Outskirts of Country Blog

The Rangers Return

Rick Teverbaugh  |  July 21, 2009

John Fogerty publicly displayed a love for country as far back as 1973 when he released The Blue Ridge Rangers. The album really wasn't bad. I especially liked Jambalaya, Workin on a Building and She Thinks I Still Care. There was just one major problem with the disc, he played all the instruments himself. Whether it was ego or just that he didn't have a lot of country cred at the time, it still kept the album from being better than it should have been.

On Sept. 1, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again comes out on Verve and Fogerty certainly isn't making that mistake again. He has penned just one song for the disc and has again gone to the well for some of his favorite country songs.

In a press release Fogerty said, "The songs on The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again are mostly songs I have carried with me for a lifetime. They are songs that influenced me and helped form who I am as a musician and certainly as a songwriter. There is something very American about all these songs and the original arrangements and also their musical setting here, on this album. That musical place where these songs reside is where I go to create my own music."

Fogerty has a great group of musicians topped by Kenny Aronoff, Buddy Miller and Greg Leisz. He also has some guest stars. The Eagles' Don Hensley and Timothy B. Schmit contribute to Rick Nelson's Garden Party. Bruce Springsteen lends voice to the Everly Brothers' classic When Will I Be Loved.

It will seem a long time until Sept. 1, but it should be worth the wait. Have any Fogerty favorites to share, email me here.