Some came to witness

Sometimes you have to cut away all the excess: the tape loops, the droning electronics and synthesizers, the fancy revolving, hi-tech stages, the ambiguous, existential lyrics, the "what's the point of all this" nonsense.

Strip things down to the essence. Two guitars, bass and drums. No frills. Spare and precise, and incredibly moving.

Rock and roll of the first order.

Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Last night, "Ramble Tamble," shuffled onto my Ipod. An anomaly among CCR's work, this extended jam features a long, instrumental buildup that builds and builds in intensity and goes on and on until you think it's going to explode. You get lost in it, and you want it to go on forever.

But Fogerty and the band's stock and trade were three-minute masterpieces long on riffs and social commentary. Flannel shirts, jeans, and America's conscience, wrapped up in hit singles that were all over the radio. They may have been out-of-step fashion-wise with the counterculture, but that was of no matter to Fogerty, who could define the pulse of the nation and make you dance at the same time.

Hooks and more hooks and "Fortunate Son," as good a protest song as you will ever hear.

I still remember the first time I heard "Proud Mary" on WMLP out of Milton, PA, which was our go-to Top 40 station at the time. It sounded new and ancient at the same time, like it might have drifted up from the Bayou a hundred years ago. It was the first song I ever heard that sounded like the standard from day one.

Other course, there are dozens more: "Green River." "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Lodi," "Hey Tonight." Each one better than the last and forever part of America's fabric.

Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Ramble Tamble

Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Fortunate Son

Strictly 100 -- Number 30: Creedence Clearwater Revival