Series - My 5 Favorite Albums
Credence Clearwater Revival - Willie and the Poor Boys
Music is the one pleasure in life that I would never want to give up. My childhood centered around the weekly countdown on 77 WABC. If you are a boomer from the tri-state region, you just heard the jingle for their call sign in your head. This was the home of your “Cousin Brucie” and AM radio guided you through those changes of the sixties and early seventies.
That was where I heard the singles of the day. Whether it was pop, soul, country or rock and roll, you’d find it all at the same place. But my life was changed forever when I first started listening to albums. Singles were like magazine articles while albums were novels. When you listened to albums, you closed your bedroom door put your head between your speakers and just listened (with or without the lyric sheet).
I would like to share the five studio albums that have impacted my life the most. These are all rock and roll records as that was the album genre that spoke most to me. I loved soul, but primarily listened to singles. My two favorite live albums are both soul (Sam Cooke, Live at the Harlem Square Club and Otis Redding, Live in Europe). Runners up for studio albums include Prince, “Sign of the Times” and Willie Nelson, “Red Headed Stranger”.
I limited this to one album per artist, and the album chosen is the one that had the most impact on my life, not even necessarily that artist’s best. So here is something that no one asked for, my top five album choices (in no specific order).
1. Credence Clearwater Revival – Willie and the Poor Boys
The first time that I heard “Down on the Corner” on WABC, I thought that it was the coolest song that I ever heard. Credence became my first favorite band and I got all of their albums. Each had amazing music, but “Willie and the Poor Boys” told a story. It spoke about class, privilege and cataclysm that could not be stopped.
Track by Track:
Side 1
Down on the Corner – This introduced us to “Willie and the Poor Boys” as an alternate version of Credence busking on a streetcorner. Not very profound, but funky.
It Came Out of the Sky – This is a title right out of old sci fi movies. It’s the story about a UFO landing in a farm field and everyone scrambling to exploit it. Everyone from the Catholic Church, to Walter Cronkite, to Ronald Reagan wants it. The farmer finally tells them all that he’ll sell it to whoever will pay the price. It also rocks out!!!
“Well, a crowd gathered 'round and a scientist said it was marsh gas
Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax
The Vatican said, "Woe, the Lord has come"
Hollywood rushed out an epic film
And Ronnie the Popular said it was a communist plot, yeah
Oh, the newspaper came and made Jody a national hero
Walter and Eric said they'd put him on a network T.V. show
The White House said, "Put the thing in the Blue Room"
The Vatican said, "No, it belongs to Rome."
And Jody said, "It's mine, but you can have it for seventeen million.”
Cotton Fields – This is a cover of the old Leadbelly folk song. Very laid back and friendly.
Poorboy Shuffle – This is an instrumental from Credence using the instruments on the album cover picture. Harmonica, Washboard, Wash Tub Base, and Acoustic Guitar.
Feelin’ Blue – The close of side one is where the darkness seeps into the album. There’s a bit of paranoia, perhaps justified, perhaps not.
“Hey, look over yonder, up in the tree
There's a rope hanging just for me
Without a warning, without a warning
Things are piling up to break me down”
Side 2
Fortunate Son – Arguably, the best political protest song ever. It’s also one of Credence’s hardest rocking songs.
Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me) – After Fortunate Son, this turns up the focus on class. Yeah, the middle class and the rich were out there protesting the war, but they weren’t the ones doing America’s dirty work. It was turning the mirror on their own fans and having them take a closer look.
“Who will take the coal from the mine?
Who will take the salt from the earth?
Who'll take a leaf and grow it to a tree?
Don't Look Now, it ain't you or me.
Who will work the field with his hands?
Who will put his back to the plough?
Who'll take the mountain and give it to the sea?
Don't Look Now, it ain't you or me.
CHORUS:
Don't Look Now, someone's done your starvin';
Don't Look Now, someone's done your prayin' too.
Who will make the shoes for your feet?
Who will make the clothes that you wear?
Who'll take the promise that you don't have to keep?
Don't Look Now, it ain't you or me.
CHORUS
Who will take the coal from the mines?
Who will take the salt from the earth?
Who'll take the promise that you don't have to keep?
Don't Look Now, it ain't you or me.”
The Midnight Special – Another Leadbelly cover. It wasn’t accidental that John Fogerty chose two songs from a Black, Southern, former prisoner to flesh out this album and give it credibility.
Side O’ the Road – Instrumental that creates an ominous lead in for the grand finale.
Effigy – This is a song that captures the chaos and confusion of the sixties in one 6:30 song. The music and lyrics combine to create the scene of mayhem and destruction “Who is burning, who is burning, effigy.”
People can argue whether this is the best Credence album. Some say Cosmos Factory has more singles and Green River has more nostalgic swamp songs, but it’s Willie and the Poor Boys that always meant the most to me.