Creedence were the first to sign up for Woodstock. In April 1969, the Fogerty brothers' band pocketed a cheque for $10,000. Now that they'd landed such a big fish, the organisers knew that other big names would start looking for their own spot on the bill of what was set to be THE festival of the year... But all the same, the group were disappointed to find themselves with a very late billing, between half past midnight and 1:20am, after the Grateful Dead. But that didn't do anything to dampen a perfect performance, presented here in full and remastered. In 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival was already one of the most popular acts of the day, thanks to their three albums Creedence Clearwater Revival (May 1968), Bayou Country (January 1969) and Green River (August 1969, released two weeks before Woodstock). At the height of the reign of the Beatles and Stones, John Fogerty's Californian gang had something original up their sleeve: savage, raw rock'n'roll, built from rough-hewn, unadorned blues and country. Creedence marked themselves out with their marriage of redneck ways and a hippie style; of tradition and rock'n'roll modernity. Flanked by his big brother Tom, drummer Doug Clifford and bassist Stu Cook, John Fogerty would serve up Dantean hits like Born On The Bayou, Proud Mary and Green River: which are all given a lively, strong treatment here. As ever, Fogerty brays down the mic like a madman (his version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins's I Put a Spell on You is a show-stopper) while his brother provides pared-down, sharp and affecting guitar lines. With Creedence, you don't get any blowhard solos or incontinent psychedelics. Just a full-frontal blast. Bam! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz