Mystic Highway

Background

“Mystic Highway” is one of the two new songs John Fogerty released in 2013, and appears on the Wrote a Song for Everyone album.

Fogerty wrote the title phrase into his songwriting notebook already in the 80's or early 90's. He recalls the back-story of the track: "I pictured a group of travelers, perhaps an extended family, standing on the road with their faces to the sky. They’re worn, but not weary. They are in constant motion along their journey of destiny. They don’t know exactly where or how long they’ll be traveling, but they do understand that the end of the road, wherever that is, will be worth the trip.” (liner notes of Wrote a Song or Everyone).

Fogerty described "Mystic Highway" as a spritual song. The lyrics reflects his views on God and the Universum. "Personally, I think God is the whole thing—everything. Assemble everything in the whole universe to infinity. All of it

together is God." "Mystic Highway"  can also be interpreted as a metaphora of his entire career (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015). 

Equipment

Fogerty used a Russian Big Muff pedal to make the noise in the middle of the song (Jeb Wright, interview with John Fogerty, Goldmine/Classic Rock Revisited, May 2013). 

Video

The music video of the song was released on May 28th, 2013. It was filmed in the rustic hills of Southern California and directed by Bill Fishman. It contains archival footage and photos of him as a young man. Appearing with him and playing acoustic guitar is his son Shane Fogerty. The music on the soundtrac is edited.

A lyric video of "Mystic Highway" was released on the official Youtube account of John Fogerty on May 17th, 2013. It features the full album version of the song. 

Trivia

Fogerty recorded an earlier unrealized version of "Mystic Highway" but he destroyed it (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015). 

Live versions

John Fogerty performed "Mystic Highway" live for the first time in the Late Show with David Letterman on May 21st, 2013. Next time he delivered the number in the ABC The View two days later. 

The first time Fogerty performed "Mystic Highway" live on the radio was the mini concert he and the band played at iHeart Radio Theatre in New York on May 23rd, 2013. The show was broadcast live by Q104.3 in New York.

He also played "Mystic Highway" in his birthday concert at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on May 28th. The concert was aired live simultaneously by AXS-TV in the USA and KLOS-M in Los Angeles.  

The song was included in the set lists frequently in his concerts as per fall 2013. Most of the concerts were recorded and were available for downloading on the official John Fogerty web page.  

In May 2014, Fogerty performed "Mystic Highway" in a concert at New Orleans Jazz Festival which was broadcast by AXS-TV in the USA. 

Extraordinary live versions of "Mystic Highway" include the ones he played with Widespread Panic at Interloken Festival in Virginia, on September 7th, 2013, and with Mumord & the Sons in St. Augustine, Florida, a week later. 

Critical reception

"---another new tune, “Mystic Highway,” picks up intensity after an a cappella break that elevates it substantially, as if it’s two different songs." -Lynne Margolis, American Songwriter, January 14th, 2013.

"Before Bruce Springsteen, Fogerty was the seething, celebratory voice of the disenfranchised young American at a time when working class kids got shipped to Vietnam and stuck in dead jobs to stake their claim at the bottom. A tornado force that captured the zeitgeist as the Summer of Love imploded, Fogerty remains best on his own. Both “Train of Fools” and “Mystic Highway” bristle with derision, expectation and hope. What lies ahead fuels Fogerty’s guitar-playing, writing and muscular rasp—boring straight into the listener—making Song much more than just another all-star redux of what was." -Holly Gleason, Paste, May 28th, 2013.

"Fogerty himself contributes a couple of new tracks, but they fall flat. The trippy, time-traveling “Mystic Highway” comes off muddled ---." -Greg Kot, The Chicago Tribune, May 28th, 2013.

"New song “Mystic Highway” sounds mined from almost any era of Fogerty’s long career. Its tale of a journey being uncertain but worthwhile in the end is a familiar theme, conveyed simply and directly with the small indulgence of an expansive instrumental midway." -Tony Hardy, Consequence of Sound, June 12th, 2013.

"But the record really takes off when Fogerty strikes out on his own and tackles new material. “Mystic Highway” is terrific, recalling and extending the promise of the rock ‘n’ roll totem “Mystery Train”. -Jerrick Adams, Pop Matters, June 16th, 2013.

"The two new songs on “Wrote a Song for Everyone” indicate Fogerty’s creative well, though stingy, has not yet run dry. Hearty harmonies and hooks elevate the country-flavored “Mystic Highway” to the level of his best work." -Keith Spera, NOLA, June 20th, 2013.

"It's telling that the lasting moments arrive either when Fogerty unveils two solid new solo songs -- "Mystic Highway" and "Train of Fools" -- or when he leads his sons through the terrific, bluesy choogle of "Lodi," turning the lament into a celebration. All three cuts prove that Fogerty, no matter how much fun he's having elsewhere on the record, doesn't need any guests to sound alive." -Thomas Erlewine, All Music. 

Fans' views

"John's newest classic (at least in my mind). The lyrics speak to me and everyone of my generation who are slowly realizing that we are much closer to the end of our earthly lives than to the beginning. I LOVE the way the guitars happily play out the album version of the song; I disagreed with fading this out in the single version - It enables the song to end on such a happy high, portending a positive future - in whatever realm that may be."

"So beautiful and so classic."

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