Thursday, March 24. 2011
There are various white-label not-for-resale records containing Chuck Berry material. For a full discussion see this site's chapter on Radio and Promotional Records.
From Italy there are some not-for-sale records which seem to be used in jukeboxes only. At least this is what the two Italian singles below say.
CADET 2742 is the same as the original US single Tulane b/w Have Mercy, Judge and as such could be a normal DJ copy.
Durium 7811 however is different. It contains the 1972 live version of Reelin' and Rockin', though shortened to 2:45 minutes. The usual single edit is approximately four and a half minutes long. This edited version is ONLY available on this Italian record. In addition the song is coupled with a different artist's hit: Don't Ha Ha by Casey Jones is on the flip side. This indeed does not look like a DJ Copy but as if produced exclusively for jukebox use.
There are two questions: Does anyone know of other jukebox-only records? And especially for our Italian readers: Have these records only used in jukeboxes? Write a comment if you know something about these singles.
[Addition thanks to Morten Reff:] The same shortened version of Reelin' and Rockin' is also on the Italian single Cadet (Durium) DE-2796, though with Berry's I Will Not Let You Go on the flip side.
Friday, March 18. 2011
As you might have already seen, the Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry looks a bit different than before.
I tried to make the site better readable. This includes different fonts and colors, but most importantly it includes the placement and size of images.
All cover scans are now placed in separate columns to the left and right of their corresponding description. This leads to some images displaying slightly smaller than before. However, as you certainly know, you can click on each and every image to see a larger and higher resolution version.
The site should display correctly on all of the common browsers both on computers and smartphones. Please check with your equipment. You may need to refresh the display in order to have your browser show the most recent version and not a cached copy you looked at before. If you encounter any display problems with the new look please let me know in email. Include a short description of your equipment.
While working on the layout I also included several changes to the contents. This includes a few new images, some changes to descriptions, and correction of a few factual or spelling errors. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 25. 2011
This site's bibliography section lists and comments all the relevant books about Chuck Berry and his work.
One of the books discussed is Rich Cohen's history of Chess Records called Machers and Rockers. As you can see, I found this book hard to read and full of errors. My recommendation was not to spend any money on it.
I recently learned that Cohen wrote a second book on the same topic. The title is " The Record Men: The Chess Brothers and the Birth of Rock & Roll". It have not been able to find out when it was released but I hoped he had taken the opportunity to correct all the flaws in his first book.
So I recently ordered this second book only to find that I became victim of a rip-off, unfortunately common among book publishers nowadays.
"The Record Men" is NOT a second Rich Cohen book! It is just the paperback edition of "Machers and Rockers" retitled. They have not changed a single word other than the page headers. Nowhere it tells that it's a reprint except for the Library of Congress Catalog entry. They even falsified the Larry King quote on the cover (unless King praised both books with the same words).
I did not recommend the hardcover edition, but I strongly discourage you to even look at this rip-off reprint.
Thursday, January 6. 2011
When I first wrote about the new series of 16 Chuck Berry album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan, I complained that I do not understand why they do not offer hard, rigid boxes with the Mini-LPs to keep them safe.
I'm not alone as I learned. For some reason, Japanese album replicas are always sold in paper sleeves only. Only in rare circumstances a CD manufacturer will put several albums of a series in a box, though these then do not sell separately.
However, there's a market for Mini-LP boxes. To put the albums in a safe place, some companies offer blank boxes to carry a certain number of Mini-LPs. Here's one offer: Blank Mini-LP Boxes
And then there is a huge Japanese record shop chain called Disk Union. They sell many Mini-LPs and they want you to buy all of a series, not just the few you really want. Therefore Disk Union often produces promotional boxes which not only are huge enough to hold the whole series, but also are printed with information about the series or with the cover of one of the albums contained. For the Chuck Berry series Disk Union has produced two different boxes, one to hold the first eight albums, a second to hold the remaining eight Mini-LPs. These boxes are NOT sold separately. The only way to get them is to purchase the complete set of albums with it. And these boxes are not shipped by Disk Union to buyers outside Japan.
