| Pendulum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival | ||||
| Released | December 15, 1970[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1970 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | Rock & roll, roots rock, country rock | |||
| Length | 40:56 | |||
| Label | Fantasy | |||
| Producer | John Fogerty | |||
| Creedence Clearwater Revival chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pendulum | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
| Robert Christgau | (A-) link |
Pendulum is the sixth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records on December 15, 1970[1]—their second album release of that year (see 1970 in music). A single from the album, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" b/w "Hey Tonight", was released in January 1971.
Pendulum was the only studio album by the group that did not contain any cover songs; all tracks were written by John Fogerty. It was the last album the band did with Tom Fogerty, who would leave the band to start a solo career. It was also the last album to feature John Fogerty as the record's solo producer.
The most sonically adventurous of Creedence albums, the "surprisingly durable" (Robert Christgau) Pendulum is noted for its widespread use of horns and keyboards, in contrast to the group's previous albums, which were dominated by guitar. Among several lesser-known Fogerty songs ("Pagan Baby," "Sailor's Lament," "It's Just a Thought", "Born to Move") were two top-ten hits, "Hey Tonight" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?". Both songs reached number eight in 1971. It also contains their only avant-garde venture, "Rude Awakening #2".
Contents |
Before the band started working on Pendulum, it was announced by Paul McCartney that the Beatles were breaking up. This was considered good news for Creedence Clearwater Revival, as they had outsold the Beatles the previous year. Around the same time, the underground had lambasted Creedence Clearwater Revival as a "singles band", which seems accurate as six of the twelve songs from their previous album Cosmo's Factory peaked in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[2] Given such 'criticism', John Fogerty decided to try to take up the Beatles' position as the pinnacle of rock music.[3]
Like most Creedence albums, the songs on Pendulum were rehearsed at "the Factory" (as in Cosmo's Factory) in Berkeley, California and were recorded at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco. Producing the album was John Fogerty. The album took about a month to complete, which was rather long for the group. The reason for this was John Fogerty's insistence on the horn section (which he played by himself), the keyboards, and backing vocals. As usual, the first take of a song was played by all four members with John going in later for the vocal and additional instrument overdubs.[3]
All songs written by J. C. Fogerty.
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Kent Music Report[4] | 1 |
| Australian Top 20 Albums[5] | 1 |
| Canadian 100 Albums[6] | 2 |
| Netherlands Top 100 Albums[7] | 2 |
| Norwegian Top 40 Albums[8] | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart[9] | 8 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 5 |
| Year | Single | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pop Singles | UK Top 40 | ||
| January 1971 |
"Have You Ever Seen The Rain"/ "Hey Tonight" |
#8 | #36 |
| Preceded by Abraxas by Santana |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album March 1–21, 1971 |
Succeeded by All Things Must Pass by George Harrison |