Review by Steve Leggett
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.
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Reseña de Steve Leggett
Chuck Berry creció en el blues, tomando a Muddy Waters como un héroe particular, así que cuando firmó con Chess Records a mediados de los 50, el sello indudablemente pensó que estaban consiguiendo un artista de blues. Lo cual era Berry, pero su brillante estilo de guitarra y su inclinación a escribir canciones con letras que dejaban de lado los clichés del blues por algo más cercano a la poesía beat, hizo que la versión avanzada del blues de Berry se convirtiera en algo totalmente distinto, creando la misma plantilla para el rock & roll. También atrajo a un público adolescente más joven al juego, y Berry se dirigió cada vez más a él. Pero antes de ese cambio revolucionario en el estilo y la demografía, Berry produjo algunos interesantes lados de blues recto para Chess, varios de los cuales se recogen aquí, y es intrigante preguntarse qué habría pasado si Berry se hubiera quedado con el blues en lugar de redefinirlo como rock & roll. Lo más destacado incluye el poderoso "Wee Wee Hours", una versión de Don Raye "Down the Road a Piece", un intento de "Things I used to Do" de Guitar Slim, el híbrido "Driftin' Blues", que presenta un coro de apoyo casi doo wop, y una versión acelerada y rockera de "St. Louis Blues" de W.C. Handy. El trabajo de Berry con la guitarra es revelador en estos primeros números, su tono siempre brillante y fresco, como si fuera un potro que no pudiera esperar a salir a correr. Y corrió, lo hizo.
1 House Of Blue Lights
2 Wee Wee Hours
3 Deep Feeling
4 I Just Want To Make Love To You
5 How You’ve Changed
6 Down The Road Apiece
7 Worried Life Blues
8 Confessin’ The Blues
9 Still Got The Blues
10 Driftin’ Blues
11 Run Around
12 Route 66
13 Sweet Sixteen
14 All Aboard
15 The Things That I Used To Do
16 St. Louis Blues
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