Delve deeper into Creedence with ‘Factory’

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 | 8:32 a.m.

Sometimes a band's catalog can be undone by the success of its own greatest-hits collection.

This has perhaps never been more true than for Creedence Clearwater Revival, the greatest Southern rock outfit ever to come out of Southern California.

In 1976, four years after breaking up, CCR released "Chronicle," a 20-song, best-of compilation that still ranks among rock's greatest single-disc sets.

Only problem is, in the 28 years since, few music fans have bothered to delve further into CCR's recorded output. And why should they, when "Chronicle" does such an excellent job of rounding up the group's top singles?

As a result, albums that were once staples in many rock 'n' roll collections -- remember "Green River," "Willy and the Poor Boys" and "Cosmo's Factory"? -- are heard less frequently as the decades pass.

That's a shame, since the original records present CCR's music the way it was intended, not as a barrage of consecutive radio hits, but as cohesive pieces of rock history.

Seven of the 11 tracks on 1970's "Cosmo's Factory" -- the band's fifth studio effort -- can also be found on "Chronicle." But the disc's other four songs, as well as its preferable sequencing, make it a worthwhile purchase.

Look no further for proof than the opening cut, the monumental "Ramble Tamble." One of singer/guitarist John Fogerty's most underrated compositions, the 7-minute epic begins as an upbeat hillbilly stomp before slowing and melding into a sinister guitar-driven jam.

Creedence's cover of Bo Diddley's blues classic "Before You Accuse Me" is another stellar track you won't find on "Chronicle." And the band's takes on 1950s Sun Records standards "Ooby Dooby" and "My Baby Left Me" also show off the quartet's ability to put its swampy stamp on other people's material.

Of course, "Cosmo's Factory" is most famous for spawning a series of heavy hitters: "Travelin' Band," "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Run Through the Jungle," "Up Around the Bend," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Long as I Can See the Light" and CCR's rendition of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard it Through the Grapevine."

All of those songs hold up 30-plus years later, and they work better away from the rest of CCR's most famous rockers, "Down on the Corner," "Fortunate Son" and the like.

Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Title: "Cosmo's Factory."

Year of release: 1970 (Fantasy Records).

Tracklisting: "Ramble Tamble," "Before You Accuse Me," "Travelin' Band," "Ooby Dooby," "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Run Through the Jungle," "Up Around the Bend," "My Baby Left Me," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," "Long as I Can See the Light."