What Is The Best Chuck Berry Album To Get?

[Stratburst]

Johnnie didn't write those lyrics.

Why are so many people on this forum so eager to talk down the creators and give the credit to sidemen and session musicians?

Chuck Berry may not have written the lyrics (questionable) but there have been several sources (including Keith Richards' book) that the music was written by Johnson. Just the fact that Chuck plays in piano keys, not typical guitar keys like E or A, is a heads-up.

Another heads-up is that Chuck's singles dried up after he fired Johnson.

Admittedly, the fact that Chuck has a well-deserved reputation as an @$$hole to friends, employees and audiences (the story of how former friend Carl Perkins nearly killed him after a show is unfortunately typical) kinda encourages a lot of "talking down."

 

[brewwagon]

Recorded

January 6, 1958 at Chess Studios, Chicago, Illinois


The song is one of Berry's most famous recordings, has been covered by many artists, and has received several honors and accolades. It is also considered to be one of the most recognizable songs in music history.

 

[Skully]

Chuck Berry may not have written the lyrics (questionable)

Say what?

but there have been several sources (including Keith Richards' book) that the music was written by Johnson. Just the fact that Chuck plays in piano keys, not typical guitar keys like E or A, is a heads-up.

I know that angle, and perhaps Johnson should've received songwriting credit as a co-writer. But Richards is not a "source" or a witness. He's merely giving his analysis of the music.

Another heads-up is that Chuck's singles dried up after he fired Johnson.

And Johnson's hits dried up after... Oh, that's right -- he never had any! But, of course, he wrote a lot of great tunes on his own and with others. Oops! That never happened.

On the other hand, Berry's sometime session bass player, Willie Dixon, did write a lot of great stuff on his own.

Admittedly, the fact that Chuck has a well-deserved reputation as an @$$hole to friends, employees and audiences (the story of how former friend Carl Perkins nearly killed him after a show is unfortunately typical) kinda encourages a lot of "talking down."

Yeah, he's an ass, but that has nothing to do with his creative cred.

 

[Telemarkman]

Yeah, he's an ass, but that has nothing to do with his creative cred.

You're damn right! But it seems there always comes a time when people start rewriting history ...

 

[Gibson]

I rateChuck Berry is on Top as a great 'proper' album to go for. I have that, plus a compilation of other classic Berry tracks, on my iPod.

 

[jefrs]

Get it ALL, you need it ALL

Good idea except -
a) can't afford that.
b) too many of the many, many currently available album releases have completely rubbish sound.

Getting back to it, please suggest currently available Chuck Berry albums with decent sound quality for iTunes.

 

[StuR]

Chuck maybe comes across as a No1 AH, you only have to get the "Hail Hail Rock N Roll" DVD set & watch the behind the scenes disc to see that in all it's glory. But he is who he is & the night I met him I still felt that I'd met Rock n Roll Royalty. Such a polite and quietly spoken guy - despite having just had a hard time off a drunken racist guy in the crowd.

If you read his auto-biog in conjunction with "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" & read how much he & all of the other black RnR pioneers were ripped off something stupid (it's also a scene in the film) & you'll understand why he's heavily $£$£ orientated.
Chuck says that he was made an example of when he was jailed for armed robbery (he used a piece of gun barrel) and his life was made a misery by the jail staff.

edit: Near to me there's a guy who has a vinyl shop over 3 floors. I asked him what he had with Chuck Berry live & he dug out "Chuck Berry - On Stage" from 1963. It says it's live & I've like to hear confirmation of that, but it sounds more to me like a studio album with crowd noises (badly) dubbed on.

 

[StuR]

:?: So what is the best Chuck Berry album to buy and install? :?:

Of the albums I have digitally the one I'd recommend if you can find it is a live album called "Sweet Little Sixteen", catalog HNC 0023. It claims to be legit, licensed in Denmark from Charly records but it looks to me like a bootleg.
The whole band is really cooking on it & the sound quality is really damn good.

Tracks, 1) Johnny B Goode/Carol (medley) 2) Hoochie Coochie Man 3) Maybelline 4) Memphis Tennessee 5) My Ding A Ling 6) Nadine 7) No Particular Place To Go 8) Reelin & Rockin 9) Rock N Roll Music 10) Sweet Little Sixteen 11) Too Much Monkey Business 12) In The Wee Wee Hours

 

[jefrs]

Of the albums I have digitally the one I'd recommend if you can find it is a live album called "Sweet Little Sixteen", catalog HNC 0023. It claims to be legit, licensed in Denmark from Charly records but it looks to me like a bootleg.
The whole band is really cooking on it & the sound quality is really damn good.

Tracks, 1) Johnny B Goode/Carol (medley) 2) Hoochie Coochie Man 3) Maybelline 4) Memphis Tennessee 5) My Ding A Ling 6) Nadine 7) No Particular Place To Go 8) Reelin & Rockin 9) Rock N Roll Music 10) Sweet Little Sixteen 11) Too Much Monkey Business 12) In The Wee Wee Hours

Thanks. There are several "Sweet Little Sixteen" albums, no two alike. All seems to be compilations. Some 'karaoke' and 'in the style of...' to be avoided
I found a 'digitally remastered' one that has that slight warble characteristic of being run through Cool Edit's noise reduction algorithm, but has numbers I didn't know.

 

[jefrs]

Question - how were Chuck Berry's early bands set up.
Guitar(s), bass and drums plus piano and pedal steel like a C&W band?

 

[elihu]

Question - how were Chuck Berry's early bands set up.
Guitar(s), bass and drums plus piano and pedal steel like a C&W band?

Jefrs, I believe Chuck played lap steel on most of his recordings.