Creedence Clearwater Revival ‎– Cosmo's Factory

Released on July 16, 1970, Cosmo’s Factory remarkably stood as Creedence Clearwater Revival’s fifth full-length in two years. The San Francisco Bay-bred swamp rockers were at the peak of a prolific streak, having released an unbelievable three Billboard Top Ten albums the year prior (outselling even the Beatles!) Even the album title–named after drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford’s nickname for the band’s practice space– nods to the group’s machine-like efficiency at pumping out hits. With Cosmo’s Factory, Creedence topped the album chart in the US for the second time, while they scored their first No. 1 in the UK, Canada and Australia, among other territories, firmly cementing their status as international rock stars.

Though they emerged in a place and time where trippy, psychedelic visions were the order of the day, CCR bucked contemporary trends and instead tapped into a rich, traditional seam of American music that connected to blues, country, rockabilly, gospel, folk and R&B. On Cosmo’s Factory in particular, the band experiments with a diverse, Americana-rooted sonic palette: There’s the folk-tinged “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” blues rocker “Run Through the Jungle,” the seven-minute-long psychedelic jam “Ramble Tamble,” a rockabilly rendition of “Ooby Dooby” and the twangy shuffle “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” a nod to the “Bakersfield Sound” of West Coast country artists like Buck Owens. They even paid tribute to the Detroit soul sound, transforming Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” into a spirited, 11-minute-long jam.

Tracklist:

Ramble Tamble 
Before You Accuse Me 
Travelin' Band 
Ooby Dooby 
Lookin' Out My Back Door
Run Through The Jungle 
Up Around The Bend
My Baby Left Me 
Who'll Stop The Rain 
I Heard It Through The Grapevine 
Long As I Can See The Light