It is well-nigh impossible to find an album that more fully encapsulates an artist’s work than Cosmo’s Factory summarizes Creedence Clearwater Revival’s. Still riding the crest of the mainstream popularity begun in 1969 with Green River, the California group’s this fifth studio album (released 7/16/70) had its own share of compact tracks that became hits even as, with the eleven-minute rendition of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and the seven-minutes plus of the psychedelicized opener“Ramble Tamble.” This LP (so named after their rehearsal space by drummer Doug ‘Cosmo’ Clifford) hearkened directly back to the earliest evidence of the quartet’s predilection to stretch out: see “Suzie Q” from its eponymous 1968 debut or “Keep On Chooglin” on its sophomore follow-up Bayou Country.
By also offering direct homage to roots comparable to the interpretations of traditionals and Leadbelly covers on their previous record, Willy and the Poor Boys, Creedence also continued in that vein on this 1970 release. Bo Diddley’s “Before You Accuse Me” and Elvis Presley via Arthur Crudup’s “My Baby Left Me” reside alongside with, and provide relaxed contrast to, the frenzied hard-rocking originals “Travelin’ Band” and “Up Around the Bend;” both those latter relatively concise cuts were hits prior to the album’s release and, in addition to enhancing the flow of this record’s forty-some minute total duration, illustrate the potency of the titular leader John Fogerty’s vocal style (in the case of the former, as earnest an emulation of Little Richard’s as Paul McCartney’s).
Meanwhile, the topical folk-rock of “Who’ll Stop The Rain” meshes with an equally understated r&b/soul feel within “Long As I Can See the Light,” where the aforementioned chief CCR songwriter also plays saxophone and piano. Sequenced right next to each other in the eleven cuts, “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” and “Run Through The Jungle” both add atmosphere too even as their respective moods couldn’t be more different: the former is all upbeat and jolly, the latter a depiction of paranoia and imminent danger.
With that versatility at its command, the band might well have reconfigured its overall sound even as it retained its most laudable elements on future efforts. But Cosmo’s Factory also documented the bond within this group for the next to the last time: the titular leader’s sibling, rhythm guitarist Tom, would leave the group later in this same year after appearing on the subsequent album, Pendulum, while in 1972, the remaining camaraderie ended up sounded forced at best among the remaining three for Mardi Gras: the tunes contributed by the aforementioned Clifford and bassist Stu Cook could not reasonably compare to even the vocalist/guitarist’s lesser compositions.
Had the group not been rent with dissension in years to come, including increasingly bitter contention and legal battles between John and Fantasy Records, we might’ve seen more than just digital release of expanded versions of this and its sterling predecessors. Or the 20-Bit remasters of 2000 the likes of which reveal what unified production and musicianship went into this now half-decade-year-old record: there’s no sign of friction in the tight alignment of the band on the aforementioned Marvin Gaye tune as the foursome digs into a groove behind Fogerty’s terse guitar solos before allowing conversational interplay as piano becomes more prominent along with additional percussion.
Still, even if Cosmo’s Factory does not represent the final entry in the Creedence Clearwater discography—there would be a live album and multiple compilations–this first of two albums released in the same year is certainly the pinnacle of the group’s creative and commercial success. It topped the album charts in six countries around the globe as the group straddled AM and FM radio at a time the two formats co-existed (along with eight-track and cassette tapes!). Contrary to its fragmented successors and superior to its antecedents, this album stands wholly and completely unto itself, as it should be remembered in clear retrospect, fifty years after it first came out.
