Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy And The Poor Boys (2014) [Hi-Res]

„Willy & The Poor Boys“ came out in 1969, when, as annotator Ed Ward writes, “a period when Creedence, surely the most anomalous band in the San Francisco explosion of the late ‘60s, was also proving its most commercial seller of them all.” The album contains the anthemic “Fortunate Son” along with “Down on the Corner” and a cover of the traditional folk song “The Midnight Special.” Bonus tracks include live versions of “Fortunate Son” and “It Came Out of the Sky,” plus an unreleased studio version of “Down on the Corner” recorded with Booker T & the MGs for a TV special at the band’s Berkeley rehearsal hall. The song features John Fogerty trading licks with guitar hero Steve Cropper.

Opening up with the feel-good, down-home groove of the hit 'Down on the Corner' and featuring all-out, belligerent roots rock like 'Fortunate Son' and loose, soul-drenched instrumentals like 'Side Of The Road,' „Willy And The Poor Boys“ is sensational from start to finish.

Throughout Creedence Clearwater Revival's brief career, their sound was a musical evocation of a mythic rural South, and „Willy And The Poor Boys“ is arguably the most Southern-sounding of all their records. Even though this 10-song album is padded out with cover versions of such folk-blues standards as 'Cotton Fields' and 'The Midnight Special,' John and brother Tom Fogerty's ragged electric guitar playing and the minimalist bass and drum work of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford make these well-known songs sound like Creedence originals.

John Fogerty, vocals, guitar
Tom Fogerty, background vocals
Stu Cook, bass guitar, background vocals
Doug Clifford, drums, background vocals

Digitally remastered