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

Warning: If you don't play this documentary at a high volume you will be missing out on the fun.

I always thought that Creedence Clearwater Revival was the best band to come out of the 1960's and 1970's. Better, even, than the Beatles. Their country /grunge style always makes me smile whenever I hear it.

The documentary begins with the boys on their 1970 European tour. Then there is some background on the roots, the founding of the band back in high school. They first went under the name "The Blue Velvets" and when John's older brother joined they switched to "Tommy Fogerty and The Blue Velvets".

It's kind of funny how their first manager, Max Weiss, decided they should change their name to "The Golliwogs" so that they would sound more "British"'. What better way to ride on the coattails of "The British Invasion" than to name yourselves after an ugly rag doll caricature of a black minstrel. But, in Max's defense, he did have a prior hit under his belt: the theme to the "Charlie Brown" TV specials is a jazz instrumental titled "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Vince Guaraldi.

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.

I always liked John Fogerty and Creedence but was never a fanatic. There music is very distinct and very American. This documentary and concert finale covers their first European trip. It is a good documentary because it weaves the background and history of the band in without making it boring. The story is told through interviews and old footage and in between concert and travel footage. It is a very cool look for the avid fan, or casual one. The concerto is excellent. Its has significance because it is from The Royal Albert Hall, where the Beatles went big, and around the time the Beatles announced they were splitting up. If you are a CCR fan I would add an additional star.

For a film like this to get almost no press and to have a quiet release on Netflix is a crime. This documentary was a really fun watch as it goes over the history of Creedence up until their performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Not only that but you get the full, unseen concert recording, remastered and all. I will admit I haven't seen the full concert portion yet but I'm going to take it in increments. Jeff Bridges as the narrator was a slam dunk as he gives a sort of heft to the narration that suits CCR. Although I would consider The Beatles: Get Back the gold standard of music documentaries, this should not be slept on and deserves a watch. Please tell your friends to watch this if they have any interest, it's worth it.

7.8/10 (could change in the future)

"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.