Back in the early ’70s, John Fogerty released Blue Ridge Rangers, a country album recorded as a one-man band.  Decades later, he’s now reviving the Rangers, this time as a band. Also in the works is a concert documentary DVD.  Both projects are slated for 2009.

John Fogerty – Comin’ Down The Road is a DVD project produced by digital technology pioneer George Johnsen (Babylon 5, Star Trek Borg Invasion), based around Fogerty’s June 24, 2008 concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a point of departure.  That performance came at the end of a successful Euro-tour and marked his return to the venue after having played there years ago with Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1971.  The concert was filmed by director Ted Kenney (U2 3D) as a twelve-camera HD shoot, and the set-list ranges from CCR classics such as “Proud Mary,” “Born on the Bayou,” and “Fortunate Son,” to ’70s solo material “Old Man Down the Road” and “Rockin’ All Over The World,” plus Fogerty’s more recent material. Backing musicians include Kenny Aronoff (drums), Billy Burnette (guitar), Hunter Perrin (guitar), Jason Mowery (fiddle), and Dave Santos (bass).  Fogerty’s teenaged sons, Tyler (15) and Shane (16), also join the band on guitars during the concert.

Meanwhile, Fogerty is in the studio working on a new album, tentatively titled John Fogerty: The Return of The Blue Ridge Rangers.  The 1973 Rangers album included two Top 40 hits: “Jambalaya” and “Hearts of Stone.”   Fogerty says, “This seems like the right time for the Blue Ridge Rangers to come back. The last time around, it represented something of a clean slate for me, and that country rock sound is still something I hold dear.  We’re really excited about revisiting the whole sensibility that Blue Ridge Rangers represent.”

This time out, rather than going the one-man band route in the studio, Fogerty has been working  at Village Recorders in Los Angeles with players that include Buddy Miller, Dennis Crouch, Jay Bellerose, Greg Leisz, Jason Mowery, Jodie Kennedy, Kenny Aronoff, and Hunter Perrin. Fogerty worked with fellow producers T Bone Burnett and Lenny Waronker on the project, with a release date still to be announced.