Blue Ridge Rangers

Wow, it's been awhile. Sorry, to keep ya'll (all two of you) hanging like that without any new (meaning old) music to ingest your WW&W to . . . Truth be told, it's not that I haven't stumbled upon any great new songs or artists to showcase on the blog, but just that I've been really busy and distracted with the rest of life, such as: getting laid off, finding out I'm gonna be a dad, and then getting another job (in that order, naturally). But, I'm back and committed to posting some music on this and it's sister blog, Soul Spectrum, on the somewhat regular.

Today's post comes from a prolific, yet anonymous source: The Blue Ridge Rangers. The shadowy figures perched atop the bluish ridge are in actuality an army of Fogerty: John Fogerty, that is. After the breakup of Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1972, John Fogerty, lead singer and main songwriter embarked on a solo career with an album that not only didn't list his name (except for as producer on the back of the LP), but didn't include even one original song. Either he was trying to get back at Fantasy Records founder Saul Zaentz or he was trying to disassociate himself from CCR.

Either way, it's a solid album of classic country music performed entirely by Fogerty with innovative arrangements that fits in wonderfully with the output of other country-rockers of the time, namely Gram Parsons. CCR never really fit in with much of the contemporary rock coming out during their tenure (1968-1972) so its amusing that Fogerty's first solo album actually DOES fit in with a trend even in its attempts to be anachronistic. Any way you slice it, it's an interesting listen from start to finish.

John remade this album with some new tunes and a full band not too long ago, but if I were you I'd track down this original album, find a cold American beer and a sunny porch and dig in.

Blue Ridge Rangers (John Fogerty) - California Blues (Blue Yodel #4)
Blue Ridge Rangers (John Fogerty) - Workin' On a Building





PS - Isn't the young John Fogerty a dead ringer for both a young Steve Martin and young Harrison Ford?