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Post by Moon Dawg on Apr 4, 2021 9:58:44 GMT -5
Chuck Berry was released from federal prison in October 1963 after serving an 18 month sentence for violation of the Mann Act. Despite the common perception his best work was behind him, Berry proceeded to have a sterling 1964, releasing a series of singles that rank as one of the finest runs in rock & roll history. Several of these singles (and their B sides) form the basis for ST. LOUIS TO LIVERPOOL (Chess LP 1488), likely the man's best non-compilation LP.
Like all runs, Berry's 1964-65 hot streak ended, but his 1964 recordings constitute a real and significant artistic achievement that further solidified what was already written in stone. These singles are among his finest efforts. Chart positions are from Billboard's HOT 100.
Released Recorded Title Billboard
Feb 1964 1-14-64 "Nadine" #23
April 1964 3-26-64 "No Particular Place to Go" #10
July 1964 1-14-64 "You Never Can Tell" #14
Sept 1964 8-16-64 "Little Marie" #54
Nov 1964 2-25-64 "Promised Land" #41
March 1965 12-15-64 "Dear Dad" #95
Sept 1965 9-3-65 "It Wasn't Me" DNC
Many would have been broken by prison; Chuck Berry emerged bitter yet unbowed. Hail Hail Rock & Roll!
(BTW - "It Wasn't Me" is currently in use for an Amazon Prime ad.)
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Post by jk on Apr 4, 2021 13:35:18 GMT -5
Good call, md.
I always liked the wonderfully upbeat "You Never Can Tell", although the other 1964 releases are not far behind. (I'm not familiar with the last two in your list.)
Chuck could had taught Brian a thing or two in the French pronunciation department.  |
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Post by Moon Dawg on Apr 4, 2021 14:05:28 GMT -5
"Dear Dad" - the best single ever to stall at #95!
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Post by jk on Apr 4, 2021 14:13:07 GMT -5
"Dear Dad" - the best single ever to stall at #95! Well, let's be hearing it then...  Indeed, some great guitar in there! And a nice little story line from rock and roll's raconteur extraordinary.  |
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Post by Moon Dawg on May 15, 2021 18:31:02 GMT -5
ST LOUIS TO LIVERPOOL was the first and best album of Chuck Berry's post prison trilogy. Next up was CHUCK BERRY IN LONDON (containing the scorchers "Dear Dad" and "I Want to Be Your Driver"), followed by the underrated FRESH BERRY'S, Chuck's final Chess album for several years. (A couple of years at Mercury produced several mediocre efforts.)
FRESH BERRY'S is an album that will satisfy anyone who digs Chuck Berry, containing all the elements that make up a good Berry LP. You get a few first tier rockers ("It Wasn't Me", "It's My Own Business", "My Mustang Ford"); two tips of the hat to Chuck's idol Louis Jordan ("Ain't That Just Like a Woman", "Run Joe"); some bluesier items ("Rampart Street", "Sad Day Long Night"); pop crooning ("One for My Baby"); and of course, the same tune recycled for good measure ("Everyday We Rock & Roll" and "Merrily We Rock & Roll").
Recorded Sept 1-3 1965, this session featured the great Johnnie Johnson on piano, as well as Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield on "It Wasn't Me" and "Sad Day Long Night." "It Wasn't Me" features some of Chuck's finest wordplay, as he assures a succession of authority figures he was not the one.
So, if you like Chuck Berry and ever stumble across a copy of FRESH BERRY'S, buy it without any trepidation. CONCERTO IN B GOODE it is not. (Which is to say, a turkey.)
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Post by jk on May 16, 2021 8:52:49 GMT -5
FRESH BERRY'S is an album that will satisfy anyone who digs Chuck Berry, containing all the elements that make up a good Berry LP. You get a few first tier rockers ("It Wasn't Me", "It's My Own Business", "My Mustang Ford"); two tips of the hat to Chuck's idol Louis Jordan ("Ain't That Just Like a Woman", "Run Joe"); some bluesier items ("Rampart Street", "Sad Day Long Night"); pop crooning ("One for My Baby"); and of course, the same tune recycled for good measure ("Everyday We Rock & Roll" and "Merrily We Rock & Roll"). Recorded Sept 1-3 1965, this session featured the great Johnnie Johnson on piano, as well as Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield on "It Wasn't Me" and "Sad Day Long Night." "It Wasn't Me" features some of Chuck's finest wordplay, as he assures a succession of authority figures he was not the one. Hi, MD. I gave the tracks I could find on YouTube a listen and really the only one that grabbed me was "Right Off Rampart Street", as it takes Chuck's music in a slightly different direction: I think unless one's a huge fan like yourself, the tendency certainly in my case is to stick to the classics from the '50s and very early '60s, when what Chuck was doing was new and exciting. While I'm here... I'm incredibly chuffed by the fact that out of all the pop songs since who knows when, Beatles, Elvis, whatever, they chose Chuck's "Johnny B. Goode" for Voyager's Golden Record, out there somewhere in deep space as we speak. I found a 78 of it back in 1963 in a junk shop and got my brother to buy it along with a 78 of Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City". I knew both records had one heck of a reputation but had never heard either of them. They both sounded great and they still do.  |
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Post by Moon Dawg on May 16, 2021 11:30:14 GMT -5
I agree, a lot of Berry's work by this time was repetition of what had come before. I expected little from FRESH BERRY'S so maybe that is why I gave it a good review, LOL. "It Wasn't Me" is certainly a cool track either way. "Rampart Street" is pretty good.
