** John Fogerty

BLUE MOON SWAMP

(Warner Bros.)

John Fogerty's latest recording hiatus lasted twice as long as Creedence Clearwater Revival's entire career, so by now he'd earn a few critical points just for showing up. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much else on Blue Moon Swamp, a lukewarm album that doesn't even hit the modest peaks of his two mid-'80s albums, Centerfield and Eye of the Zombie.

One of Fogerty's problems is that he hasn't worked with a real rock band since Creedence split. He plays everything himself or else hires session hacks, getting too stiff a sound in either case. He takes the second approach here, using drummers and bassists from Genesis and Frank Zappa's band, when any half-inspired bar band would have gotten closer to the mark.

The other problem is that the songwriting sounds as if it had taken one afternoon instead of 10 years. Either the songs are retreads of old Creedence hits (the single, "Southern Streamline," is "Bad Moon Rising" with different lyrics; "Blueboy" is "Down on the Corner" with a different tune) or they're easygoing back-porch blues. The good news is that Fogerty's drawling voice is intact, and his guitar solos add the only signs of life. But it's no wonder he's announced he'll play Creedence songs in concert; he'd never draw a crowd with this.

-- Brett Milano