Born on the Bayou: Craft Recordings Preps Half-Speed Mastered Editions of First Two CCR Albums

Craft Recordings is continuing the 50th anniversary celebration of Creedence Clearwater Revival. In 1968, John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook released their first album together, providing the perfect soundtrack for a tumultuous period in American history. Over just seven albums issued between 1968 and 1972, the band’s rootsy rock-and-roll sensibility yielded such all-time classic hits as “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Green River,” “Down on the Corner,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” Last November, Craft Recordings released a deluxe box set containing CCR’s complete seven-album studio discography in new half-speed masterings by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. On March 29, those new 180-gram, half-speed mastered editions of the first two albums –Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bayou Country – will receive stand-alone LP releases.

In its press release for the box, Craft described the mastering procedure for these albums: “Using high-res transfers from the original analog tapes, the half-speed mastering process involves playing back audio at half its recorded speed while the cutting lathe is turned at half the desired playback speed. The technique allows more time to cut a micro-precise groove, allowing more accuracy with frequency extremes and dynamic contrasts.” Miles Showell offers further insight into his own approach: “I’ve tried to be as authentic as I could, and just make it sound like music. Not over-hyped, not over-processed. Up until now a lot of processing has been done on these recordings, so my approach was to strip them right back and just expose them for what they are – because what they are is great music.”

Despite the personal and professional tensions that plagued the band, CCR’s joyous brand of Americana keeps on chooglin’. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are still active today, with John Fogerty headlining his own solo shows, and Cook and Clifford performing as Creedence Clearwater Revisited. (Tom Fogerty died in 1990.) The timeless Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bayou Country are due from Craft Recordings on March 29. You’ll find the complete track listings and pre-order links below!

Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy 8382, 1968 – reissued Fantasy/Craft, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)

Side A:

I Put a Spell on You
The Working Man
Suzie Q

Side B:

Ninety Nine (And a Half Won’t Do)
Get Down Woman
Porterville
Gloomy
Walk on the Water

Bayou Country (Fantasy 8387, 1969 – reissued Fantasy/Craft, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)

Side A:

Born on the Bayou
Bootleg
Graveyard Train

Side B:

Good Golly Miss Molly
Penthouse Pauper
Proud Mary
Keep on Chooglin’

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

1 thought on “Born on the Bayou: Craft Recordings Preps Half-Speed Mastered Editions of First Two CCR Albums”

Fred Zeller
March 10, 2019 at 12:04 pm

I have been trying to get in touch with someone at Craft. I bought the CCR box set. Green River LP skips side two, 1st two tracks. Someone replied to a tweet saying they want to “make it right”. Maybe this will work. One would think that customer service is part of your operation.

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