Creedence Clearwater Revival Album: “Cosmo's Factory (Limited Edition)”

The sixties were over. The summer of love had passed us like an Italian sports car. Most of the revolutions were left on the road, abandoned. Many of the revolutionaries were dead. But wait... Out in the bayou jungle Creedence Clearwater Revival goes a runnin'. A bunch of skinny, long-haired white boys who had been cuttin' their teeth for the last couple of years, playing and moanin' those southern delta blues with a little country flavor thrown in for grins. OK. So these guys weren't really from any place near Louisiana. And the musicianship level of the band members is probably only adequate by some standards. But the songs... Man, these were some powerful tunes. These guys were definitely tapped into some musical spirit plane at this moment in time. There is not a bad or weak or lame musical moment on this disc. The disc is purely inspirational, non-technical, good-time tunes. These old tunes really benefit from the new 20 bit K2 mastering process. I had to replace the original, thin sounding 16 bit release I've been listening to for the last decade, when I saw the newly remastered version available here on Amazon. I am born again! If you only own one, this is definitely the one CCR disc that you must own. If you have any of the other CCR discs, your collection will not be complete without this disc. Make no mistake, this is classic rock and roll in it's finest hour.

As a rule, you can't go wrong purchasing any Creedence Clearwater Revival CD. However, Cosmos Factory is undoubtedly their premeire recording. Just reading through the tracks, one would think that its a greatest hits collection. And even non singles like Ramble Tamble are terrific due to the varying mood shifts. John Fogerty really showed the world that he developed into a premiere song-writer with such gems as Looking Out My Backdoor, Up Around The Bend, Travelling Band, Who'll Stop The Rain, and Long As I Can See The Light. And how can we forget the fantastic cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine with some excellent drumming by Doug Cliford. Heck, Clifford's drumming is awesome throughout this disc as the title represents his abilities. Unless you want to take the quick study and buy Chronicle, Cosmos Factory is the CD you want to start with.

Cosmo's Factory takes its name from the recording studio the album was recorded at which was in drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford's house. The album is virtually a greatest hits album with seven songs appearing on the charts. The album again shows how the band can bounce in between styles and move from three minute pop songs to eleven minute jams. "Travelin' Band" is a fiery two and a half minute romp that sounds like something that could have been recorded by a Stax artist. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" is a fun, C&W flavored song that fits in perfectly with covers of "Before You Accuse Me" and "Ooby Dooby". "Run Through The Jungle" is a feedback driven rocker about Vietnam while the dour and pensive "Who'll Stop The Rain" was inspired by the band's performance at Woodstock and about the political unrest in the country. "Up Around The Bend" is soaring rocker and they take the Motown staple "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and remold it into a Fillmore West, Grateful Deadish jam. "Ramble Tamble" is another longish jam that starts off as in a rockabilly sound, moves to a psychedelic like guitar jam in the middle, before returning to rockabilly and is a great showcase for John Fogerty's underrated guitar work. "Long As I Can See The Light" perfectly closes the album in a dirge-like manner. Cosmo's Factory turned out to be the band's last truly great album and major commercial success, spending nine weeks at number one.

Probably their best album. Has Traveling Band and their incomparable cover of Grapevine. Definitely worth the price.

The last undisputed masterpiece by the band, Cosmos' Factory was the band's second and last number one album. It was also their biggest seller due to the fistful of hit singles on the album. Although it wasn't the band's most consistent album (Willie & The Poorboys is still the band's undisputed masterpiece), it's pretty darn close to being one of the finest the band made.

Just about every track is classic and it does contain some of Fogerty's best songs. Two of these classics would become closely associated with the Vietnam War. The subtle elegant ballad Who'll Stop The Rain and swamp funk of Run Through The Jungle are both powerful and represent Fogerty at the height of his power as a songwriter).

The production is sharp, the riffs original and the singing powerful. Fogerty's growling tenor displays additional depth and sensitivity on evident on some of the band's other albums. John Fogerty has gone on record as stating this was probably the band's masterpiece. Perhaps, regardless, it's one of CCR's finest moments in their short, bright career.