10 Bands And Artists Who Pass The Five Album Test
8. Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty’s band of swamp-rockers might just hold the record for passing the five album test in the shortest time frame. John and brother Tom had built a respectable career in music prior to the formation of CCR, so when they first hit the studio in 1967, they were raring to go.
And go they did. Between 1968 and 1970, they released six albums, the first five of which are unimpeachable (and the sixth is pretty great, too). The first two, self titled and Bayou County, are pure swaggering R&B, with the latter especially featuring all-time classics “Born On The Bayou” and “Proud Mary”.
Green River expands the sound slightly, with “Wrote A Song For Everyone” and “Bad Moon Rising” exhibiting Fogerty’s greater melodic confidence. The best was yet to come, though. Willie And The Poor Boys is arguably the finest collection of songs, from the swinging “Down On The Corner” to the sludgy, sinister “Effigy”.
The (relatively speaking) sprawling Cosmo’s Factory caps off the inarguable run of quality. The band embrace the jam on long cuts of “Ramble Tamble” and “I Heart It Through The Grapevine”, and there’s real range, from light (“Long As I Can See The Light”) to dark (“Run Through The Jungle”). All told, that’s less than three hours’ music, and not a note out of place.