Chuck Berry Golden Hits CD

Live Recording

Personnel: Chuck Berry (vocals, guitar); Quincy Macon (guitar); Carey Enlow (saxophone); Johnny Johnson (keyboards); Forrest Frierson (bass); Ebbie Hardy, Eugene Washington (drums).
Includes liner notes by Jim Delchant.
These are not the original versions, but 1966 re-recordings of his classic songs.
Anyone spotting this album, either as a piece of vintage vinyl or a CD reissue -- beware. It is not a compilation of hits but, rather, consists of all new recordings by Chuck Berry of his classic Chess Records hits for his then-new label, Mercury Records, with one new song added. The re-recordings wouldn't be a problem, except that Berry and whoever produced this record decided to update his sound, not only mixing it in stereo but also replacing the upright bass on the original hits with much flashier electric bass (played by Forrest Frierson) that screws up the solid rhythm section that's essential for any of this material to work. The addition of a saxophone, courtesy of Carey Enlow, is only a distraction on "Rock & Roll Music," and Berry's efforts at embellishing the lead guitar parts on "Memphis," "Maybellene" (where Johnnie Johnson makes the regrettable decision to play an organ), "Around and Around," and "Roll Over Beethoven" add nothing to the originals and are often downright annoying. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" almost works in its more laid-back incarnation here, until the band seems to let the beat go completely for a moment. "School Days" also sort of works as a studio recording of the way he was doing it on-stage, and "Reelin' and Rockin'" is the one track that's 100 percent what it should be, dirtier than the Chess Records original and the one place where, stylistically, Berry transcends his original work. In one instance, "Back in the U.S.A.," he would have had another passable track, but for his gratuitous addition of lots of unenthusiastic "yeah yeah yeah yeah"s between the verses. And based on nearly half the tracks here, one might also add that Berry even seems on this record to have lost any knack for knowing how to end a song. Finally, the one new composition, "Club Nitty Gritty," doesn't measure up to the least of the classics alongside of which it appears, and whatever worth the album might've had is compromised by the stereo mastering, the excessively clean sound, and the echo that drenches Berry's voice. Except for the implicitly salacious "Reelin' and Rockin'" (which would sound dirty even if sung by a choir of nuns), nothing here approaches the in-your-face raunchiness of Berry's classic Chess sides. Golden Hits was a lousy inaugural effort for his new label, though it managed to stay in print for decades, perhaps on the strength of purchases by people who didn't realize they weren't buying the originals. For his part, Berry would make some marginally more interesting records with the label, most notably the live album from the Fillmore West (which has high historical value) and the Concerto in B Goode album, in the two years to come. ~ Bruce Eder
Berry's first release for Mercury Records was this collection of re-recordings -- done at a faster tempo, and in stereo -- of his Chess hits. The songs are perfectly fine, but that's the best that can be said for this release. The playing, though perfectly competent, lacks the rough road-house ambience of the originals, and the stereo sound is an unnecessary distraction. ~ Bruce Eder
Golden Hits is a collection of Chuck Berry's greatest hits, re-recorded in the late '60s for his new label, Mercury. Berry's performances are utterly without inspiration -- it's clear he is only in it for the money at this point. He adds one new song, the flat "Club Nitty Gritty," but the real embarrassment is the pedestrian, listless quality of his new interpretations of his classics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Berry's first release for Mercury Records was this collection of re-recordings -- done at a faster tempo, and in stereo -- of his Chess hits.