Soda Pop

Background

"Soda Pop" is a track on Eye of the Zombie, the fourth solo album of John Fogerty. Like all songs on the LP, "Soda Pop" was recorded at The Lighthouse in North Hollywood, California, and engineered by Jeffrey Norman. The album came out in September 1986 and reached #26 in the USA. 

Fogerty left the optimism of Centerfield behind and changed his mood on Eye of the Zombie. "I wanted to do a record that was darker, a little moodier," he said in an interview by The Orlando Sentinel in October 19th, 1986. Fogerty admitted in his autobiography (2015) that the dark, spooky mood of the album was also a consequence of his legal and personal problems at that time. 

Between the two albums, Fogerty moved from Bay Area to Los Angeles. His office at Warner Brothers was downstairs in the basement, where he wrote in the evening and nights. He also wanted to be more current and increase the use of drum machines and synths on the album. Fogerty had a guitar and a couple of synthesizers in his office (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).

"Soda Pop" is the only sarcastic Stax/Memphis number on Eye of the Zombie. Fogerty shoots at commercial pop music and mass marketing techniques in this repetitive disco-funk.  

Personnel

Lead guitar, vocals, keyboards: John Fogerty

Drums, percussion: John Robinson

Bass: Neil Stubenhaus

Background vocals: Bobby King and Willie Green Jr.

Eye of the Zombie was the first album during his solo career when Fogerty didn't play everything by himself. 

Live versions

John Fogerty played "Soda Pop" live on Rockin' All Over the World Tour in autumn 1986 in the USA and Canada. The world premiere took place in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 27th, 1986. Like all numbers off Eye of the Zombie, except "Change in the Weather",  "Soda Pop" disappeared from the programming of John Fogerty for good after the tour was over.  

Critical reception

"'Soda Pop' is such a bitter denunciation of music-biz greed — cruelly misfocused on Fogerty's fellow pop stars rather than on the corporate structure that exploits their excesses — that it has the inevitable effect of making you wonder if Fogerty is protesting too much. Even if you agree with him, Fogerty makes you feel uncomfortable about being on his side. And for someone who lived quite comfortably for nine years without having to record or tour — essentially without having to work — Fogerty seems to think an awful lot about money. His repeated screeds about greed seem at times to mask an envy of — even an identification with — his villains." -Anthony DeCurtis, The Rolling Stone, November 20th, 1986. 

"Fogerty's complaint about fame through mass advertising - I guess he won't be promoting Pepsi anytime soon! I feel the music is kind of weak - too inactive at times, and some confusing moments. However, the lyrics and voice save this song, and I really like the "Gimme that, money" refrains at the end." -Matt Loewen.

"Fogerty singing disco? Okay, so many old artists embraced disco, and some of them did have some success with the genre (the Stones, for instance, heck, even the Bee Gees were good at it); but this is poorly produced, sounds ruffed and... heck, I always thought that disco is in its essence very slick music, and if you're doing a disco number you are going to comb it to the extreme - every instrument, every note must be solidly in place with nothing sticking out. 'Soda Pop' is just chaotic." -George Starostin.

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