Another dynamic excerpt from the forthcoming Craft Recordings release Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall has been shared in the form of their performance at the 1970 show of “Fortunate Son.” It will be part of both the multi-format album release, which makes the full concert available for the first time, and the concert documentary feature film Travelin’ Band, to be issued concurrently on September 16.
The clip lasts a mere two and a quarter minutes but captures the full energy of one of the most vital live bands in all of rock history. “Fortunate Son,” written by John Fogerty, was included on Willy and the Poor Boys, released as the fourth studio album by CCR in October 1969, six months before their two Albert Hall shows.
The gigs were part of the quartet’s first European tour, an eight-date itinerary that also took in shows in Holland, Germany, France, and Denmark. Creedence had scored no fewer than five Top 10 singles in the US in the previous year, and Willy and the Poor Boys was their third Top 10 album in a row. As a measure of their extraordinary productivity of the time, their next epochal LP, Cosmo’s Factory, was only three months from release at the time of the London performances.
“Fortunate Son” was adopted as an anti-Vietnam War anthem and is widely regarded as one of many high watermarks in Creedence’s unrivaled rock legacy. It has only grown in stature over the decades, and in the era of streaming and digital consumption, has achieved triple platinum certification from the RIAA in the US, of three million equivalent units, and platinum (600,000) in the UK.
The At the Royal Albert Hall album will be available on 180 gram vinyl, CD, and cassette, with Walmart additionally offering “Tombstone Shadow” vinyl and Target “Green River” vinyl. The album will be available across digital platforms, including in hi-res and Dolby ATMOS immersive audio formats. The film is directed by double Grammy-winner Bob Smeaton (The Beatles Anthology, Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies), and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges.
Pre-order the Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall album.