History, social forces and accident make various cities at various times centres of gravity of a movement. San Francisco since 1965 has been such a city and there is every indication that it will continue to be for some time to come.

The movement in which San Francisco is the key is one which sociologists have trouble putting into a bag because they are used to considering music as a revolutionary force. But it is. And the revolution San Francisco music is all about is a revolution of youth against its elders in which a series of musical groups has emerged unequalled in American history since the heyday of Kansas City in the Thirties.

San Francisco rock groups are now the dominant force in popular music which is the most universal expression of attitudes and ideas we’ve ever seen. The first echelon of those bands – the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Moby Grape – hit the pop music world with tremendous impact in 1966 and 1967.

San Francisco really did become the Liverpool of American rock. Then something else happened. With the emergence of those bands, and with the growth of the scene which surrounded them, San Francisco become to contemporary pop music what Kansas City was to big band swing music in the Thirties.

For two years, San Francisco has been the only city in the world – not just de U.S. – in which there was an apparatus for bands to perform in what consisted, really, of three concentric circles. The first line ballrooms are the major league: The Fillmore, The Avalon, and the Carousel. Then there are the smaller clubs – The Matrix, The New Orleans House and the Popycock in the suburban areas and in San Francisco where the bands can work during the week and on weekends. And now there is an additional circle of smaller clubs in Sausalito, San Francisco and Berkeley – The Lion’s Share, Deno-Carlo, The New Monk and a couple of others where bands can get a start.

His has resulted in two very important thins. It has given the bands the very best experience possible, playing week after week for live audiences in the best circumstances, and it has, by the very fact of its existence, made San Francisco the magnet for aspiring rock musicians from all over the country.

The percentages work for you, just like shooting dice or selling Avon products door to door. The more action there is (i.e., the more door bells you ring) the better the chance for a score.

Now that San Francisco has the scene going as it does and the musicians coming from all over the First Echelon of San Francisco bands, still out there as the advance heralds of the San Francisco Sound, create a wake in which the Second and Third and even the Fourth echelon of new bands are rising.

The existence of these bands, working regularly, meeting each other, talking, playing, writing, improvising, is a tremendous force for the cross-fertilization of ideas, influences, styles and sound.

There is no healthier musical context in the world for young bands playing contemporary pop music than San Francisco. It’s no wonder then that the young ones coming up are so surprisingly strong. San Francisco bands write original material. San Francisco bands do their own singing and playing. San Francisco bands have their own sound which has been formed and tempered by playing in the clubs and playing for thousands of people free in the parks on those lovely Sunday afternoons.

Creedence Clearwater Revival is an excellent example of the Third Generation of San Francisco bands which gives every indication (as this album demonstrates forcibly) of keeping the strength of the San Francisco sound undiminished.

Ralph J. Gleason
Consulting Editor, Rolling Stone
 

1.1 - I Put A Spell On You

I put a spell on you
Because you're mine
You better stop the things that you're doin'
I said "Watch out!
I ain't lyin', yeah!
I ain't gonna take none of your
Foolin' around;
I ain't gonna take none of your
Puttin' me down;
I put a spell on you
Because you're mine
All right!

I put a spell on you
Because you're mine
You better stop the things that you're doin'
I said "Watch out!
I ain't lyin', yeah!
I ain't gonna take none of your
Foolin' around;
I ain't gonna take none of your
Puttin' me down;
I put a spell on you
Because you're mine
All right!

1.2 - The Working Man

Well, I was born on a Sunday; On Thursday I had me a job.
I was born on a Sunday; By Thursday I was workin' out on the job.
I ain't never had no day off since I learned right from wrong.

Mama said I was bad, I did something to her head.
Mama said I was bad, I did something to her head.
And poppa threw me out, ooh, said, "I gotta earn my own way."

I ain't never been in trouble;
I ain't got the time.
I don't mess around with magic, child.
What I got is mine.

Whatever you say, Lord, well, that's what I'm gonna do.
Whatever you say, well, that's what I'm gonna do.
'Cause I'm the Working Man, Lord, and I do the job for you.

