His Best 2 (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)

Chuck Berry | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 20, 1997)
• Original Release Date: May 20, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chess
• ASIN: B000005KQR
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,434 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the incredibly fun music of a rock & roll pioneer, Chuck Berry, November 8, 1999

By 

Dave "missing person" (United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: His Best 2 (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (Audio CD)

This "His Best, Volume 2" CD is an excellent introduction to the rock 'n' roll legend/ pioneer Chuck Berry. With these 2 "His Best" volumes, you get all the tracks from "The Great Twenty-Eight", plus, you get some extra gems. The first two songs, "Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller" & the flawless "Little Queenie" (it's incredibly crafty & extremely well executed) get things rockin' real fast--this is definitive Chuck Berry. Although Chuck never really evolved/ changed his style at all, this disc actually beats the first volume. "Let It Rock" is obviously rehashed "Johnny B. Goode", yet it's even better, & Chuck's little guitar thingy really sounds like a train whistle, fitting his witty train lyrics. "Bye Bye Johnny", a lyrical sequel to "Johnny B. Goode" really has a great beat that just puts a picture of the train he sings of in your head. This also contains the must-have, kickin' car song "I Want To Be Your Driver" which is somehow included here (as it was on "The Great Twenty-Eight, though it's in stereo here instead of mono), but not on the still strong "The Chess Box". There's plenty of other great tracks here too like "I'm Talking About You", "Confessin' the Blues" (an excellent example of his bluesier side opposed to his rockier side), "No Particular Place To Go" (with a triumphant song-ending guitar solo), the obsessive "Nadine", the high-flying "Promised Land", & the devastatingly well-crafted drug bust tale "Tulane". There are also 2 fun live songs at the end (including the notorious huge 1972 hit "My-Ding-A-Ling", mercifully included in its single edit opposed to the full-length album version). Granted, with the use of standard rock 'n' roll/ blues progressions on track after track, this stuff does start to sound mighty similiar real quick, but keep in mind the era it was recorded (the first 6 tracks were all recorded in the 1950s) & how hugely influential Chuck was. And in all seriousness, this really is great music--Chuck had a great voice & his guitar playing & lyrics deliver loads of fun. On the downside, "Come On" is rather weak & forced (& is additionally marred by Martha Berry's vocals--she sleepwalked through/ didn't give a damn about her performance), & "Jaguar and Thunderbird" appears in superior form as "County Line" on the "Rock 'N Roll Rarities" CD. But overall the track listing hits the spot in a big way--almost every track is great, & even a track like the jokey "Too Pooped To Pop" is fun. I'd definitely recommend this as a first purchase--it's a dynamite best-of CD.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chuck Berry - after the peak, September 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: His Best 2 (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (Audio CD)

This CD covers Chuck Berry's recordings from mid-1958 up through the early 70's. About half the cuts are classic Berry rockers of the late 50's and early 60's. They are great rock and roll numbers, but did not do well on the charts. There are mid-60's releases from when Chuck made a US comeback, e.g. Nadine and No Particular Place to Go. The rest is filler - 2 bluesy cuts from early 60's LP's, 2 off-color live recordings from England, and a couple of other obscurities. If you are going to buy only one Chuck Berry CD, get Vol 1 instead of this volume.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chuck rules!, February 23, 2004

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Best 2 (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (Audio CD)

If you buy this disc in tandem with "Greatest Hits I" then you will have almost all of Chuck Berry's greatest hists. The sound quality is very good, there are no live versions (which mar other Berry "greatest hits" packages), and there is nothing but great music here.

It's a shame that Chuck Berry is not universally recognized as one of the greatest rock lyricists and most innovative figures. This CD will convince even skeptics of his brilliance. Without Chuck Berry, there would be no Beatles, Rolling Stones or Kinks, or at least in the forms they eventually took.

This CD contains all of Berry's original early recordings, pristine and beautifully remastered. Who can deny that his way with words was umatched: "He never, ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like a-ringing a bell..." It's a tragedy that most people have grown up listening to inferior musicians do paltry cover versions of the songs Berry wrote and performed better than anyone else.

This set is an absolutely essential component of any collection, of any genre. Chuck Berry was a pioneer with words and music and his influence is sorely underestimated today. Had Chuck Berry been born white, he would be regarded as a rock God instead of being neglected and virtually forgotten in many circles. These magnificent songs just about cover his catalogue of hits. This is a great sampling, but incomplete, so if you want to experience Berry's real genius, branch off into his lesser known songs. But for the money, this one rocks!