Cosmo’s Factory

One of the three very first albums I ever heard. The other two were less significant (The Osmonds and Little Jimmy Osmond). I heard them on my cousin’s transportable Philips (I think) recordplayer. But Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Cosmo’s Factory has stayed with me throughout my whole life. What an eternal classic. 

I have this album on LP and CD and in box form. One LP cover is signed by Cosmo Clifford and Stu Cook and of course framed. And I have it on LP as expensive Original Master Recording. That’s the one I listen to now. But is the sound really that much better on an original master recording? It is great, of course, but this is grassroot rock and no studio wizardry work. It’s just plain, honest, and  superb rock’n’roll, and all the better for it, and it is a landmark rock album. But how much better technically can it actually sound? Slightly clearer and more distinct instrumentations, sure, especially for drums and cymbals, and clearer vocals. It is all nice, but, really, the difference is not that overwhelming. Still, slightly better and purer clarity is always better than not. So I prefer this version, of course. 

However, the song content is the real deal here and, gee, Cosmo’s Factory is just marvelous throughout. About half a century later it still sounds superb, and as an album you won’t get tired of. Ever. Some of my favorite CCR tracks are here too, like Travelin’ Band, Lookin’ Out My Back Door, Who’ll Stop The Rain and Long As I Can See The Light. I still remember when I first heard the last song live with Fogerty for the first time, in 1997. Cold chills and goosebumps all over. Breathtaking. Up Around The Bend is fine here too, but has later developed into a live favorite with Fogerty, as he has breathed new life into this rock stockpile. And of course here are also the long and wonderful guitar exercises backed by a solid and tight rhythm section, Ramble Tamble and especially I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Run Through The Jungle in turn became a valuable Vietnam war protestsong. There is not any bad songs here, all are truly ace. 

Impressive stuff, and even more so when remembering that CCR at this time made five great albums in less than three years. Mindblowing. Genius.