Swamp River Days

Background

“Swamp River Days” is the eighth track on Blue Moon Swamp, the fifth solo album of John Fogerty. It came out in May 1997. The cut was written, produced and arranged by John Fogerty, engineered by John Lowson and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The album peaked at #37 in the USA, #1 in Finland and #8 in Australia. It also won Best Rock Album at the 40th Grammy Awards in 1998.

Fogerty celebrates his roots in "Swamp River Days" which he identifies as an update of "Green River". After the "Old Man Down the Road" case [plagiarism lawsuit] he said the next record was going to sound exactly like a Creedence song. "So yeah, it sounds like  "Green River". It's an exact copy. Take me to court." (Official website of John Fogerty, 1997).

Personnel

Guitars, vocals: John Fogerty

Bass: Bob Glaub

Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta

Shaker, tambourine: Luis Conté

Cuban percussionist Luis Conté has played in sessions and toured with Madonna, Phil Collins, Pat Metheny and James Taylor, just to list a few. Bass player Bob Glaub has played with an incredible range of rock musicians. Vinnie Colaiuta has collaborated with Frank Zappa, Jef Beck, Megadeth and others. 

Equipment

Fogerty played the opening and the middle solo of "Swamp River Days" on an off-the-shelf Washburn he bought around 1982  (Willie G. Moseley, Interview with John Fogerty, The Vintage Guitar, August 1997). 

Live versions

The World premiere of the live version of "Swamp River Days" took place in Burbank, California, on May 12th, 1997, on the radio special for Album Network. Hosted by Redbeard, the show was broadcast by such stations as KLOS-FM in Los Angeles and  WXRK in New York. It was also streamed online. 

Fogerty added the song to his set list on the Blue Moon Swamp World Tour in 1997 and Premonition Tour next year. It's also included in the Premonition live DVD. After the Premonition Tour was over, the song vanished from his programming.  

The one and only live version of "Swamp River Days" exposed on TV took place in Sweden in summer 1997 when his concert in Stockholm on July 25th was screened nationally. 

Fogerty also performed "Swamp River Days" in a concert in Roskilde, Denmark, on June 26th, 1997. The recording made by Danish radio was broadcast in Nordic countries later in that summer. 

Critical reception

"Paired with chug-a-lug boogie-woogie like 'Bring It Down To Jellie Roll' and 'Swamp River Days', the songs offer a good enough nostalgic panorama, so one might say John really hit the mark here. The funny thing is that once he finally abandoned all of his attempts to not sound like CCR, he suddenly ceased sounding like CCR. Sure, the lyrical matters are the same, and the melodies are essentially CCR-ish, but the effect is not." -George Starostin.

Fans' views

"A reminiscence of the past. Nostalgia chose this one. The closest he has come to the CCR sound of the late 60's."

"Good guitar-play in a song in which John sings with a very good voice."

"A wonderful song about carefree days and fun."

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