Electric Eye - Rock & Roll Memories: John Fogerty @ Seine Musicale, Boulogne-Billancourt

John Fogerty turned 78 a few days ago, but you wouldn't know it from the performance he just gave at the Seine Musicale in the outskirts of Paris. Is it the fact that he re-acquired the rights to his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs catalogue? Is it that he is accompanied by his sons' band Hearty Har? Whatever it is, he doesn't bear the marks of a lifetime in rock n' roll. His vocals are intact, and his energy is contagious: in theory, this was an all-seated show, but a large part of the audience never stopped dancing from the very first song until the metaphorical curtain dropped. But then it's hard to stay seated when the band is playing this repertoire.

The opening salvo alone is worth the price of admission: Bad Moon Rising, Up Around The Bend, Green River and Born On The Bayou. What followed was a journey through American music: country, blues, rock n' roll... Just an avalanche of classic songs, all of them hits. The fact that most of them were written and released within a mere couple of years is astounding.

Of course, the Creedence catalog comprises most of the song selection but there are some forays into Fogerty solo territory such as the raunchy Rock And Roll Girls and the obligatory anthem Rockin' All Over The World.

On songs like Keep On Chooglin' and Old Man Down The Road, we are reminded that Fogerty isn't just a brilliant songwriter and an fantastic singer: he is also a killer guitarist who plays with gusto and finesse... and that inimitable tone, somewhere between a country twang, a psychedelic fuzz and a hard rocking distortion, like Chuck Berry for the Woodstock generation. Rock n' roll at its most essential.

He finished with the ultimate classic rock anthem Proud Mary, which he introduced with a little speech eulogizing Tina Turner who famously covered the tune in 1971 with the group she formed with her husband Ike. By then, the audience was on its collective feet, dancing, jumping and singing, playing air guitar along with that famous riff.

In all likelihood, this is one of his last extensive tours, and no one could blame him for cashing in and cashing out. But thankfully, this doesn't feel like that: John Fogerty's stature as an essential artist in the Americana canon was cemented long ago, but as the end of the road approaches, he is rightfully reclaiming his legacy.

Re-live the concert by playing the setlist in the embedded Apple Music player below