MASTERING at Fantasy Studios - top job done - each album feels like new life has been breathed into them.

What a great American band - what a voice - and what an amazing legacy they left us... I'll adore Creedence to my dying day.

This dapper little box set is a sweetheart of a release really - and it's going to make someone's Daddy a very happy bunny… this Christmas...

"From Langley Park To Memphis” by PREFAB SPROUT. A Review of their 1988 Album Now Released as a Japan-Only 2009 CD Remaster on Sony Music/Epic.

"…Like A Bolt Out From The Blue…I Remember That…”

"From Langley Park To Memphis" was first issued March 1988 on Kitchenware Records in the UK and on Epic Records in the USA. It felt like a more commercial version of its brilliant predecessor “Steve McQueen” from 1985 – and building on that incredible groundwork – it was eagerly awaited and so raced to Number 5 in the UK charts.
It was released on LP/MC and CD at the time in fairly good sound – but a remaster has been long overdue.

Some of its hit singles have been remastered for “Best Of” compilations, but this is the first time the entire album has been sonically upgraded – and it’s an absolute wow - even it is only available as a limited edition import from Japan...

PACKAGING:
This 26 August 2009 Japan-only CD is on Epic EICP 1245 (Sony Music Japan) and is part of 6 albums reissued there - all in remastered form (45:32 minutes). It's one of those mini LP replica sleeves in an Obi and sealable outer plastic, which also reproduces the original inner sleeve. The inner sleeve's nice to look at, but of course because of its 5-inch size, virtually illegible - hence the need for the separate lyric booklet. There’s also another insert advertising further Eighties CD titles, but it’s entirely in Japanese…

SOUND:
CD sites in Japan have claimed that each has 2009 remastering, and although I can't actually find this in writing anywhere on the disc or packaging (that I can understand), I don’t need to see it in writing because I can hear it. The sound quality is simply GLORIOUS.

Highlights include the beautiful melody of “I Remember That” (lyrics above) and an incredible punch out of “Knock On Wood” and an absolutely HUGE feel to “The Golden Calf”. A lot of the time, you’re just in awe of Paddy McAloon’s superb songwriting and how well so much of it has held up – the arrangements, the clever lyrics, the melodies that grow and grow on each hearing - 20 years plus and they still move me...

It is of course a shame that the many unreleased tracks off the singles "The King Of Rock & Roll”, “Cars & Girls" and "Hey Manhattan" are not on here, but this release doesn't pretend to be anything other than a straightforward transfer of the album.

With no sign of British or US remastered versions on the horizon, fans of this superb British band and their brilliant albums will need to own this.

Recommended wholeheartedly.

PS: the other albums reissued in this Japanese Limited Edition series are:
1. "Swoon" (1983) on Epic EICP 1276 (21 October 2009 release)
2. "Steve McQueen" (1985) on Epic EICP 1244 (26 August 2009 release)
3. "Jordan: The Comeback" (1990) on Epic EICP 1278 (21 October 2009 release)
4. "Protest Songs" (1985 Recordings Released in 1989) on Epic EICP 1277 (21 October 2009 release)
5. "Andromeda Heights" (1997) on Epic EICP 1279 (21 October 2009 release)

PPS: see also my review for "Jordan: The Comeback” from the same series - and thanks to TIM SQUIER of Revival Records for a lend of the 2 CDs