An A+ Album: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Willy and the Poor Boys

They've played to larger audiences, too.

I luck out again by choosing a short album. When I hit the five-CD Star Time or have to re-listen to all 69 Love Songs, I'll be putting in a lot of listenin'.

Fill that jug full of your favorite still-distilled moonshine, because this is what I'm dealing with today:

THE BASIC DETAILS
Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Album: Willy and the Poor Boys
Label: Fantasy
Release Year: 1969
Length: 34:31
Producer: John Fogerty

What the songs on this album might compel you to do: Ride shotgun in your buddy's Challenger with a bottle of Wild Turkey in one hand and a, well, shotgun in the other. And when you run out of booze and rob the local liquor store, the guy behind the counter will be all, "Go ahead, man, the owner's a dick, anyway!" and offer you a hit of his weed.

CHRISTGAU AND THE ALBUM
What does the Dean of American Rock Critics have to say?

Somehow I have never bothered to state my almost unqualified admiration for John Fogerty. Creedence's ecumenical achievement is almost unbelievable: this is the only group since the Beatles and the Stones to turn out hit after hit without losing any but the most perverse hip music snobs. With this in mind, Fogerty's subtlety as a political songwriter (have you ever really dug the words of "Fortunate Son"?) comes as no surprise. This is everything a good rock album should be--the best they've done yet, I think. A+

How many words is that? 87.

What are your favorite words or phrases? "ecumenical achievement"

How does the A+ grade compare with other albums from the band?
Creedence fairs well in the Christgau grading system: two A's, an A-, a B+, and three B's.

ANY OTHER NOTABLE INFO?

Christgau Fancy Word of the Day: Abjure

I'd never abjure Lee Remick.

One of several features I plan to include in this blog is the Christgau Word of the Day. (No, I don't plan on having a Christgau Word of the Day every day.)

The point of this feature is to find words, usually those classified by the less-literate (like myself) as "S.A.T. words" (regardless of whether they would actually appear on an S.A.T. exam), that Christgau uses and which might be one reason his reviews infuriate so many people.

Today's word, which I picked from the top of a list of the "Top 250 Most Difficult SAT Words," is abjure.

Check out that list of synonyms. All of them would probably qualify as "fancy words" in a music review. Just the idea of "solemnly renouncing" puts you in the context of a Radiohead or a Coldplay, not a Miley Cyrus.

I don't think I've ever used abjure in writing or in conversation, and I think if I started whipping it out at work or at parties, I'd probably receive blank stares or punches in the face:

• "Ted, I abjure your ideas regarding search-engine optimization of the company website."
• "Darling, I abjure the notion that 'reverse cowgirl' is the way to go, this evening." 

Because it's a solemn action, abjuring sounds like a kind way of disagreeing with someone.

• Abjuring: "After careful consideration of all the facts, it is with a heavy heart that I conclude that cookies made with butter are in fact superior to cookies made with butter."
• Not abjuring: "You. Are. Fucking. WRONG!"