By Steve Hubrecht
The story of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)’s rapid rise to the top of the music world, and the band’s equally rapid disintegration is one of the greatest tales in the music business: hard-driving classic rock tunes with a swampy Southern-twang, millions of records sold, hit singles galore, underlying tensions, brother-versus-brother fallout, lawsuits, then breakup.
Set all that against the tumult of the late 1960s and early 1970s, with topical events of the times often captured in the band’s lyrics, and you can begin to imagine why the band is considered rock royalty by many music critics.
But you don’t have to imagine — you can see for yourself: the many twists and turns of the CCR story will come to life in the Columbia Valley Centre next weekend on Friday, Feb. 14 during Creedence Clearwater Remembered: A True Rock and Roll Story.
The show is a mix of music and storytelling, featuring Edmonton musician El Niven.
“We take you through all the hits of CCR but also tell you the story of the band,” show co-producer Graham Neil told the Pioneer. “They burned brightly and then flared out in not that long of a time.”
CCR’s sudden fame was dramatic, but so too was their breakup. It was “band against band. Band against the record company. Brother against brother. It was certainly something,” said Neil. He added that the tale of CCR is, in many ways, a “snapshot of a generation.”
Neil clarified that Creedence Clearwater Remembered is not a tribute band. “We don’t pretend to be anyone. It’s not acting . . . it’s a story and the songs are part of the story.”
Niven described the show to the Pioneer as “a salute to CCR rather than a tribute. We are ourselves on stage, but we celebrate Jon Fogerty.”
The set behind the band changes throughout the show, proceeding chronologically through time. The net result is that “it does feel like we take you on a journey,” said Niven.
Playing CCR songs is “a great fit for me,” said Niven. He grew up listening to grunge rock bands such as Pearl Jam instead of classic rock, but his parents often played CCR’s greatest hits album in the family station wagon. “So when I started playing CCR songs (for the show), although I had to learn them on the guitar, I was already very familiar with all the tunes. I knew them. The feel and sound of them, that was already in me.”
Creedence Clearwater Remembered launched three years ago, has since toured all over western Canada and recently made its first tour to eastern Canada.
“It’s definitely catching on,” said Neil.
Part of the show’s success comes down to the trademark CCR sound, according to Niven. “It’s simple, it’s gritty and it’s raw,” he said. “We’ve been playing in front of crowds that are pretty decent in size, and everyone already knows all the words to all the songs. So they immediately get into it and start singing along. It’s really magic. They (the crowds) soak it up, and then I feed off that.”
Creedence Clearwater Remembered closes with the iconic song ‘Proud Mary’ and there are almost always people up dancing in the aisles, said Niven. “It’s one of the high points.”
The show is the second in the Legends Series put on throughout the winter and spring by local company Mountain Home Productions, which also brought Tom Cochrane and Colin James to Invermere last summer.
VIP doors for Creedence Clearwater Remembered open at 5:15 p.m., VIP dinner is at 5:45 p.m., general admission doors open at 6:45 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.
To find out more visit: www.mountainhomeproductions.com.
