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?

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.

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.