John Fogerty The Blue Ridge Rangers

You could call John Fogerty the Rip Van Winkle of rock. While leading Creedence Clearwater Revival, he wrote and sang hit on top of hit in the late '60s and early '70s. But then he was suddenly gone, his band dissolved, his voice silenced by contract battles with his record label. Over the course of 29 years, he recorded three solo albums.

Then, five years ago, Fogerty burst from his creative slumber seemingly refreshed. He's recorded three new albums since and has been hitting the concert stage with greater frequency. And, judging from his performance at Minneapolis' State Theatre on Wednesday night, he's thrilled to be performing again. He and his seven-piece band bounced between swamp-soaked rock and roll and twangy country-flavored folk for two hours, with the bulk of the 26 songs coming from the Creedence catalog. But this was no night for misty reminiscences. Fogerty's hoarse high tenor and electrifying guitar solos suffused the old songs with as much passion as on the day they were recorded.

Nostalgia may have been a motivating factor for many of the 2,000 or so in attendance, but Fogerty seems driven by something deeper: a determination to make up for lost time that inspires him to embrace his old songs with renewed enthusiasm. Yes, he delivered small gems like "Green River," "Lookin' Out My Back Door" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" But he also offered up a reminder that Creedence enjoyed jamming, too. Fogerty unleashed solos that seemed like little journey, soaring, strumming and thrashing his way through lengthy instrumental sections of "I Put A Spell On You, "Keep On Chooglin'" and a rollicking "Born On The Bayou."

Often leaping as high as his 64-year-old knees would allow, Fogerty looked to be truly enjoying himself, especially when the songs exuded as much effusive joy as "Down on the Corner" and that paean to new beginnings, "Centerfield." Saying farewell with a full-house sing-along on "Proud Mary," this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer showed that he's anything but a museum piece.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at rhubbard@pioneerpress.com.