CLUTCH Releases Music Video For Cover Version Of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL's 'Fortunate Son'

Maryland rockers CLUTCH have released a David Brodsky-directed video for their cover version of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL's "Fortunate Son". The track, along with CLUTCH's previously issued rendition of the Willie Dixon 1950s classic "Evil" (later recorded by CACTUS) and ZZ TOP's "Precious And Grace", along with a reworked version of "Electric Worry", comprise a collection of newly recorded songs, "Weathermaker Vault Series".

"Growing up, it was hard not to hear CCR's 'Fortunate Son' on the radio, on TV, or even at the county fair," said CLUTCH drummer Jean-Paul Gaster. "The groovy backbeat and sloshy hi hats that introduce John Fogerty's timeless lyrics written so many years ago could be found everywhere.

"While it may be true to say that 'Fortunate Son' could be seen as a political song, we think it's bigger than that. For us, 'Fortunate Son' is an inspirational song. For that reason, we’d like to dedicate the song to the most inspirational person we've ever had in our lives, our late manager Jack Flanagan. Jack Flanagan was no 'Fortunate Son'. He worked tirelessly and passionately all the while keeping a razor-sharp sense of humour until his last days. Thank you, Jack, for making us better than we ever thought we could be."

"Fortunate Son" was mixed by six-time Grammy Award winner and CLUTCH collaborator Vance Powell (WOLFMOTHER, THE RACONTEURS, ARCTIC MONKEYS).

In the video that accompanies this release, Tim Sult pays homage to Jack Flanagan by playing Jack's beloved '90s Les Paul. The video was shot at J Robbins's Magpie Cage Recording Studio in Baltimore, Maryland. J Robbins produced the CLUTCH albums "Robot Hive/Exodus" and "Strange Cousins From The Wes" and he recorded all of the "Weathermaker Vault Series" singles.

Gaster told Cory Blose of TotalRock Radio's "The Valley" about "Weathermaker Vault Series": "We got into the studio early this year. After we finished another U.S. tour, we jumped in the studio and we recorded a selection of songs. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a full album. But the idea is just to release a few things throughout the rest of the year. And these will be completely just digital releases as well. We're sort of experimenting with that format — just releasing stuff for streaming purposes. And we'll see how that goes."

He continued: "It was fun to get in the studio, and we picked some songs that sort of all meant something to us in different ways. We also re-recorded a few CLUTCH classic songs, so those will be coming out as well. I suppose maybe in some ways it's sort of just a way to tide us over until we really get the juices flowing to record another album."

Gaster said that CLUTCH's insistence on recording and releasing new music comes from a pure place.

"As we all know, there's not a tremendous amount of money to be made in releasing albums anymore, so you have to do it because you wanna do it," he said. "And also too, it just gives us an opportunity to play some new stuff when we get out there on the road and play shows. We do not wanna be a band that gets up there and just plays the hits and that would be the end of it. This is not a nostalgia thing for us. For us, this is still very much a live working rock band. We have the desire to be creative and to play music, so we try to foster that in whatever way we can."

He added: "I can say a scenario where we'll release this collection of singles and maybe a few more, and then eventually we might put these all on a vinyl record and put them out.

CLUTCH's latest album, "Book Of Bad Decisions", was released in September 2018. The record sold 26,000 copies in America during its first week of availability, giving the group its third consecutive Top 20 album on the Billboard 200.

"Book Of Bad Decisions" was recorded was completed at Sputnik Sound studio in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Vance Powell.