Long Dark Night

Background

"Long Dark Night" is the sixth track of Revival, the eight solo album of John Fogerty with new material. It was also his first CD with previously unreleased songs since rejoining Fantasy Records in 2005. The song was written, arranged and produced by John Fogerty and recorded by Jim Scott, Seth Presant and Ryan Freeland at NRG Recording in North Hollywood. The album was released in October 2007. It reached #14 in the USA, #5 in Sweden and #6 in Norway.

Fogerty talked about the origins of "Long Dark Night" to journalist Art Thompson in 2008: "It's that old swampy thing I used to do back with "Grapevine" and "Feelin' Blue". But as I was grooving on the feeling, through my mind went the phrase "long dark night", which sounds epochal - like the black plague coming to the people in one of those old Charlton Heston movies [Ben Hur]." (Art Thompson, Interview with John Fogerty, The Guitar Player, March 2008).

"Long Dark Night" describes Fogerty's feelings about the [President George W.] Bush administration. Fogerty explained right after the release of Revival: "I just happen to feel that in this case, with this administration, it's not simply bad judgment. I think these are bad people behaving badly, very much having a sinister purpose or agenda that is very self-serving a selfish. Lining their own pockets, lining the pockets of their friends, and making all the rest of us pay for it, of course." (Joshua Klein, Interivew with John Fogerty, The Pitchork, November 27, 2007).

After writing the songs for Revival, Fogerty and his band rehearsed them relentlessly and recorded the basic tracks in a 12-day session in spring 2007. It was the same process Fogerty used with Creedence Clearwater  (Harold Steinblatt, Interview with John Fogerty, The Guitar World, January 2008).  

Personnel

Vocals, guitar, harmonica: John Fogerty

Guitar: Hunter Perrin

Bass: David Santos

Drums, percussion: Kenny Aronoff

Equipment

For the rhythm parts and lead break of "Long Dark Night", Fogerty used the same D-to-D tuning in his Les Paul Custom as on "Proud Mary", "Bootleg", "Bad Moon Rising" and others (Art Thompson, Interview with John Fogerty, Guitar Player, March 2008). 

Live versions

The world premiere of the live version of "Long Dark Night" took place on TV. John Fogerty played it in a medley together with "I Can't Take It No More" on The Late Show with David Lettterman on October 3rd, 2007 - one day after the release of Revival. 

As for regular concerts, Fogerty delivered "Long Dark Night" for the first time on the opening leg of the Revival Tour at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on November 2nd, 2007. He delivered the number live on stage regularly until summer 2009. The song was usually followed by "I Can't Take It No More". 

"Long Dark Night" was also added to the set list in the PBS Soundstage TV concert Fogerty and the band recorded at WTTW Studios in Chicago on November 29th, 2007. It was aired in the USA on February 7th and 14th next year.  

To promote Revival, Fogerty and his band headed for Clinton Street Studios in Lower Manhattan, New York, in autumn 2007. They performed "Creedence Song", "Don't You Wish It Was True",  "Gunslinger", "Broken Down Cowboy", "Long Dark Night" and "Proud Mary". The studio concert was heard in David Dye's syndicated World Cafe show in the USA on October 26th, 2007. At that time, he also paid a visit to studios of radio Q104.3 in New York and performed "Long Dark Night" live.  These two live sessions are the only concerts where "Long Dark Night" wasn't followed by "I Can't Take It No More".

Fogerty also played "Long Dark Night" at Royal Albert Hall in London, UK, on June 24th, 2008, but it wasn't included in the Comin' Down the Road DVD filmed at the venue. 

Critical reception

"Continuity is the key here, as Fogerty reprises the paranoia of “Run Through The Jungle” for the Bush-baiting guitar and harp clangour of “Long Dark Night”." -Gavin Martin, The Uncut, October 2nd, 2007.

"Long Dark Night" and "I Can't Take It No More" are enraged, direct hits on the reigning fortunate son. But Fogerty's documentary roots rock was always rebel music, a counterculture of factory-floor politics via Hank Williams and Dale Hawkins." -David Fricke,The Rolling Stone, October 4th, 2007. 

"Then there are those moments when Fogerty sounds like an angry young man again, particularly when he’s directing his ire towards George W. Bush. The majority of the tracks have, at the very least, subtle references to Bush’s foreign policy blunders, but many are anything but subtle. “Long Dark Night” and “I Can’t Take It No More”, in particular, rage against Dubya --- Yes, it’s the same old thing in some regards, but if the politicians would stop being crooked, Fogerty could write about something else." -Michael Franco, The Pop Matters, October 10th, 2007. 

