Tom Fogerty
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1972) - Tom Fogerty (RIP 1990) -- vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica - Jerry Garcia (RIP) -- lead guitar - Russ Gary -- guitar - John Kahn -- bass - Bill Mundi -- percussion - Merl Saunders -- keyboards - Bill Vitt -- drums
line up 2 (1974) - Doug Clifford -- drums, percussion - Stu Cook -- bass - Russell DeShiell - lead guitar - Tom Fogerty (RIP 1990) -- vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica - Stephen Miller -- keyboards - Tom Phillips -- lead guitar
line up 3 (1982) - John Allair -- keyboards - John Blakeley --
guitar - Pee Wee Ellis -- saxophone - David Hayes --
bass - Tom Lilienthal
-- bass
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- Creedence Clearwater Revival - Ruby - Russell DeShiell (solo efforts)
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Tom Fogerty Company: Fantasy Catalog: F-9407 Year: 1972 Country/State: Oakland, California Grade (cover/record): VG/VG Comments: minor ring wear front and back covers; original lyric inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5152 Price: $30.00
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Tom Fogerty's story's well known .. In spite of immense success as part of Creedence Clearwater Revival cast in the unenviable role as second banana to younger brother John, in 1971 Fogerty struck out in search of a solo career.
Signed by Fantasy Records (coincidently CCR's label), Fogerty debuted with a decent non-LP single:
- 1971's 'Goodbye Mr. Media Man' (Parts 1 and 2) (Fantasy catalog number F-661)
A few months later Fogerty released his first solo album - 1972's self-produced "Tom Fogerty". Featuring a collection of ten originals and backing from some members of the extended Grateful Dead family (John Kahn, Merl Saunders, and Bill Vitt), the set was enjoyable, but surprisingly low-keyed. Musically quite varied, tracks like 'Beauty Is Under the Skin' and 'Train To Nowhere' would not have sounded out of place on a CCR album. That said, the album's highlights came in the form of the rockers 'Lady of Fatima', 'The Me Song' (overlooking the trite lyric) and the weird acapella 'My Pretty Baby'. Curiously while most critics slammed Fogerty's voice, to my ears Tom may not have been as strong a singer (check out his warbling performance on 'Wandering'), but on tracks like 'Everyman' and 'Cast the First Stone' his slurred country-rock performances bore an uncanny resemblance to John. Certainly not a must-own block buster, but one of his better solo efforts and worth investing in if you can find a copy. A modest commercial success the LP managed to go top-100, peaking at # 78. Elsewhere Fantasy tapped the album for a single:
- 1972's 'Cast the First Stone' b/w 'Lady of Fatima' (Fantasy catalog number F-680)
"Tom Fogerty" track listing: (side 1) 1.) The Legend of Alactraz (Tom Fogerty) - 2:30 2.) Lady of Fatima (Tom Fogerty) - 4:24 3.) Beauty Is Under the Skin (Tom Fogerty) - 2:25 4.) Wondering (Tom Fogerty) - 2:24 5.) My Pretty Baby (Tom Fogerty) - 2:18
(side 2) 1.) Train To Nowhere (Tom Fogerty) - 3:28 2.) Everyman (Tom Fogerty) - 2:08 3.) The Me Song (Tom Fogerty) - 2:15 4.) Cast the First Stone (Tom Fogerty) - 2:07 5.) Here Stands the Clown (Tom Fogerty) - 2:49
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Genre: rock Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: Excalibur Company: Fantasy Catalog: F-9413 Year: 1972 Country/State: Oakland, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring wear front and back covers Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4522 Price: $25.00
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Serving as Tom Fogerty's second solo album, 1972's "Excalibur" was pretty darn impressive. Co-produced by Fogerty and Brian Gardner, the set found Fogerty teaming up with what stood as a pseudo-Grateful Dead line up in the form of Jerry Garcia, bassist John Kahn, keyboard player Merl Saunders and drummer Bill Vitt. Low-keyed and casual, musically the album found Fogerty and company offering up a blend of country-tinged numbers (a year in advance of brother John's Blue Ridge Rangers offering), conventional rock, and good time boogie. Highlights include the rocker 'Black Jack Jenny' and the fuzz guitar propelled cover of Bill Monroe's 'Rocky Road Blues'. The only real disappointments were 'Sign of the Devil', the needless slice of formulaic funk 'Get Funky' and the MOR ballad 'Faces, Places, People'. To my ears it's always been somewhat ironic that critics felt free to attack Fogerty for his singing, claiming he lacked brother John's chops. Well, anyone hearing this LP was bound to wonder what the critics were talking about since John and Tom sound virtually identical ... most folks would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between the two.
