In a career that’s seen him battle bandmates, bad contracts, and bewildering levels of bureaucratic spite, John Fogerty has finally done what once seemed impossible: he’s taken back what was his.
After decades of legal wrangling and artistic estrangement from the very music he created, Fogerty has re-recorded 20 of his most iconic Creedence Clearwater Revival tracks. The album, pointedly titled Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, is out August 22, and it marks far more than just a nostalgic rehash. It is a declaration of autonomy. It is a correction of history.
“For the first time, he fully owns the rights to his music,” reads the official press release — a sentence that, depending on your knowledge of Fogerty’s legal history, is either surreal or euphoric. This is not just about music. It is about control. About principle. About one man reclaiming authorship over songs that had, for too long, been reduced to assets in the portfolios of others.
But this isn’t a reinterpretation. Fogerty didn’t get whimsical and throw in banjos or orchestrations or stripped-back acoustic sadness. No. As he explained to Rolling Stone, “the idea was to sound closely like the original.” And somehow, in doing so, the songs feel clearer, more dimensional. “Maybe what they’re saying is it’s clearer, or the fidelity is better or something?” Fogerty mused. He’s being modest. The recordings don’t just sound fresher — they sound free.
Originally reluctant, Fogerty warmed to the idea when he heard what his band — which now includes his sons — was capable of. There’s an unmistakable fire behind the faithful recreation of “Proud Mary,” the weary hope in “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” and the raw, barrelling stomp of “Fortunate Son.” These aren’t just covers. They’re reclaimings.
It would be easy to dismiss Legacy as a calculated, post-Swift era manoeuvre — but that would be a fundamental misread. This isn’t about charts. It’s about justice. Fogerty has earned the right to finally say these songs are his. Because now, at last, they truly are.
