Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall

A film that captures Creedence Clearwater Revival's concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, during their 1970 European tour. We also have a history of the band to that point, all the way from their earliest days in school. Narrated by Jeff Bridges.

Creedence Clearwater Revival were huge in the late 60s/early 70s and had a big influence on later bands but today, unfortunately, they're less well known. This documentary and concert footage are timely reminder of just how great they were.

The documentary part is quite interesting though I sometimes feel Jeff Bridges overdoes the superlatives, making the narration sound less objective. He also sounds a bit drunk (and yes, I know that's how he always sounds).

The concert is great: only about an hour long but packing in their biggest hits. Great music and musicianship.

John Fogerty is a national treasure and after watching this documentary, I now have a greater appreciation for his talents as a singer, songwriter and guitar player.

Jeff Bridges narrates the first half which covers Creedence Clearwater Revival's first tour of Europe with a few snippets of concert footage and gives a brief background on the four musicians.

The second half is simply mind blowing. It was filmed in April of 1970 at Royal Albert Hall in London shortly after the breakup of The Beatles. John Fogerty was justifiably nervous as he took the stage but he says very little other than thank you in between the twelve song set list. No special lighting was used and the music is awesome. Two guitars, a bass and drums and a few large amplifiers filled the stage.

I cranked up my small JBL computer speakers and recommend that anyone watching do the same.

Here is the song list 1-Travelin' Band 2-Born on the Bayou 3-Green River 4-Tombstone Shadow 5-Fortunate Son 6-Commotion 7-Midnight Special 8-Bad Moon Rising 9-Proud Mary 10-The Night is the Right Time 11-Good Golly Miss Molly 12-Keep on Chooglin'

The first half of this documentary is interesting. I loved getting a history of the band and seeing some footage from their first trip to Europe. I always find band histories fascinating, when done well. I wouldn't say this part of the documentary is top notch but it's done well enough to be enjoyable.

Where this really gets into its stride is with the concert footage from London. I thought I'd end up skipping for later as generally, I don't watch concerts on TV. And I was tired. But I was hooked, and ended up rewatching some parts of it. The simple raw performance of four musicians churning out great song after great song for 45 minutes was absolutely brilliant. I loved it and would recommend it as one of the best concerts I've ever seen on TV.

"Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall" (filmed in 1970; released in 2022; 86 min.) is a documentary about CCR's 1970 European tour, culminating with 2 shows at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London. Thankfully someone had the foresight to film one of these sets. As the documentary opens, the 4 guys in CCR are right in front of the Royal Albert Hall, grinning from ear to ear. "Can't wait to play here!" We then get short clips from some of their other European shows (Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris). At that point we go back to the band's origins, in the late 50s in El Cerrito, CA. Indeed, by the time the band broke big in 1968, they had been together for years.

Couple of comments: this is the long rumored release of the concert footage from CCR's show on April 14, 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall. Tis documentary is in fact a 3-for-1: there is the footage of them traveling around Europe (about 15 min.), then there is a look at the band's history leading up to that European tour (about 20 min.), and then comes the actual Royal Albert Hall show in its entirety (about 45 min.). If it were up to me, I'd have reduced the amount of time devoted to the band's history, and instead showing us more of the footage from the European tour (some gems like when they talk about that this is their very first visit to Europe, and their initial impressions). But of course the raison d'etre of this release is the Royal Albert Hall show. This was 8 month's after the band's legendary set at Woodstock. To be clear: they are in very fine form (check the outstanding "Born On the Bayou"), rip-roaring through 12 cuts in just 42 minutes. Yes, that is not a typo, they complete set clocks in at 42 minutes. Not sure how this is possible. How many opening bands were there? Anyway, the audio quality is top notch (this is also available as a CD), and the video quality is okay but not top notch. But the historic significance of this only goes up with each passing year. (For another footage gem of that era, look on YouTube for Deep Purple's Concert for Group Orchestra, filmed at the very same Royal Albert Hall in September, 1969.)

"Travelin' Band: CCR at the Royal Albert Hall" premiered on Netflix last Fall, and I completely missed it. Thankfully Netflix recommended it to me recently based on my viewing habits, and I watched it just the other night. Under normal circumstances I'd have rated it a solid 7 stars, but given the historical significance of this long overdue release, I'm rating it a generous 8 stars. Of course don't take my words for it, so check it out and draw your own conclusion.

A Great documentary on this iconic American band Their background, their rise and amazing success. The early pictures if the musicians are truly surprising. The prolific John Fogerty is seen as a true artist, exceptionnal musician and song writer. The Royal Albert Hall Concert in 1970 is a great rare look into their dynamic band workings. Although I have attended a John Fogerty concert, I had never had the chance to see all 4 band mates play together . Before the bad blood and legal lawsuits that came later. It is with great joy that we can watch the 4 guys play together. What else can I say, I truly enjoyed this film.