"Excalibur" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Forty Years (Tom Fogerty) - 3:45 While I'd love to say something nice about the leadoff track, 'Forty Years' was a downbeat, straightforward country track. Yeah, the lyric was quite poignant (especially in this day and age), but Fogerty just didn't have the vocal strength to carry it off. rating: ** stars 2.) Black Jack Jenny (Tom Fogerty) - 2:30 Thankfully 'Black Jack Jenny' was a major improvement - a slinky, fuzz guitar-propelled rocker. Yeah, it could have used a bit more energy, but Fogerty sounded pretty good this time out and Jerry Garcia's fuzz guitar was quite tasty. rating: *** stars 3.) Rocky Road Blues (Bill Monroe) - 3:50 As mentioned, Tom frequently got slammed for having a weak voice, but on his cover of Bill Monroe's 'Rocky Road Blues' he sure sounded alot like John. Again featuring Garcia's fuzz guitar, this one would have sounded good on brother John's "Blue Ridge Rangers" album. rating: **** stars 4.) Faces, Places, People (Tom Fogerty) - 3:50 Sounding as if it had been recorded in a bathroom stall (lots of echo), 'Faces, Places, People' was a bland and forgettable ballad. Other than a nice fuzz solo, there wasn't much to say about it, other than it was mercifully short. Who knows why, but Fantasy tapped this as the promotion single, but don't seem to have released it as a stock copy:
- 1972's 'Faces, Places, People' b/w 'Forty Years' (Fantasy catalog number F-691). rating: ** stars 5.) Get Funky (Tom Fogerty) - 1:50 With a strange bluesy edge, 'Get Funky' didn't even sound like a finished song - Fogerty sounded like he was making the song up on the spot. rating: ** stars
(side 2) 1.) Sick And Tired (Chris Kenner - Dave Bartholomew) - 4:08 Fogerty's cover of Chris Kenner's 'Sick And Tired' was actually one of the album's bigger surprises. Far more funky than you would have expected, Garcia's guitar added some wonderful color to the performances. Darn he sounded like John on this one ... rating: *** stars 2.) Sign Of The Devil (Tom Fogerty) - 2:35 Another song that sounded like a working demo, 'Sign Of The Devil' actually could have been quite good were it not for the martial tempo and the super cheesy synthesizer. rating: ** stars 3.) Straight And Narrow (Tom Fogerty) - 3:45 I'm usually not a gigantic country-blues fan, but Fogerty sounded surprisingly impressive on 'Straight And Narrow'. Hum, maybe i was the slide guitar that caught my attention. rating: *** stars 4.) Next In Line (Tom Fogerty) - 2:13 'Next In Line' found Fogerty returning to a country theme. Hum, a hoedown number ... not for me. rating: ** stars 5.) (Hold On) Annie Mae (Tom Fogerty) - 3:48 With kind of '50s feel, '(Hold On) Annie Mae' was another surprisingly attractive performance. Easy to image John recording something like this one. rating: *** stars.
Hardly his best outing, but there were a couple of winners to be found here.
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Myopia Company: Fantasy Catalog: F-9469 Year: 1974 Country/State: Oakland, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cut lower right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4823 Price: $25.00
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Maybe because he was once again backed by former CCR alumnus Doug Clifford and Stu Cook, 1974's "Myopia" found Tom Fogerty sounding somewhat rejuvenated. The result may have been his most consistent and enjoyable solo outing. Fogerty penned all of the material and tracks such as 'Give Me Another Trojan Song' (I've never been able to decide whether the song's obscene or not), 'What Did I Know' and the pretty ballad 'What About Tomorrow' certainly echoing his CCR past. While the album lacked a real killer radio-friendly track, the rocker 'And I Love You' came close. Elsewhere there are only a couple of duds - the instrumental 'Theme from the Four-D' simply sounded unfinished, while 'She La La La' offered up a lame and ill considered slice of reggae. Not to sound like a broken record and I know lots of folks will disagree, but to my ears Tom sure sounded like a dead ringer for brother John. (Not sure what Tom was thinking about when he picked the Paul Whitehead painting for the cover art ...)
"Myopia track listing: (side 1) 1.) Give Me Another Trojan Song ( Tom Fogerty) - 2:59 2.) What Did I Know ( Tom Fogerty)- 2:35 3.) Theme from the Four-D (instrumental) ( Tom Fogerty) - 3:11 4.) Sweet Things To Come ( Tom Fogerty) - 2:11 Released as a single the tune went nowhere, though it may have only been released as a promo effort. - 1974's 'Sweet Things To Come' b/w 'Sweet Things To Come' (Fantasy catalog number F-734) 5.) What About Tomorrow ( Tom Fogerty) - 4:23
(side 2) 1.) She La La La ( Tom Fogerty) - 3:01 2.) And I Love You ( Tom Fogerty) - 2:23 3.) Get Up ( Tom Fogerty) - 2:07 4.) There was a Time ( Tom Fogerty) - 3:09 5.) Showdown ( Tom Fogerty) - 2:35
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Deal It Out Company: Fantasy Catalog: F-9611 Year: 1982 Country/State: Oakland, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cut lower right corner Available: 2 Catalog ID: 1272 Price: $25.00
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Co-produced by Tom Fogerty, Mark Springer, and David Hayes, 1982's "Deal It Out" was Tom's first solo studio release in eight years. Sporting a mixture of originals and covers, the results were professional and occasionally engaging, but hardly a breakthrough collection. To his credit Tom managed to avoid falling victim to the desire to bow to popular trends - no disco, not new wave, no long hair metal. Instead, Fogerty seemed content to follow his own musical interests, no matter how uncommercial they may have been. Probably the most interesting aspect of the album was how much Tom could sound like younger brothers John when he wanted to. Tracks like the single 'Champagne Love', his cover of the rock chestnut 'Mystery Train', and 'The Secret' could easily have been mistaken for material off of a John Fogerty solo album, or a CCR release. Probably the best description for this one would be pleasant, if inconsequential.
"Deal It Out" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Champagne Love (Tom Fogerty - Doug Cook)- 2:45 I clearly remember being surprised by home much Tom sounded like brother John on this CCR-ish mid-tempo rocker. Quite catchy and commercial, though lacking a certain something that John brought to his material. Possibly because it sounded a bit like a CCR effort Fantasy tapped it as a single:
- 1982's 'Champagne Love' b/w 'The Secret' (Fantasy catalog number 923) rating: *** stars 2.) Why Me (Tom Fogerty) - 5:39 Always loved John Blakely's bluesy guitar opening on this one. Nice, slinky rocker that was an album highlight. Interestingly the comparison to John was largely lost on this tune with Tom adopting a much higher register. rating: *** stars 3.) Real Real Gone (Van Morrison) - 4:04 One of two Van Morrison covers, Fogerty's version didn't stray far from the original arrangement (in fact he used a couple of Morison's supporting musicians on the tune). Nice performance that may not have matched the original, but was still fun to hear. rating: *** stars 4.) Tricia Suzanne (Tom Fogerty) - 2:57 Complete with some sweet backing vocals, 'Tricia Suzanne' was probably the album's most melodic tune. Would have made a nice single for Fogerty. rating: *** stars 5.) Mystery Train (Junior Parker - Sam Phillips) - 2:30 Probably the album's biggest surprise, my expectations for this cover were pretty low, but Fogerty gave it a patented CCR arrangement, turning in his most energetic vocal ... damn if this didn't sound like a killer John Fogerty vocal. rating: **** stars
(side 2) 1.) Deal It Out (Hans Oldson) - 3:12 Pretty ballad with a slight Tex-Mex feel (thanks to the accordion solo). rating: *** stars 2.) Open the Window (Kim Park) - 317 He didn't write it (which was kind of interesting since the lyrics almost seemed to have been addressed to brother John). but the country-rock flavored title track was probably the album's most engaging performance. With Fogerty turning in his best CCR-styled vocal the song had an engaging mid-tempo melody and some intriguing lyrics. rating: **** stars 3.)
You Move Me (Van Morrison) - 4:25 4.) The Secret (Tom Fogerty) - 2:26 'The Secret' demonstrated Fogerty could handle a conventional CCR rocker. Shame it was one of the album's shortest tunes. rating: *** stars 5.) Summer Night (Kim Park) - 4:08 Pretty, but forgettable acoustic tinged country ballad. rating: *** stars
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