One of the surprise cover tunes that John Fogerty played Sunday night was “Garden Party,” Rick Nelson’s 1972 kiss-off to the oldies circuit. Fogerty, the former singer/songwriter for Creedence Clearwater Revival, could probably relate to Nelson’s complaining that crowds only wanted to hear his greatest hits: “If memories are all I sing, I’d rather drive a truck.”

Of course, Fogerty seems more good-natured than Nelson was. In his world, there’s nothing wrong with a few good memories - and in the Creedence catalog, Fogerty’s got some of the best memories around. His two-hour-plus set touched on all points of his career: recent album tracks, country covers from his current “Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again,” songs from his ’80s comeback, even the buried-treasure 1973 single “Comin’ Down the Road.” Still, this was largely a Creedence show.

Fogerty opened and closed with stacks of songs from his old band (The night’s first song, “Hey Tonight,” is one of the few Creedence hits he hasn’t revived in the past). And he came back to Creedence whenever the audience sat down for too long.

So why didn’t this feel like an oldies show? Because it wasn’t about what Fogerty played, it was the way he played it. His eight-piece band is twice as big as Creedence was (and drummer Kenny Aronoff is easily twice as loud as Creedence’s Doug Clifford), and its takes on the oldies were sharp and spirited. The band was loose enough to hit the backporch groove of “Looking Out My Back Door” (now with fiddle solo) and nasty enough to nail the psycho-billy “Ramble Tamble” (one of Creedence’s greatest nonhits).

It also helped that Fogerty avoided playing Creedence songs until the mid-’90s, when he settled a legal battle with his old record label. Listening to him play you get the sense that he’s still rediscovering his songs, not playing them by reflex.

Fogerty varied the guitar solos, and threw in a gospel finale on the still-timely “Fortunate Son.” During “Bad Moon Rising” he actually sang the joke lyric, “There’s a bathroom on the right,” pointing to stage right in case anyone missed the gag.

The new touch was a relaxed country vibe, with steel guitar and fiddle in the lead, during the “Blue Ridge Rangers” songs - something he’s done in the studio before, but seldom tried onstage.

If his show proved anything, it’s that Fogerty remains a proudly old-fashioned rock ’n’ roller, and he isn’t ready for that truck-driving gig just yet.

JOHN FOGERTY at the Orpheum, Sunday night.