Tom Fogerty/Excalibur

Artist: Tom Fogerty
Label: Zyx Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 090204662920
EAN: 0090204662920
ASIN: B00000JJYL

Release Date: 2000-05-09

Tom Fogerty/Excalibur

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Tracks:

Legend of Alcatraz
Lady of Fatima
Beauty Is Under the Skin
Wondering
My Pretty Baby
Train to Nowhere
Everyman
Me Song
Cast the First Stone
Here Stands the Clown
Goodbye Media Man, Pts. 1-2 [#][*]
Forty Years
Black Jack Jenny
Rocky Road Blues
Faces, Places, People
Get Funky
Sick and Tired
Sign for the Devil
Straight and Narrow
Next in Line
(Hold On) Annie Mae

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Album Description

Two complete solo LPs for the Fantasy label by the late Creedence Clearwater Revival guitarist together on one CD, his 1972 self-titled debut & his 1973 sophomore outing, respectively. Contains all cuts from when the records were first released, for a combined total of 21 selections. Also features the original cover art of each. 1999 release.

Album Details

Twofer Reissue of 1972 and 1973 Releases from the Late Brother of John Fogerty and Creedence Alumni.

Customer Reviews:

Tom Fogerty leaves CCR and Declares Independence.......2005-12-25

This European release couples two LPs issued on the Fantasy label, Tom Fogerty's 1972 self-titled release, with the 1973 follow-up, entitled "Excalibur".
In 1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of the hottest groups around. They'd charted many top 10's, moved thousands of units, and had toured the world over. Many hailed them as the American response to the Beatles. Then, early that year, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty left, frustrated by the lack of allowed involvement in the affairs of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The fact that Tom was on his way out was saddeningly obvious on their "Pendulum" album. Keyboards and saxes (courtesy of younger brother John) dominated and rhythm guitar, when it did appear, was given a backseat.
In 1971, a single entitled "Goodbye Media Man" appeared. It was the first solo recording out of CCR's membership. It's date, "17th of June, 1971" proudly displayed on the label, perhaps signifying a "declaration of independence" of Tom Fogerty from his little brother's dominance. "Media Man" creeped up to a disappointing #103 on the Billboard charts, but, hey, doesn't everyone work their way up?
Later that year, free from CCR, Tom Fogerty began work on his first solo LP. Immediately after departing Creedence, Tom began gigging with Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders, and not surprisingly, Saunders, and gig-mates Bill Vitt and John Kahn, made up the backing band on this album. Tom handled all guitars, and, as such, no strong leads are present. But, that's a good thing. The songs here are lilting and melodic.
Opening this first LP from Tom is "The Legend of Alcatraz", a nice and melodic tune that might not have been a single, but is definitly a proper opener for this record. "Lady of Fatima" is a nicely playing jam between the musicians, and I find it to be a high-water mark on the album if you don't think so much of its crud lyrics. "Beauty Is Under The Skin" screams R&B single while "Wandering" is perhaps a throwback to the psych lyrics of the 60's, and "My Pretty Baby" is an homage to 50's vocal groups with Tom singing all the vocals, ala multitrack (think "Workin' On a Buildin'" by brother John) sparsely accompanied by Russ Gary's acoustic guitar. "Train To Nowhere" is a pleasant, loping number that is the longest song on the album, with nicely metered playing by Saunders and a fine vocal by Tom. "Everyman" is a country-style ballad with rollicking piano playing from Saunders and Tom gives a harmonica solo. This track sounds like it was cut by a bunch of guys who were having fun, and its my favorite on the album. "The Me Song" finds Tom addressing, perhaps, the things forced upon him that he doesn't want from superstardom, and "Cast The First Stone" (the album's single, by the way) seems to be Tom taking a jibe at John, with some percussional work from Billy Mundi. Things come to a close (with a beautiful closer!) with "Here Stands The Clown". A brief track, to be sure, but the beauty of how Tom works it...
This would be Tom's best selling album. It peaked at a meager #180 and would mark the last album chart appearance. The album produced no charting singles.
"Excalibur", Tom's second album, was issued in 1973. It would be an understatement to say that Tom's style had changed by this point. Jerry Garcia augmented the group which played on the first album. This would be one of the last albums to feature Garcia's pedal steel work, for those collector's out there...
"Forty Years" opens the album. A long, lost and forgotten piece of country-rock, here's a gem waiting to be discovered again. Garcia supplements the tune with his pedal steel guitar playing. Merl Saunders provides fitting piano. This song is worth, on its own, tracking down the LP. "Black Jack Jenny" is a return to Creedence's up-tempo formula, but with some rather uninspired playing from Garcia and lyrics that just don't mesh. "Rocky Road Blues" is a cover of a Bill Monroe bluegrass number, but Tom turns it into a repetitive tune, much in the style of his own that you wouldn't know a legend wrote it or that a good musician was playing it. Fogerty does sing it very decently but once again Garcia just isn't using any imagination. "Faces, Places, People" is one of the high-points of "Excalibur" and a dark one at that. Garcia hits his psych stride as Tom vocalizes some pain-wrentched lyrics. What he's singing of, I don't know, but obviously, it means something to him. "Get Funky" seems a random throwaway and "Sick and Tired" is a cover that Garcia, Saunders and Fogerty had been doing live. "Sign of the Devil" (incorrectly listed as "Sign For The Devil") is snooze-ville and "Straight and Narrow" goes on for too long and goes absolutely nowhere. "Next In Line" is a loping, country song, and makes me wonder if Tom ever considered tackling that genre. "(Hold On) Annie Mae" is a generic, but energetic blues number with prominent keys from Saunders, but the musicianship can't hide the banal lyrics (at one point he sings 'she didn't leave nothin'/No traces behind/Didn't leave numbers/For me to be find' - no, no typo). This one wound up on the "best of" CD!
"Excalibur" went nowhere, and was the start of chart no-shows. It would also be the last to feature Garcia, Saunders, Vitt and Kahn. They never figured in Fogerty's career again.
This CD includes "Goodbye Media Man" in its unedited, unsplit form. If you only have "part 1" of the single, you're OK, unless you want to hear Tom scream 'stop flashin' pictures of the people/stop flashin' pictures of the power' ad nauseum for two extra minutes...
This CD is pricey, and quality doesn't compensate. Someone was careless with the cheapo, PC-based noise reduction functions. "Tom Fogerty" is fine, not really a problem, but "Excalibur" takes a beating bad. The NR totally kills the treble and makes it even muddier, and removes all traces of reverb. A couple of tracks show up in their pure, unscathed hissy quality, and I would have preferred all of the tracks to be that way instead of being too sterile.
Liner notes? A measly (and incorrect) discography and whoever pressed these felt the urge to credit Tom's late-70's band Ruby as the backing musicians... Some pressings do correct the error, to a degree...
Artwork? Front covers, only. What you see on here is all you get... All of the Tom Fogerty reissues from ZYX suffer the same fate. Repetitive packaging.

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