Nobody's Here Anymore

Background

"Nobody's Here Anymore" is the sixth track of Deja Vu All Over Again, the seventh solo album of John Fogerty. The collection of songs was released in September 2004. It reached #23 in the USA and #1 in Sweden. 

In "Nobody Here's Anymore", Fogerty laments how modern technology has isolated teens.  It features the former Dire Straits band leader Mark Knopfler on second lead guitar. According to Fogerty, so many people told him his guitar work resembled that of Knopfler that he decided to short-circuit accusations of plagiarism by enlisting Knopfler himself to play on it (Larry Katz, Interview with John Fogerty, The Boston Herald, September 21st, 2004). 

However, there's a joke hidden in the arrangement of the cut. Mark Knopfler is actually playing a Les Paul on the right side and Fogerty is delivering plenty of old Dire Straits licks on his Stratocaster on the left.  

Personnel

Vocals, lead guitar (left side), other guitars: John Fogerty

Second lead guitar (right side): Mark Knopfler

Drums: Kenny Aronoff

Bass: Paul Bushnell

Collector's notes

"Nobody's Here Anymore" was also released as a promotional CD-R single. 

Live versions

John Fogerty delivered "Nobody's Here Anymore" live in less than one dozen concerts during the Deja Vu All Over Again Tour in the USA and Canada in November and December 2004. Concert goers witnessed the world premiere at Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on November 13th.  

Most surprisingly, the song made a short return to the programming nine years later on the tour in North America in fall 2013. Fogerty played the piece in five concerts. Live recordings of the autumn 2013 shows were made officially available as files. 

Critical reception

"Nor do the topical character portraits in "Nobody's Here Anymore," about the social disconnect sparked by cell phones and portable electronics. At least the lead guitar from Mark Knopfler is distinctive." -Jim Abbott, The Orlando Sentinel, September 17th, 2004.  

"'Nobody's Here Anymore' borrows so directly from Dire Straits' 'Sultans of Swing' that Mark Knopfler's (characteristically deft and tasteful) presence on guitar seems almost redundant."  -Anthony Decurtis, The Rolling Stone, September 22nd, 2004. 

"Unfortunately, the only other "critical" song on the album seriously undermines the powerful impact of 'Deja Vu'. It's one thing to draw analogies between the past and the present and quite another thing to be "out of" the present for good, which is exactly what John does on 'Nobody's Here Anymore', a lame, superficial complaint about today's generation Pepsi. Stephen Stills actually did a moderately better job about it with his 'Seen Enough' five years earlier; at the very least, he was clever enough to put his whining about all the braindead kids in a larger context (not to mention making the song interesting from a sheerly musical point of view). Fogerty, however, just attacks the youngsters bluntly, with no traces of a deeper - or broader - look, accusing them of precisely the same that his teachers and parents must have been accusing him fifty years ago. Well, any song, I guess, that begins with the lines "He's got the latest software/He's got the latest hardware too", is bound to suck ass.

The sad news is that 'Nobody's Here Anymore' wastes the talents of not one, but two capable artists - Fogerty recruits none other than Mark Knopfler to play second lead guitar! A guitar duet between Knopfler and Fogerty; imagine that! The potential is enormous. Alas, the two guys should probably have fixed their meeting, say, twenty-five years ago. Today, there's no chance for profit whatsoever. Fogerty just sort of retreats in the background (running ahead, I'd like to notice that when it comes to lead guitar, he's always retreating on the album, as if he really hadn't played that instrument for the entire duration of these seven years), and Knopfler just plays withered excerpts from the old trademark by-the-book Dire-Straits-licensed chords; in fact, his entire part sounds like an amateur's version of Mark's part from 'Sultans Of Swing'. The only consideration to console ourselves with is that here, too, the lyrics adequately match the music - albeit in the suckiness department." -George Starostin. 

"'Nobody's Here Anymore,' where Fogerty sounds like an old fogy as he despairs about disconnected computer geeks with "a stash of Twinkies" and a bored kid in a classroom "listenin' to the rock star on a CD," when he'd be more likely to listen to rap on his iPod." -Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic 

Fans' views

"I REALLY like everything about this on -- guitars, words; like the Dire Straits' touch; it could be considered an anthem for modern life, centered around the computer and snack foods and the loneliness of many of us sitting in our rooms or offices at the computer."

"Absolutely brilliant song, words & music come together in a great way and he's also hitting the nail on the head."

"Another killer song. Really love the guitar work on both sides of the stereo."

"This one is growing on me -- I like it because it stretches beyond his usual style or genre. I'm surprised this hasn't been discovered on pop/rock radio and played more. It's got a more "today" sound than some of his stuff (Southern Streamline, Rhubarb Pie, 110 in the Shade). Sure, he borrows from Dire Straits, but I like the sound and I like it when John sings and plays and writes in that style."

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