Customer Reviews

Blues

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4 star:		(6)
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The British label Ace had a similarly themed compilation out over a decade ago, entitled On The Blues Side, but theirs had a rather more generous 21 tracks, and a playing time of over 55 minutes. That compares favourably with the 40 minutes on offer here, and so remains the better buy, especially as it has more comprehensive liner notes.
If there are specific titles that you are after, though, Blues does have a couple not to be found on On The Blues Side. These are his version of Ella Mae Morse's House Of Blue Lights (unreleased until Chuck Berry's Golden Decade Vol. 3), How You've Changed (from One Dozen Berries, and covered at the time by the Animals), St Louis Blues (from Chuck Berry In London), Route 66 (from New Jukebox Hits, and the arrangement that was used as the basis for subsequent covers by such as the Stones and Dr Feelgood) and, most interestingly, his little known train song All Aboard. This out and out gem appeared previously on Chuck Berry On Stage, when it was drenched in fake audience effects, and appears here in its unadulterated studio form for the first time.

This collection showcases an interesting aspect of the music of the "King Of Rock and Roll" by highlighting his blues oriented material from the early 1960's. Although Berry is not known primarily as a blues musician, he actually had formidable blues chops both as a singer and guitar player. The obvious connection between rock and roll and the blues doesn't make this fact very surprising. Many of the songs on this collection feature blues legend Willie Dixon on bass and Hubert Sumlin on guitar. I love Berry's version of "Wee Wee Hours", which is a great late night blues rendition. "Sweet Sixteen" is another one of my favorites, a mellow slow blues with an excellent vocal and guitar part by Berry. Although this is not necessarily essential listening for those interested in Chuck Berry's music, this disc is an enjoyable listen and I would recommend it to any fan of the blues.

Not a single one of Chuck Berry's greatest hits can be found here. Instead, we're treated to mostly cover versions that Chuck used to fill out his original LP releases in the 1950s. All of the material is worth hearing because Chuck Berry plays them like Chuck Berry Songs. If you love Berry's riffing and chugging rhythm, you're going to love this CD. It provides a welcome compliment to the more widely available Greatest Hits packages readily available elsewhere. Given that none of these tracks are going to get played on oldies radio any time soon, they possess a freshness that many of Chuck's better-known songs have sadly lost. As a bonus, there's a booklet with liner notes that (for a change) seem to be accurate.

For what it's worth, my favorite track on this CD is "Worried Life Blues."

Delivery etc was good as I have come to expect from Amazon

The sound quality was good also. Chuck Berry cd's can be a mixed bag as far as quality goes. This cd is good and I am pleased to add it to my collection.

Recommended

We all know the hits; this one shows another side of Chuck. He has the familiar voice and guitar, just different style songs. Any blues fan will like this one, any Check Berry fan will loke it too. Check out his live album, backed by the Steve Miller Band, it has a close feel to this one.

Blues by Chuck Berry investigates the seminal rock and roller's blues roots. Actually, Berry's real roots were in country and western music, but his first contacts with other musicians were blues musicians like Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, so he adapted his sound to mirror his comrades, and the results are very good.

Songs like "Wee Wee Hours," "I Just Want To Make Love To You," "Driftin' Blues," and "Sweet Sixteen," show the great guitarist as a versatile performer who could cross genres as easily as he could duck walk across a stage.

Blues is a welcome addition to the Chuck Berry record collection because of the great music and further evidence of what an exceptional talent he is and always will be.

I grew up in the 6o's lovin Chuck Berry music & I still listen to him a lot, but this cd caught me by surprise. This is one of the best blues cd's I've listen to in a while. Chuck did a great job on recordin this 1. Back then, you only heard a portion of the great music, now days they put everything out on cd's, unbeliveable of the music we missed out on. Hey, ya can't go wrong on this cd, it's awesome.

all and all this was a pretty good album, but not a great one. I liked this album because he does some good covers of old blues classics and I am a HUGE blues fan and a HUGE Chuck Berry fan. I don't give it a 5 star rating because i do think Chuck is better as a rock and roller than as a blues musician, but all and all a good album i enjoy listening to it and am glad i got it.

Chuck Berry was the master, the true King of Rock & Roll, and this album, which has few of the big Top 40 hits found on most Berry compilations, demonstrates his regency better than most.

In the late 50s and early 60s, and then again in the late 60s and early 70s, Berry recorded dozens of songs that were filled with the smoke and BBQ ribs of the East St. Louis he came from; they were spicy and smart and grooved. Some of the best, if least well known, of those records are collected on BLUES. "House of Blue Lights," "Wee Wee Hours" and others display Berry's master of traditional Blues, the form he converted into the chugga-chugga Rock & Roll that altered American Pop for decades to come.

There are uptempo tunes here, too, and some of them will be familiar to most Rock fans: "I Just Want To Make Love To You" was a standard cover for most Rock groups in the 60s and 70s, and "Down The Road Apiece" was covered--photo copied, some would say--by the early Rolling Stones, as was "Route 66," though Berry slips in a nifty bit of guitar dissodence that makes his version unforgettable.

The CD ends on a piece of pure gold, one of Berry's greatest records which, as far as I know, never hit the charts. "St. Louis Blues" chugs like a steam train; the band smokes and Berry's guitar sings in that sloppy, happy way that his fans have always loved, but it has a nasty edge to it here, too.

He was thE King of Rock & Roll.