I ain't never been in trouble;
I ain't got the time.
I don't mess around with magic, child.
What I got is mine.

Every Friday, well, that's when I get paid.
Don't take me on Friday, Lord, 'cause that's when I get paid.
Let me die on Saturday night, ooh, before Sunday gets my head.

1.3 – Susie - Q

Oh, Susie Q, Oh, Susie Q,
Oh, Susie Q, Baby I love you, Susie Q.

I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk;
I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk, Susie Q.

Well, say that you'll be true, well, say that you'll be true,
Well, say that you'll be true, and never leave me blue, Susie Q.

Well, say that you'll be mine, well, say that you'll be mine,
Well, say that you'll be mine, baby all the time, Susie Q.

Oh Susie Q, Oh Susie Q,
Oh Susie Q, Baby I love you, Susie Q.

I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk,
I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk, Susie Q.

Oh Susie Q, Oh Susie Q,
Oh Susie Q, Baby I love you, Susie Q.

 

2.1 - Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won't Do)

I got to have all your love, night and day.
Not just a little part, but all of your heart, sugar.

Ninety-nine and a half just won't do.
Oh, no, no, just won't get it.

Don’t be led in the wrong direction.
To start this thing off right, a man need a little love and affection,
Yes he do, now.

Ninety-nine and a half just won't do.
Oh, no, no, just won't get it.

All right. Lookie here,

We got to bring it all down, start gettin' it right.
We got to stop this messin' around, and keep the thing up tight,
Yes we do, now.

Ninety-nine and a half just won't do.
Oh, no, no, just won't get it.

All right, sugar.
Got to have a hundred,
Got to have a hundred.
All right.

Ooh, I must do, I must do, I must do now.

Oh! Got to have a hundred!
Got to have a hundred!
Oh! Got to have a hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hundred, too right.
Got to have a hundred, now. Oh!

2.2 - Get Down Woman

Well, Get down Woman, before I have to go.
Well, Get down Woman, before I have to go.
You know, ya hurt me with your bad mouth,
An' I just don't wanna know.

Well, slow down, baby, and gimme a little time.
Well, slow down, baby, and gimme a little time.
If you want me hangin' 'round,
Gotta give me some peace of mind

Oh, get down boy.

Well, get back, woman, before you bring it down.
Well, now, get back, baby, before you bring it down.
Or you can tell it to the wall,
Without me hangin' around

2.3 - Porterville

It's been an awful long time since I been home,
But you won't catch me goin' back down there alone.
Things they said when I was young are quite enough to get me hung.
I don't care! I don't care!

They came and took my Dad away to serve some time,
But it was me that paid the debt he left behind.
Folks said I was full of sin, because I was the next of kin.
I don't care! I don't care!

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!
I don't care! I don't care!

Folks were out one night to put me up a fence,
And you can guess that I've been runnin' ever since.
Ain't no one that's 'bout to help, and I'll keep on, I tell myself.
I don't care! I don't care!

I don't care! I don't care!
I don't care! I don't care!

Ain't no one that's 'bout to help
But I'll keep on, I tell myself.
I don't care! I don't care!
I don't care! I don't care!
I don't care! I don't care!
I don't care! I don't care!
I don't care! I don't care!

2.4 - Gloomy

Some people laugh in the dark,
Some people cry alone.
Some people talk without sayin' a thing,
And ev'rything turns out Gloomy.

Some people count your money,
Someone is countin' your days.
And somebody got to keep track of your mind.
When ev'rything turns out Gloomy

Brothers'll make you look sideways,
Fathers'll make you look back.
And when you're done talking, you still got to shoot,
Cause ev'rything turns out Gloomy.

Ooooooh! Ooooooh!

2.5 - Walk On The Water

Late last night I went for a walk
Down by the river, near my home
Couldn't believe with my own eyes
And I swear I'll never leave my home again
I saw a man walking on the water
Coming right at me, from the other side
Calling out my name, do not be afraid
Feet began to run, pounding in my brain
I don't want to go, I don't want to go
No, no no no, a no I don't want to go,