It was a historical moment when Creedence Clearwater Revival toured Europe and played London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall in 1970, and footage of that storied night has existed in the vault for over 50 years until finally getting released as part of this new 2022 film. The first half of the film is documentary-style, narrated by Jeff Bridges (who famously rocked out and crashed a car to “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” as The Dude in The Big Lebowski), and it tells the story of John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford’s pre-CCR days up through the 1970 tour, which it includes lots of on and off stage footage of. It chronicles John and Stu getting drafted, the early cover songs that gave CCR a chart presence, their first original hit, playing The Ed Sullivan Show and Woodstock, and more. And then the second half is a concert film with multiple full songs from the Royal Albert Hall show.
When CCR took the stage for two nights in April of 1970, the band members had reached the height of their international stardom and arrived ready to prove themselves as equals to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles, who had announced their breakup just days before. Their performance—which included hits like “Born On The Bayou,” “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” and “Bad Moon Rising”—was met with a 15-minute standing ovation and rave next-day reviews in the UK’s top publications. More than 50 years after that legendary show, the original multitrack tapes have been meticulously restored and mixed by GRAMMY®-winning producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell. The 180g LP was mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using half-speed technology for the highest-quality listening experience.
It’s the best of both the documentary and concert film worlds, and a great watch. The new documentary concert film, ‘Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall,’ will be available for streaming on Netflix beginning September 16 (in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, NZ, Latin America and Africa).
The Fat Angel Sings 