Customer Reviews

Chuck Berry's Golden Hits

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

On the surface this would appear to be a nice compilation of key Chuck Berry hits. WRONG! It is a collection of his hits, re-recorded by Berry in 1967. Why is beyond me. If you are a Chuck Berry oficionado (sp?) then you would probably find this interesting -- alternative covers of his own songs. But if you're looking for a compilation of the originals, this isn't it. Really makes me angry that it does not say this anywhere on the cover.

And at the forefront of the "entertainment value" versus "artistic integrity" debate, we have this deceptive, pointless, worthless, surprisingly entertaining piece of decent garbage. Chuck Berry re-records his biggest hits, hoping that you won't notice it's been 10 years since he wrote them. Whee. How many other people have bought this, expecting the original radio classics? What exactly is the record company's motivation for keeping this on the market 34 years after it stopped being a momentary novelty? Maybe if this were a live record, I wouldn't hate it so much - like I said, this is a very entertaining album full of classic songs, clearly delivered and crisply recorded. However, the fact that there's no indication on the cover that these are re-recordings makes my blood boil. If you're interested, Chuck lets out about two cool guitar solos; there's a mindbending bassline on "Rock And Roll Music," and the electrified instruments would be a nice addition if they weren't the album's only nod to the past 10 years of musical innovation. There's one new song, "Club Nitty Gritty", and it's as fun as everything else, if a bit more forgettable. Chuck Berry tries to make money without being creative at all - hell, if that were an acceptable practice, I certainly wouldn't be here writing these bitter reviews.

I bought this with no idea that these were re-recordings. Why was this ever recorded and produced?

Do NOT buy this record. Buy the music Chuck Berry recorded for CHESS records. Seek out "The Great 28" for a fantastic greatest hits package--or anything on Chess, for that matter. But do not waste your money on lousy re-recordings of eternal classics.

These re-recordings of Chuck's classic Chess hits sound tinny and at times off key. They just don't cut it!!! If you love the music of this rock 'n roll legend then I would suggest "The Great 28." That collection is well worth the money.

Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everlys, Little Richard, and Fats Domino all went to Nashville to re-record their greatest hits in the '60s and Chuck Berry was no different. Well, he went to Clayton (Clayton, Missouri that is) for his set and he came up with some interesting sounds. *Interesting sounds* are not always as rockin' as real rock and roll, but looking back at the session, there are only about four or five which should be gathering vaultdust. Yes, "Thirty Days", "Sweet Little Sixteen", and the previously unreleased "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man", with the booming echo and occasional out-of-sync instrumentalizing, including an incongruous electric piano, will make even completists nervous. But listen again to "Carol" with its kickin' drums and new lyrics; "School Day", with fabulous guitar work, and a "live" feel - I saw CB do this number at Madison Square Garden in '70 and this '66 version was alot closer in sound than the original!; another previously unissued cut, "Let It Rock" might even be better than the first. The best of these Mercury versions feature outstanding guitar-playing by Chuck - and some groovy piano riffs by his old pal, Johnnie Johnson.
As recuts go, hey, there's more on the credit column here than on the debit.

My reaction to this album is just as subjective as everyone else's, but here goes: Obviously this collection of "re-recordings" doesn't have the freshness and exuberence of Chuck's early recordings of these classics, but that shouldn't be held against it. After all, as other reviewers have pointed out, there are ample digitally-remastered alternatives for people who are interested only in the young and uncontrollably brilliant Chuck Berry of the 1950s. Why shouldn't an older and more mature Chuck Berry have had an opportunity to "re-record" these songs in the late 1960s, and why shouldn't they have a different feel? What sense would it have made for him to try to duplicate what he had already done 15 years earlier? I personally think these versions, while clearly less electrifying than the originals, have a lot of value for Chuck Berry fans, but agree that those listening to him for the first time would be better off with his earlier recordings.

The fact that this CD doesn't make it clear on the outside that these are not the original versions of the songs is a cruel move. However, if you want to hear the sound of Chuck in the latter half of the '60s, here you go. How DID he sound? Well, he had basically tuned a deaf ear to the musical innovations of the era, & never updated his songwriting at all, continuing to endlessly milk basic standard blues/ rock & roll chord progressions, so the differences end up being the reverb-heavy late '60s sound & the prominent electric keyboards, & that's about it. So, maybe it's best to think of this as a standard live album, if that helps make the re-recordings excusable in your mind. Certainly these versions won't make anyone forget the originals, & there are some hokey moments, however, some tracks features slightly altered lyrics, and there are some great guitar moments, so ultimately, this is an interesting document. Plus, the one new song, "Club Nitty Gritty" IS catchy & fun. Clearly a tossoff that Chuck cranked out, diehards will still find a certain value in it all.

In the early 60's, Chuck signed with MERCURY records after having been with CHESS since his beginning. All of Chucks "charted hits" (the ones that people remember) were on CHESS. As part of the MERCURY deal, he re-recorded, "Johnny B. Goode", "Roll Over Beethoven", "School Day", "Back in the U.S.A."..all of his hits for MERCURY. If you want to hear Chuck's 1963 re-makes of his hits, this is your package. But if you want the original stuff...make sure it's on CHESS.

Chuck Berry is one of the founders of Rock and Roll and had many hits. This album I bought on cassette and then on CD. It is an album with new recordings of his hits, however if you don't like re-recordings you should not get this CD and get the Anthology. If you do like re-recordings you would like this, but it made me mad when I bought this cassette without knowing these were new songs, so always research CDs before you buy them to see if they are the ones you would like.