Blue Moon Swamp is my favorite Fogarty solo album. It's not the unexpected joy of Centerfield, when a legend emerged out of the wilderness with his gifts intact; it's just a great collection of songs written and played by the best musicians.

It was also the album he was touring when I finally saw him (at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan). I'll never forget the opening: The curtain rises, and behind Fogerty and the band is a gigantic mural, covering the height and breadth of the stage, of a dilapidated old shack at the edge of a swamp. Before the curtain even finishes its ascent, they launch into "Born on the Bayou." Behind Fogerty on the drums, one of the all-time greats in terms of power and precision, is Kenny Aronoff, a huge grin plastered on his face.

An unforgettable moment.