In Concert Against AIDS, Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA, 5-27-1989, Part 2: John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead

Here's the second out of four albums I made from the "In Concert Against AIDS" concert in 1989. This one consists of a set by John Fogerty, backed by the Grateful Dead. Well, kind of the Grateful Dead, as I'll explain in a minute.

At the time, Fogerty hadn't been on tour since 1985, and he didn't have a backing band, so he got some very talented musicians to support him just for this concert. Specifically, he was supported Jerry Garcia on lead guitar, Bob Weir on rhythm guitar, Randy Jackson on bass, and Steve Jordan on drums. Jackson and Jordan were very well respected session musicians at the time. Jackson would later go on to greater fame as one of the judges on the "American Idol" TV show. And if you know anything about the Grateful Dead, you'd know the two best known members were Garcia and Weir. They were the lead vocalists and songwriters for the vast majority of the band's original songs. So whether one can consider this the Grateful Dead is debatable, since the other band members were missing. But in my opinion, at least, I'd consider anything with Garcia and Weir in it to be the essence of the Grateful Dead, even if it was just the two of them in a duo.

On top of that, Clarence Clemons added his saxophone playing for the last two songs. He was a long time member of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, but he also had a hit of his own in the 1980s. 

Fogerty is best known as the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) in the 1960s and early 1970s. He effectively retired from the music business from 1976 to 1985. But then he came back with a big hit album in 1985 ("Centerfield") and another album in 1986. When he went on tour in 1985 and 1986 to support those albums, he avoided playing all of his many CCR hits, due to a dispute with his record company. But in 1987, he was persuaded to resume playing his CCR songs, and did so at a one-off benefit concert that year. I think this was the second big concert where he played those songs, and it was a big deal at the time. Furthermore, the fact that Garcia and Weir were going to back him on was announced in advance, adding to the anticipation.

Here's what a Los Angeles Times article from the day after the concert had to say: "Fogerty's set... [was] a wonderful occasion in and of itself. It wasn't just that Fogerty devoted most of the show to old Creedence Clearwater Revival hits that he rarely plays because of bitterness toward his old record company. It was the sheer, smiling delight and vocal aplomb he brought to the performance. Grateful Dead guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir lent unremarkable support, but Fogerty, drummer Steve Jordan, and bassist Randy Jackson supplied all the sizzle one could ask. Saxophonist Clarence Clemons, the day's only surprise guest, turned up to haunt through an encore rock-out to 'Suzie Q' and 'Long Tall Sally.'" 

As the article noted, Garcia and Weir were pretty restrained in their playing. Fogerty's songs were short and simple, so they respected that. That meant Garcia didn't go off on lengthy solos like he did with the Dead, but stuck to what the songs needed, based on the original versions. They also added backing vocals on some songs, with Weir singing more than Garcia. It looked like Garcia was having a ball, smiling through most of the set. Probably, he enjoyed simply being a backing musician through a bunch of classic songs that he loved, instead of having to be the main star, which was almost always the case for him. 

This album is 41 minutes long. 

24 Born on the Bayou (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
25 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
26 Green River (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
27 Down on the Corner (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
28 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
29 Rock and Roll Girls (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
30 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
31 Centerfield (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
32 Proud Mary (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
33 Midnight Special (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
34 Bad Moon Rising (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
35 Fortunate Son (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
36 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
37 Suzie Q (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead & Clarence Clemons)
38 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead & Clarence Clemons)
39 Long Tall Sally (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead & Clarence Clemons) 

https://pixeldrain.com/u/eLjiHABc

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/MZAspsTu9FmVaWK/file

The cover photo is from this exact concert. Fogerty is wearing the baseball cap, while Garcia can be seen further back.

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