Chameleon
Background
"Chameleon" is an album track of Pendulum, the sixth long-player of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The band enriched it's sound by Pendulum. Besides normal guitar-bass-drums treatment, "Chameleon" features sax and electric piano. Recording of the album took more weeks than any of the previous Creedence Clearwater LPs. The song title "Chameleon" refers to the change.
Journalist Roy Carr described the song in The New Musical Express in December 1970: "John paying his respects to Otis Redding in soul-spiced song which benefits from a "Respect" type beat which compliments the funky Fogerty larynx. Saxes are heavily featured against a driving beat from Doug and Stu."
Collector's notes
An EP including "Hey Tonight", "Chameleon", "Molina" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" was released by Melodiya in the Soviet Union in 1974.
Live versions
Creedence Clearwater never performed the song live in concert. Neither has John Fogerty done it during his solo years.
Critical reception
""Chameleon" sounds a bit raunchier [than "Molina"] but the words are embarrassing." -Jon Landau, The Rolling Stone, February 4th, 1971.
Written by John C. Fogerty.
Recorded at Studio C, Wally Heider's Studios, San Francisco, CA, USA, in November 1970.
Appears on Pendulum album.
Released on December 7th 1970.