"In fact, Fogerty wants to draw a deeper connection between Creedence and today. He means to bridge the old band's protest songs with his current belief that we could use more of them. No fewer than four cuts rail against the Iraq war. "Long Dark Night" shudders over Bush's policies, while Fogerty screws up his voice with the fearsome yowl of "Bad Moon Rising."" -Jim Farber, New York Daily News, October 14th, 2007. 

"Bush's entire cabinet gets a lyrical spanking on "Long Dark Night", full of thick, bluesy riffs and soulful harmonica. Though Fogerty takes strong swipes at Rumsfeld and Cheney, bush still gets it the worst, "Brownie's in the out house / Katrina on the line / Gulf is a disaster / But Georgie says it's fine"." -Chad Grischow, IGN, October 26th, 2007. 

"After five slow- to mid-tempo songs (every single one of them gems), it’s like you can almost feel Fogerty mutter “all right! – now let’s git it goin’!” and the energy, the playing and the singing all ratchet up, all the way to the end. Revival becomes a steamroller with a longer amazing string of great songs than I can remember in any Creedence album. “Long Dark Night” opens with swamp chords bound to perk the ears of any CCR fan, and John tears off the emperor’s new clothes and sends him running butt-naked through the jungle, while savagely caricaturing his nefarious cronies to boot. Some nice, timely harp work here from Fogerty … and oh, did I mention? The man is singing and playing guitar like a monster. For a guy who had such a distinctive growl shout and scream, the kind you thought wouldn’t hold up five years, he has literally lost not one iota off the vocal chords, and perhaps even become a better singer for the decades of experience. Listen for the nuance, the little instinctive touches. He’s just fucking amazing. At first I thought the guitar playing and sound were slightly thinner than in the Creedence days, but in going back to re-listen I’d say he’s playing meaner, stronger and better than ever. I can’t think of a single other performer who’s lost nothing since their early 20s. Add the songwriting in evidence here, and it’s simply an embarrassment of riches. And he’s 62, for godsakes." -Charles Andrews, Audio Video Revolution, November 1st, 2007. 

"Politics is a major theme on Revival, and at times the subject is too pointed, as Fogerty’s screaming and ranting at George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney prove on "Long Dark Night." Calling them all out by name is a bit over the top. The song is just too angry to work well." -Charlie Ricci, Bloggerhythms, August 19th, 2009.  

"--- thuddingly literal ("Long Dark Night," where George W., Rummy, and Dick Cheney are all called out by name). Sometimes Fogerty's missives lack grace -- impassioned though it is, the name-calling in "Long Dark Night" is clumsy -- but there's a real fire to his writing here, turning Revival into a missive as immediate, effective, and telling as Neil Young's Living with War. Like that album, it does feel like the work of an old pro, in how the music is lived-in and simple." -Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic. 

"The lead off track --- is a catchy hook laden tune with some great lyrics to help it set into your consciousness and gradually melt right into your soul. John is not singing about anything different than he did when CCR was at its zenith. This is not a detriment to his art or development; rather it is an indication of how things have stayed the same. The wars are still raging with hate and violence all around us. It grates against our nerves, and our children are listening to music that glorifies our sad state of affairs. Fogerty opts to take things, turn them around, and ask us all how we would really like things to be. He asks, "What if tomorrow, everybody under the sun, was happy just to live as one, no worries or battles to be won?" Then he says, after each segment, "lord don't you wish it was true?" You will not only notice the familiar subject matter, but John decides to throw in a couple of old CCR licks here and there (you will know instantly when you hear them) ---." -Keith Hannaleck, Enjoy the Music. 

"Well, to get to the nub of it, if you liked Creedence - you'll like this. The man hasn't changed his style very much but, more importantly, he hasn't gone off the boil. So many old stagers continue to release albums into their dotage and produce pale imitations of their glory days, but Fogerty can still do it. Listen to "Long Dark Night" if you want proof, one of those "turn up the wick" stompers which shows that the old larynx is still able to take the abuse, and the guitar gets a solid thrashing too." -Winamop

Fans' views

"A very Creedence-type track. Great guitar breaks that could have come right out of 68. Nice to hear a lot of harmonica on this track too."

"Swamp music perfection! Political lyrics, yeah, but forget them and listen to the great guitar and harmonica work."

"I hear one of my absolute favorite of John's solo songs, EOTZ, in this song! Not the words, but the SOUND, something in the music, is so reminicent of Eye to me. I don't claim to be a musical expert, so I can't even say why, but I love so much of John's solo works that he never plays any more, like the songs from Hoodoo, and some from EOTZ, that to even get the SOUND that reminds me of any of them is great! I think thissong will be a fantastic concert tune!"

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