As he nears “retirement” age, John Fogerty could easily just go out and play nothing but his biggest Creedence Clearwater Revival and solo hits, and many fans would be fine with that.

Instead, Fogerty has not only played new material on recent tours — much of it on par with his stellar past — but has pulled out “album” cuts from CCR and various solo eras.  His recent appearance (November 12th) at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood showcased his latest release, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, a follow-up more than 35 years later to his original Blue Ridge Rangers album, as he again shifts into country or country-rock songs by other artists.

Since 2004’s Deju Vu (All Over Again), Fogerty’s live performances have seen the return of the guitar monster he’s always been all along, with his lauded skills as a great American singer and songwriter, and you can view it on his latest DVD, Comin’ Down the Road, shot at Royal Albert Hall in London, where CCR recorded historic concerts nearly 40 years ago.

In between numbers that ranged from The Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Love” and Delany and Bonni’s “Never Ending Son of Love,” he also took off on jaunts that included the blow-you-away “Ramble Tamble” (channeling some Who and Cream, as well as being a precursor, in its day, to Derek and the Dominoes, who would come a year or so later) and sinewy “Keep on Chooglin’” with that semi-classical guitar intro that seems to say, “Yeah, Eddie Van Halen, I can do your thing, but can you do mine?” (The answer is no, he can’t at all).

John Fogerty (Getty Images)

Sure, many of those hits were there, such as “Green River,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” a quite-elegaic “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son” and so on.  There wasn’t any material from his solo years in the ‘90s or anything from 2007’s excellent Revival, but Fogerty plays with set lists from show to show, and that’s a very good thing. He’s not predictable each time he plays.

He pulled out his Elvis/Sun Records tribute, “Big Train from Memphis,” a song he hasn’t played live for 22 years — now more countrified and extended — and also resurrected “Change in the Weather,” altered from its original form, 1987’s “Eye of the Zombie.”  There was “Working on a Building” from the original Rangers album, a fit-right-in “Looking Out My Back Door” (which always was country anyway), while the CCR-era version of Ray Charles’s “Night Time Is the Right Time” was one of the night’s knock-out punches.

Numbers were given new life with fiddle (and also mandolin and acoustic guitar) player Jason Mowery as Fogerty’s foil and musical dialogue partner for the night, along with pedal steel embellishments from Richard Pennebaker.  The band also included now long-time members Billy Burnette on guitar and that awesome drum engine Kenny Aronoff.

There were plenty of sing-alongs too; the audience — mostly 40-ish, 50-ish and up but also including some punk-types and kids — joining in for the refrains of tunes like “Midnight Special” (CCR covering Leadbelly) and Rick Nelson’s “Garden Party” from the latest release, as well as an encore that included “Hey Tonight” and the ever-happy “Down on the Corner.”

The night was less politically charged than past Fogerty dates, and more about good times and just celebrating music and songs.  That worked just fine in the venue known for hosting events like the Oscars more than rock or country shows — and at the Kodak, J.C. Fogerty was definitely a lot country and a lot rock ’n’ roll.

At 64, he’s into the latest phase of career few can match…and retirement?  Not a chance.