The 1981 Listening Post - Tom Fogerty - Deal It Out

 Reviewed by Chris Roberts

Released: 1981 Tom Fogerty Deal It Out Genre: Classic Rock Rating: 2.8 out of 5 If you love CCR, maybe you’ll enjoy Tom Fogerty’s fifth and final solo album, Deal It Out. That’s a hard maybe. I can’t say I’m the biggest CCR fan in the world but I did see brother John perform a blistering, energetic, thirty-minute set last November, and I was blown away. Voice and guitar are still edgy and unique—he still sounds fantastic playing his Berkeley-on-the-bayou classics. And what classics: “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?,” “Fortunate Son,” “Down on the Corner.” For what it’s worth, John’s 1985 solo LP Centerfield is a pretty good time. But Deal It Out is no Centerfield, because Tom is a different kind of Fogerty. Tom can hold the disco ball by it’s string, but John is the one who spins it, kicks it, and smashes it with a sledgehammer. John always seems like he’s having fun, while Tom seems like he’s on the clock. Snuggled between hair metal and emerging hip hop, Centerfield felt a little old-fashioned in 1985, but it was full of energetic, hooky nostalgia, like an album-length version of Springsteen’s “Glory Days.” In fact, Centerfield sounds so much like CCR that John got sued for plagiarism by his former label. But if Deal It Out reminds you of CCR it’s only because Tom was in the band, and he sounds a little like John. But Tom doesn’t sing like John. There’s no “hi-de-hi-de-hi’s” or misheard “bathroom on the right.” No worry that the whole business is going off the rails. Tom sings, but John performs. The Eagles-style lead off track “Champagne Love” is a fair single and one of the better songs (though I’d recommend another “Tequila Sunrise” instead). I also enjoyed the laconic questioning of “Why Me?” but the ballads “Tricia Suzanne” and “Summer Night” just lie on the bed asleep. The title track is goofy like a Travelling Wilburys b-side, but without any Wilburys. Two Van Morrison songs, and a cover of “Mystery Train” offer a chance to boogie and freak out, but Tom just holds on tight to that disco ball string instead. Bad lyrics about bad blood spoils the riff on “The Secret.” Tom kinda reaches on the slow chugger “Open The Window,” but the song exposes his limited range. Not enough here to recommend.