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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House of Blue LightsDon Raye, Freddie Slack | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 9 MB |
| 2 | Wee Wee HoursChuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 3 | Deep FeelingChuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:18 | 5 MB | 8 MB |
| 4 | I Just Want to Make Love to YouWillie Dixon | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:12 | 5 MB | 8 MB |
| 5 | How You've ChangedChuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| 6 | Down the Road a PieceDon Raye | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 7 | Worried Life BluesBig Maceo Merriweather | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:10 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 8 | Confessin' the BluesWalter Brown, Jay McShann | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:08 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 9 | Still Got the BluesChuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:05 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 10 | Driftin' BluesJohnny Moore's Three Blazers, Charles Brown, Eddie Williams | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:18 | 5 MB | 9 MB |
| 11 | Run AroundChuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 12 | Route 66Bobby Troup | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:45 | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| 13 | Sweet SixteenJoe Josea, B.B. King | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 14 | All AboardChuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:07 | 4 MB | 14 MB |
| 15 | St. Louis BluesW.C. Handy | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:36 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 16 | The Things I Used To Do | Chuck Berry | Play | 02:42 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 39 mins | 89 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 187 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Below | Drums |
| 2 | Chuck Berry | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 3 | Reggie Boyd | Bass |
| 4 | Don Bronstein | Photography |
| 5 | Charles Brown | Composer |
| 6 | Walter Brown | Composer |
| 7 | Louis Cennamo | Bass |
| 8 | Leonard Chess | Producer |
| 9 | Phil Chess | Producer |
| 10 | L.C. Davis | Sax (Tenor) |
| 11 | Michael Diehl | Design |
| 12 | Willie Dixon | Composer |
| 13 | Willie Dixon Band | Bass |
| 14 | Equadors | Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Guitar Slim | Composer |
| 16 | W.C. Handy | Composer |
| 17 | Ebby Hardy | Drums |
| 18 | Johnnie Johnson | Piano |
| 19 | Joe Josea | Composer |
| 20 | B.B. King | Composer |
| 21 | Erick Labson | Digital Remastering |
| 22 | Lafayette Leake | Piano |
| 23 | Andy McKaie | Producer |
| 24 | Jay McShann | Composer |
| 25 | Big Maceo Merriweather | Composer |
| 26 | Johnny Moore's Three Blazers | Composer |
| 27 | Matt "Guitar" Murphy | Guitar |
| 28 | Ryan Null | Photo Research |
| 29 | Odie Payne, Jr. | Drums |
| 30 | Don Raye | Composer |
| 31 | Bob Scrivens | Piano |
| 32 | Freddie Slack | Composer |
| 33 | G. Smith | Bass |
| 34 | Beth Stempel | Production Coordination |
| 35 | Hubert Sumlin | Guitar |
| 36 | Jasper Thomas | Drums |
| 37 | Phil Thomas | Drums |
| 38 | Bobby Troup | Composer |
| 39 | Vartan | Art Direction |
| 40 | Eddie Williams | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |