CREEDENCE II: While not denying that Fogerty...

CREEDENCE II: While not denying that Fogerty was the chief creative force in Creedence, Cook and Clifford said they are tired of hearing that their “demands� to be more involved creatively in the 1972 “Mardi Gras� album led to the breakup of the group.

“We just wanted to grow creatively within the band,� Clifford said. “We wanted to have a chance to write and sing and progress. . . . But I remember John saying, ‘OK, the next album (“Mardi Gras�) will be a third each.’

“I said, ‘John, that’s not what we’re asking. That would not be Creedence.’ But he said he wouldn’t help us arrange or play on our tracks and left us to do it all. The idea that we brought the band down is far from the truth.�

Fogerty--who has blamed the breakup on business and professional differences-- said he is particularly angered that Cook and Clifford have maintained a business relationship with Fantasy Records, with which Fogerty has been embroiled in legal battles since the breakup of Creedence.

But Cook and Clifford say that it’s in their interest to keep lines of communication open between them and the company, since they still take in “considerable royalties� from the Creedence records.

Clifford, who lives in the Lake Tahoe area, is co-producing and playing on a new Sir Douglas Quintet album with Doug Sahm for Elektra. Cook, a Calabasas resident, is working with former Southern Pacific members John McFee and Keith Knudsen on a rock-oriented project.

z Meanwhile, Clifford said, Fantasy is planning to release a Creedence box set late this year. The material will be remastered for digital release, but it won’t include any previously unreleased tunes.