Track Listing

1. Ramble Tamble
2. Before You Accuse Me
3. Travelin Band
4. Ooby Dooby
5. Lookin' Out My Back Door
6. Run Through The Jungle
7. Up Around The Bend
8. My Baby Left Me
9. Who'll Stop The Rain
10. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
11. Long As I Can See The Light
12. Travelin' Band
13. Up Around The Bend
14. Born On The Bayou [Jam with Booker T.]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6119 in Music
• Released on: 2008-10-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .19 pounds
• Running time: 54 minutes

CD Description
Creedence Clearwater Revival's continued their reputation as a consummate singles act with the release of COSMO'S FACTORY. Three of its singles, the blazing "Travelin' Band", the driving sting of "Up Around The Bend", and the irresistibly sunny fantasia hoedown "Looking Out My Back Door" (complete with tambourines and elephants) each achieved gold status. These tunes hit the mark completely, capturing the group's accessible, hook-laden rock 'n' roll with a lightness and urgency balanced by stinging guitars, unforgettable melodies, and the expressive voice of lead singer/songwriter John Fogerty.
Though COSMO'S FACTORY has its share of covers, including a version of the Sun Records oldie "Oobie Doobie" and anextended jam on the Marvin Gaye classic "I Heard It Throughthe Grapevine", it still overflows with great originals. "Ramble Tamble" and "Run Through the Jungle" are edgy rockers build around killer guitar riffs, both driven by an uncharacteristically dark, shadowy feel. "Long As I Can See the Light" is full of plaintive yearning, while the poignant "Who'llStop the Rain" ranks among Fogerty's finest tunes. Creedence's ability to fuse traditional pop elements with downhome simplicity, rock edge, and superb songcraft is in full effecton COSMO'S FACTORY, placing it alongside GREEN RIVER and WILLIE AND THE POOR BOYS as one of their best albums.

Customer Reviews

Terrific sound, mediocre bonus material.
Frequently praised as Creedence's best record, "Cosmo's Factory" was released in the summer of 1970, going straight to #1.
Six of the seven original songs had already been released as singles, and all of them, A-sides and B-sides alike, had charted in the top 5 in the US.

So it's no wonder, really, that when the LP finally came out, the remaining five songs only included one more Fogerty original, the nightmarish seven-minute hard rock jam "Ramble Tamble", in addition to decent covers of "Ooby Dooby" and "My Baby Left Me", a good (if perhaps over-long) 11-minute cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" which featured a terrific performance by the rhythm section, and a wonderful, swaggering cover of Bo Diddley's classic blues "Before You Accuse Me".

I don't think of "Cosmo's Factory" as Creedence's best record (that would be the immensely tight and cohesive "Green River"), but you can't deny the incredibly high quality of most of these songs, the Fogerty originals in particular.
From the driving Little Richard-pastice "Travelin' Band" with its churning horn section to the dense, foreboding hard rock of "Run Through The Jungle", this is prime John Fogerty, and the entire band never played better. "Up Around The Bend" is as joyous and as infectious as anything from Fogerty's pen. The soulful slowie "Long As I Can See The Light" is one of his best vocal performances, and his best attempts at a real soul ballad. The lightweight pop song "Looking Out My Back Door" with its druggy images of "wonderous apparitions provides by magicians" is Fogerty at his silliest, but also at his sweetest and most melodic. And the subtle, elegant and melodic folk-rocker "Who'll Stop The Rain" is one of his lasting claims to fame.

The bonus tracks on this 2008 anniversary edition consists of a remake of "Travelin' Band" (it's pretty much identical to the master, only without the horns and the piano), a decent but unremarkable and slightly fuzzy live recording of "Up Around The Bend" from the band's last European tour just before their final demise, and a pretty good 1970 studio rendition of "Born On The Bayou" with Booker T. Jones and the Memphis Group lending a hand. Good enough, but not all that remarkable.

There just isn't anymore high quality Creedence in the vaults, and like on the other 2008 reissues, the bonus tracks aren't really reason enough to start buying all of Creedence's albums again. But if you're a first-time buyer, be sure to get this edition, not so much for the bonus tracks as for the wonderful, crisp and realistic sound.

Fantastic Country Rock - A Must Buy!
This is probably Creedence's best album. Some of the band's best known songs are here and it just all hangs together. The opener 'Ramble Tamble' steams ahead relentlessly, slows down like an old freight train, breaks into a swampy slide guitar stomp, which then builds back up like a train cresting a rise and rolls on down to finish as it started. Great guitar playing, solid rhythms and great songs. What more could you ask for AND this remastered version features 3 extra tracks. There's not a duff song on this album - turn it on, crank it up and invite the neighbours over to party - this album is guaranteed to get things started! Highly recommended.

Willy & the Poor Boys got famous
This and "Willy and the poor boys" are the two best albums that CCR made while a going band in late 60's and early 70's. "Up around the Bend", "Ramble Tamble" and a rock classic 10 minute version of Marvin Gayes' "I heard it through the Grapevine" which deserves to go down in rock history. John Fogertys' voice and guitar playing never seemed to fail him.
The album title, as every CCR fan knows is a reference to the bands drummer, Doug "Cosmo" Clifford. He's the one on the bike on the cover. It is easy to understand why a lot of people thought CCR where a coloured band when they first arrived on the scene in 1969.