Creedence Clearwater Revival Album: “Pendulum (Limited Edition)”

Every recording artist, at one point or another, has had their "disappointment;" an album or other work that either doesn't sell well, yet is praised by critics...or sells well yet critics despise it...or neither at all. For instance; Bruce Springsteen had his "The Ghost Of Tom Joad," Genesis had their "Calling All Stations," and even Led Zeppelin had their "III."

Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1971 album "Pendulum" was no exception. During its time, the album fell into the category of being [relatively] commercially successful, reaching Gold status, but it was coldly received by critics. After five smash hit albums that were greeted with critical warmth and high album sales, not to mention almost a dozen gold singles, critics began to predict CCR's end; tensions between the Fogerty brothers, John and Tom, were rising, as the rhythm section of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford began arguing for equal composing rights (those demands would be met on their next and last album). Somehow, the critics disgarded "Pendulum" as a disappointment, lacking the fire of CCR's previous recordings. And though the set contained a gold single, 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain?'/'Hey Tonight', "Pendulum" was not received with praise.

However, I believe that this album is a solid flow of great music and poetic lyrics that should not be ignored. At least four tracks on "Pendulum" are essential parts of CCR's legacy; 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain,' 'Hideaway,' 'It's Just A Thought,' and 'Hey Tonight' seem to tell their own stories of the history of the band. If there is anything marginally close to a flaw, it is the excessive use of the organ. But even that is not a flaw by quality, but by its break from CCR's tradition of rockabilly and southern creoles.

"Pendulum" is classic rock at its best, not just in the category of 'disappointments', but of anything ever produced. A necessity in any collection of a fan of true classic music.

I have never quite understood why this album gets such a horrid rap. (If any Creedence Clearwater Revival album deserves a horrid rap, it's "Mardi Gras," which only ended up proving to the remaining members that the songwriting talent in that band belonged to John Fogerty.) Granted that this wasn't quite the album-from-the-hit-singles which was the delightful predecessor, "Cosmo's Factory," but if that album was mostly CCR's answer to the Beatles' underrated late 1964 set "Something New," "Pendulum" - a strikingly introspective set, putting some of Fogerty's forebodings about both his band and his life to some of his loveliest music - was surely its "Rubber Soul". And if John and Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford were experiencing a kind of winter of their malcontent while making this set, you'd never know it by the smooth musicianship and soulful vocals. Go with it. It belongs.

This is not anywhere near Cosmo's Factory, but it's still a dang enjoyable album when it's in the mood. It's also experimental - who'd have thought Creedence would go weird? There are plenty of horns and keyboards here, which is a rarity for a group who usually just went with standard four-piece rock. It doesn't always succeed, but the horns merge perfectly on a few tracks ("Chameleon"), and there's some pleasant jazzy organ soloing ("Born to Move") and lovelorn ballads ("(Wish I Could) Hideaway"; "It's Just a Thought") in addition to the two major singles. The one you definitely know is the touching "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", a powerful social statement which I feel is the group's greatest song, while "Hey Tonight" is a great rocker, though it's a bit of an "Up Around the Bend" copy. Some of the experiment does get a bit overbearing, however. "Sailor's Lament" is pure suckage, ruined by too much of the horn section and two much of the backing vocals. "Rude Awakening #2" is one of the few inadequate moments in Creedence's canon, a psychedelic jam/sound collage that is just beyond the reach of this group. And while "Pagan Baby" wants to be a triumph of no-holds-barred rock, it's far too slow to be so, meaning it just comes off as a turgid, stomping disaster. These three songs are all big disgraces, and there is one generic rocker ("Molina"), but I enjoy a large part of this album.

Creedence sounds better as the years go by. These cuts and the other albums by the band take up all back to a historical period of the 60's and 70's that can and should not be forgotten....

Now, I know that Pendulum is typically seen as one of the "weaker" Creedence albums, but I beg to differ! With cuts as strong as "Pagan Baby" and "Born to Move" how could you go wrong?? I used to play in a band that did a cover of "Born to Move", and it always got people on the floor. Sadly, most folks then came up and said "great tune! is that an original?" Buy this CD and help set the record straight...