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Chuck Berry grew up on the blues, taking Muddy Waters as a particular hero, so when he signed with Chess Records in the mid-'50s, the label undoubtedly figured they were getting a blues artist. Which Berry was, but his bright, skittering guitar style and penchant for writing songs with lyrics that set aside blues clichés for something closer to beat poetry meant Berry's forward-looking version of the blues became something else altogether, creating the very template for rock & roll. It also brought a younger teenaged audience into the game, and Berry increasingly aimed for it. But before that groundbreaking shift in style and demographic, Berry turned out some interesting straight blues sides for Chess, several of which are collected here, and it's intriguing to wonder what might have happened had Berry stuck with the blues rather than redefining it into rock & roll. Highlights include the powerful "Wee Wee Hours," a chugging version of Don Raye's "Down the Road a Piece," a try at Guitar Slim's "Things I Used to Do," the hybrid "Driftin' Blues," which features a near doo wop backup chorus, and a revved up and rocking rendition of W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues." Berry's guitar work is revealing on these early numbers, his tone always bright and fresh, as if he was a colt who just couldn't wait to get out there and run. And run he did.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
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G. Smith, BassGuitar - Unknown, Guitar - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - Don Raye, ComposerLyricist - Freddie Slack, ComposerLyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Keyboard - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1958 Geffen Records
Chuck Berry, Composer, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Jerome Green, Maracas - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1955 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chuck Berry, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist, SteelGuitar - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Hubert Sumlin, Guitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Fred Below, DrumKit
℗ 1957 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - WILLIE DIXON, ComposerLyricist, BassGuitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - The Equadors, BackgroundVocalist - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Fred Below, DrumKit
℗ 1959 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Unknown, Guitar - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Fred Below, DrumKit - Lafayette Leake, Piano
℗ 1957 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Don Raye, ComposerLyricist - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - MACEO MERRIWEATHER, ComposerLyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - JAY MCSHANN, Composer - Walter Brown, Lyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
L.C. Davis, TenorSaxophone - Unknown, Saxophone, BackgroundVocalist - EDDIE WILLIAMS, ComposerLyricist - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - JOHNNY MOORE, ComposerLyricist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Charles Brown, ComposerLyricist - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - Johnny Dudley Moore, ComposerLyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Edward E. Williams, ComposerLyricist - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
Unknown, Guitar - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - Bobby Troup, ComposerLyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Reggie Boyd, BassGuitar - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1961 UMG Recordings, Inc.
B.B. King, ComposerLyricist - Joe Josea, ComposerLyricist - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - WILLIE DIXON, BassGuitar - Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Guitar - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Ebby Hardy, DrumKit
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
L.C. Davis, TenorSaxophone - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - McKinley Morganfield, ComposerLyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Phil Thomas, DrumKit - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Reggie Boyd, BassGuitar
℗ 1961 Geffen Records
Unknown, BassGuitar - Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - Eddie Jones, ComposerLyricist - Johnnie Johnson, Piano - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Odie Payne, DrumKit
℗ 1964 Geffen Records
Chuck Berry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist - William Christopher Handy, ComposerLyricist - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - Louis Cennamo, BassGuitar - Bob Scrivens, Piano - Jeff Krivet, Guitar - Brian Kattenholm, DrumKit
℗ 1965 Geffen Records
Album review
Chuck Berry grew up on the blues, taking Muddy Waters as a particular hero, so when he signed with Chess Records in the mid-'50s, the label undoubtedly figured they were getting a blues artist. Which Berry was, but his bright, skittering guitar style and penchant for writing songs with lyrics that set aside blues clichés for something closer to beat poetry meant Berry's forward-looking version of the blues became something else altogether, creating the very template for rock & roll. It also brought a younger teenaged audience into the game, and Berry increasingly aimed for it. But before that groundbreaking shift in style and demographic, Berry turned out some interesting straight blues sides for Chess, several of which are collected here, and it's intriguing to wonder what might have happened had Berry stuck with the blues rather than redefining it into rock & roll. Highlights include the powerful "Wee Wee Hours," a chugging version of Don Raye's "Down the Road a Piece," a try at Guitar Slim's "Things I Used to Do," the hybrid "Driftin' Blues," which features a near doo wop backup chorus, and a revved up and rocking rendition of W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues." Berry's guitar work is revealing on these early numbers, his tone always bright and fresh, as if he was a colt who just couldn't wait to get out there and run. And run he did.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 00:39:04
- Main artists: Chuck Berry
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Geffen*
- Genre: Blues
© 2003 Geffen Records This Compilation ℗ 2003 Geffen Records
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