The Blue Ridge Rangers

The Blue Ridge Rangers
Studio album by
The Blue Ridge Rangers
ReleasedApril 1973
Genre
Length36:15
LabelFantasy
ProducerJohn Fogerty
The Blue Ridge Rangers chronology
The Blue Ridge Rangers
(1973) 		John Fogerty
(1975)
Alternative cover
Reissue LP cover
Alternative cover
CD reissue cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

The Blue Ridge Rangers is the first solo studio album by John Fogerty, the former lead singer and lead guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Upon its initial release by Fantasy Records in 1973, the album was credited to "The Blue Ridge Rangers" with no mention of Fogerty on the cover. Fogerty chose to do this in order to distance himself from his Creedence legacy. The LP was later reissued and credited to John Fogerty with a different cover design. The CD reissue restores the original silhouette cover photo and credits the album to Fogerty. The album is made up entirely of traditional and country covers, and features Fogerty playing all the instruments.

The album peaked at #47 on the charts. Two singles from the album became hits: "Jambalaya" which peaked at #16 in the USA and #15 in Canada, and "Hearts of Stone" which peaked at #37 in the USA and #35 in Canada. A third non-album single "You Don't Owe Me" reached #79 in Canada.[5]

In 2009, Fogerty released a sequel to this album, entitled The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"Traditional2:29
2."Somewhere Listening (For My Name)"Archie Brownlee2:37
3."You're the Reason"Fred Henley, Terry Fell, Mildred Imes, Bobby Edwards3:12
4."Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"Hank Williams3:15
5."She Thinks I Still Care"Dickey Lee Lipscomb, Steve Duffy2:57
6."California Blues (Blue Yodel #4)"Jimmie Rodgers3:04
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Workin' on a Building"Traditional4:34
2."Please Help Me, I'm Falling"Don Robertson, Hal Blair2:49
3."Have Thine Own Way, Lord"Adelaide A. Pollard, George C. Stebbins2:59
4."I Ain't Never"Mel Tillis, Webb Pierce2:49
5."Hearts of Stone"Rudy Jackson, Eddy Ray2:10
6."Today I Started Loving You Again"Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens3:12

Personnel

John Fogerty: All instruments

See also

References

  1. ^ Selvin, Joel; Graff, Gary (1998). "John Fogerty". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 440.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Rolling Stone review
  5. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - October 27, 1973" (PDF).