IMO the last Chuck Berry masterpiece was the 1970 single "Tulane"/"Have Mercy Judge"...you kind of have to hear both to get the full impact of either as "Judge" is a sequel to "Tulane." "Tulane" is the standard Chuck Berry rocker delivered with a countercultural twist. "Have Mercy Judge" continues the fictional tale of pot dealers Tulane and Johnny, but the prison angle ("I go to court tomorrow morning/And I've got the same judge I had before") likely came from personal experience. That line is delivered delivered with a certain rage and passion one does not always hear from Chuck Berry.
Of course, this single failed to chart and the wretched "My Ding a Ling" went to Number One a couple of years later. (Holding Elvis Presley's "Burning Love" at #2 while Rick Nelson's "Garden Party" was somewhere in the Top 10. 1972 was a good year for some of the rock & rollers from the 50's.)
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Post by jk on May 16, 2021 14:53:32 GMT -5
I agree, a lot of Berry's work by this time was repetition of what had come before. I expected little from FRESH BERRY'S so maybe that is why I gave it a good review, LOL. "It Wasn't Me" is certainly a cool track either way. "Rampart Street" is pretty good. IMO the last Chuck Berry masterpiece was the 1970 single "Tulane"/"Have Mercy Judge"...you kind of have to hear both to get the full impact of either as "Judge" is a sequel to "Tulane." "Tulane" is the standard Chuck Berry rocker delivered with a countercultural twist. "Have Mercy Judge" continues the fictional tale of pot dealers Tulane and Johnny, but the prison angle ("I got to court tomorrow morning/And I've got the same judge I had before") likely came from personal experience. That line is delivered delivered with a certain rage and passion one does not always hear from Chuck Berry. Of course, this single failed to chart and the wretched "My Ding a Ling" went to Number One a couple of years later. (Holding Elvis Presley's "Burning Love" at #2 while Rick Nelson's "Garden Party" was somewhere in the Top 10. 1972 was a good year for some of the rock & rollers from the 50's.) I'll be sure to check out that 1970 45.  I won't comment on "My Ding-A-Ling" -- it would probably get me banned, or even arrested.  I don't know about '72 but I heard Jerry Lee's version of "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" on the radio the following year and it blew everything else being played out of the water. Still going strong at 85 and well into his seventh marriage! What a life that man has had.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lee_Lewis |
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Post by jk on May 16, 2021 15:12:21 GMT -5
IMO the last Chuck Berry masterpiece was the 1970 single "Tulane"/"Have Mercy Judge"...you kind of have to hear both to get the full impact of either as "Judge" is a sequel to "Tulane." "Tulane" is the standard Chuck Berry rocker delivered with a countercultural twist. "Have Mercy Judge" continues the fictional tale of pot dealers Tulane and Johnny, but the prison angle ("I got to court tomorrow morning/And I've got the same judge I had before") likely came from personal experience. That line is delivered delivered with a certain rage and passion one does not always hear from Chuck Berry. Ha. I found a video that segues the two together. They make a great combination. I see what you mean about the storyline -- where does fiction end and fact begin? What a great line-up of musicians on the album. Ironically, Bob Baldori is an entertainment law attorney, one of whose clients was Chuck Berry!  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Home_(Chuck_Berry_album) |
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Moon Dawg Vol II
Grommet
Formerly known as "Moon Dawg"
Posts: 49
Likes: 61
Favorite Album: Surf's Up
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Post by Moon Dawg Vol II on Sept 18, 2022 19:37:40 GMT -5
I still think those seven Chuck Berry singles from 1964-65 were the best run of his career. Rock & Roll worthy of the Nobel Prize, I must say!
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Post by jay on Sept 20, 2022 14:52:00 GMT -5
FRESH BERRY'S is an album that will satisfy anyone who digs Chuck Berry, containing all the elements that make up a good Berry LP. You get a few first tier rockers ("It Wasn't Me", "It's My Own Business", "My Mustang Ford"); two tips of the hat to Chuck's idol Louis Jordan ("Ain't That Just Like a Woman", "Run Joe"); some bluesier items ("Rampart Street", "Sad Day Long Night"); pop crooning ("One for My Baby"); and of course, the same tune recycled for good measure ("Everyday We Rock & Roll" and "Merrily We Rock & Roll"). Recorded Sept 1-3 1965, this session featured the great Johnnie Johnson on piano, as well as Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield on "It Wasn't Me" and "Sad Day Long Night." "It Wasn't Me" features some of Chuck's finest wordplay, as he assures a succession of authority figures he was not the one. Hi, MD. I gave the tracks I could find on YouTube a listen and really the only one that grabbed me was "Right Off Rampart Street", as it takes Chuck's music in a slightly different direction: I think unless one's a huge fan like yourself, the tendency certainly in my case is to stick to the classics from the '50s and very early '60s, when what Chuck was doing was new and exciting. While I'm here... I'm incredibly chuffed by the fact that out of all the pop songs since who knows when, Beatles, Elvis, whatever, they chose Chuck's "Johnny B. Goode" for Voyager's Golden Record, out there somewhere in deep space as we speak. I found a 78 of it back in 1963 in a junk shop and got my brother to buy it along with a 78 of Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City". I knew both records had one heck of a reputation but had never heard either of them. They both sounded great and they still do. Is it just me, or did Creedence Clearwater Revival base Born On The Bayou off this? |
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Post by jk on Sept 20, 2022 15:22:44 GMT -5
Hi, MD. I gave the tracks I could find on YouTube a listen and really the only one that grabbed me was "Right Off Rampart Street", as it takes Chuck's music in a slightly different direction: Is it just me, or did Creedence Clearwater Revival base Born On The Bayou off this? According to a quote on their wiki page: "The term 'roots rock' had not yet been invented when Creedence came along, but in essence, they defined it, drawing inspiration from the likes of Little Richard, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and the artisans of soul at Motown and Stax. In so doing, Creedence Clearwater Revival became the standard bearers and foremost celebrants of homegrown American music." So yes, it's possible... |
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