Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall

A film that captures Creedence Clearwater Revival's concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, during their 1970 European tour. We also have a history of the band to that point, all the way from their earliest days in school. Narrated by Jeff Bridges.

Creedence Clearwater Revival were huge in the late 60s/early 70s and had a big influence on later bands but today, unfortunately, they're less well known. This documentary and concert footage are timely reminder of just how great they were.

The documentary part is quite interesting though I sometimes feel Jeff Bridges overdoes the superlatives, making the narration sound less objective. He also sounds a bit drunk (and yes, I know that's how he always sounds).

The concert is great: only about an hour long but packing in their biggest hits. Great music and musicianship.

Warning: If you don't play this documentary at a high volume you will be missing out on the fun.

I always thought that Creedence Clearwater Revival was the best band to come out of the 1960's and 1970's. Better, even, than the Beatles. Their country /grunge style always makes me smile whenever I hear it.

The documentary begins with the boys on their 1970 European tour. Then there is some background on the roots, the founding of the band back in high school. They first went under the name "The Blue Velvets" and when John's older brother joined they switched to "Tommy Fogerty and The Blue Velvets".

It's kind of funny how their first manager, Max Weiss, decided they should change their name to "The Golliwogs" so that they would sound more "British"'. What better way to ride on the coattails of "The British Invasion" than to name yourselves after an ugly rag doll caricature of a black minstrel. But, in Max's defense, he did have a prior hit under his belt: the theme to the "Charlie Brown" TV specials is a jazz instrumental titled "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Vince Guaraldi.

The first half of this documentary is interesting. I loved getting a history of the band and seeing some footage from their first trip to Europe. I always find band histories fascinating, when done well. I wouldn't say this part of the documentary is top notch but it's done well enough to be enjoyable.

Where this really gets into its stride is with the concert footage from London. I thought I'd end up skipping for later as generally, I don't watch concerts on TV. And I was tired. But I was hooked, and ended up rewatching some parts of it. The simple raw performance of four musicians churning out great song after great song for 45 minutes was absolutely brilliant. I loved it and would recommend it as one of the best concerts I've ever seen on TV.

John Fogerty is a national treasure and after watching this documentary, I now have a greater appreciation for his talents as a singer, songwriter and guitar player.

Jeff Bridges narrates the first half which covers Creedence Clearwater Revival's first tour of Europe with a few snippets of concert footage and gives a brief background on the four musicians.

The second half is simply mind blowing. It was filmed in April of 1970 at Royal Albert Hall in London shortly after the breakup of The Beatles. John Fogerty was justifiably nervous as he took the stage but he says very little other than thank you in between the twelve song set list. No special lighting was used and the music is awesome. Two guitars, a bass and drums and a few large amplifiers filled the stage.

I cranked up my small JBL computer speakers and recommend that anyone watching do the same.

Here is the song list 1-Travelin' Band 2-Born on the Bayou 3-Green River 4-Tombstone Shadow 5-Fortunate Son 6-Commotion 7-Midnight Special 8-Bad Moon Rising 9-Proud Mary 10-The Night is the Right Time 11-Good Golly Miss Molly 12-Keep on Chooglin'

I always liked John Fogerty and Creedence but was never a fanatic. There music is very distinct and very American. This documentary and concert finale covers their first European trip. It is a good documentary because it weaves the background and history of the band in without making it boring. The story is told through interviews and old footage and in between concert and travel footage. It is a very cool look for the avid fan, or casual one. The concerto is excellent. Its has significance because it is from The Royal Albert Hall, where the Beatles went big, and around the time the Beatles announced they were splitting up. If you are a CCR fan I would add an additional star.