I have not been able to get the boxes from Disk Union or even a good photo thereof, although they were very responsive to my queries. However, thanks to Douglas Caldwell and Tiger Mountain Music I am able to show good photos of the boxes. Tiger Mountain Music imports the Disk Union sets from Japan and resells them from Canada. If you are interested in buying the boxes (and the included albums), check out their eBay store at Tiger-Mountain-Music.
These photos are copyrighted by Tiger Mountain Music and used here with permission. Click on the images to see the box in detail.
Here's a link to an offer of the two boxes by Tiger Mountain Music: click
For more information about Mini-LP boxes in general, visit the minilps.net site.
Tuesday, December 21. 2010
Again, Christmas time is near. So here is another set of eBay items a Chuck Berry collector may want. As said in the last blog post here, these are some true rarities, not offered often.
You can click on the items to go directly to the corresponding eBay page. In case you bid: Good Luck!
Saturday, December 18. 2010
In case you have kept a wish for Christmas, you may have a look on these eBay items. These are some true rarities, not offered often.
You can click on the items to go directly to the corresponding eBay page. In case you bid: Good Luck!
Tuesday, November 9. 2010
Sorry for letting you wait for the final remarks on the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's the fourth summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues. [ Read part 1] [ Read part 2] [ Read part 3]
These are the last three albums originally released by Chess Records in the 1970s. And for some reason only known to the Japanese compilers, they also added a re-issue of the single Chuck Berry album released by MCA in the late 1980s. As you can see, the bonus tracks are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets, again added where they fit.
Album | Original Number | Re-issue Number | Bonus Tracks |
---|
The London Chuck Berry Sessions | CHESS CH-60020 | UICY-94636 | the five additional recordings from the Lancaster Arts Festival the single edits of Roll 'Em Pete and My Ding-A-Ling South of the Border (live BBC 1972) |
Bio | CHESS CH-50043 | UICY-94637 | Blues #1 Annie Lou Me and My Country One Sixty Nine AM Roll Away |
Chuck Berry (1975) | CHESS CH-60032 | UICY-94638 | Turn On the House Lights Jambalaya The Song of My Love Johnny B. Blues Dust My Broom Here Today Rockin' |
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | MCA MCA-6217 | UICY-94639 | no bonus tracks |
Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.
Thursday, October 14. 2010
While the computer behind me is busy doing some heavy-duty calculations, I'll add some more information about the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's the third summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues, one more to follow. [ Read part 1] [ Read part 2]
As you can see, these are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets. In contrast to a strict chronological sequence, the compilers in Japan tried to put the alternate takes and versions close to the originally released ones. Recordings not used in the 1950s are placed where they fit chronologically (mostly).
Album | Original Number | Re-issue Number | Bonus Tracks |
---|
Chuck Berry in London | CHESS LP 1495 | UICY-94632 | Chuckwalk Liverpool Drive Chuck's Beat (long LP version) Bo's Beat (long LP version) Spending Christmas |
Fresh Berry's | CHESS LP 1498 | UICY-94633 | Shake Rattle & Roll (teke 23) Wee Wee Hours (inst.) Honey Hush (take 3) My Mustang Ford (inst.) My Mustang Ford (stereo remix) It Wasn't Me (stereo remix) Sad Day, Long Night His Daughter Caroline (fast) |
Back Home | CHESS LPS-1550 | UICY-94634 | Untitled Instrumental (1969) My Ding-A-Ling (1969) Gun (fast) Gun (slow That's None of Your Business My Pad (poem) |
San Francisco Dues | CHESS CH-50008 | UICY-94635 | Ramona Say Yes Ramona Say Yes (alt. mix) Lonely School Days (slow) |
Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.
Tuesday, October 12. 2010
As promised, I try to report more about the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's a second summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues, more to follow. [ Read part 1]
As you can see, these are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets. In contrast to a strict chronological sequence, the compilers in Japan tried to put the alternate takes and versions close to the originally released ones. Recordings not used in the 1950s are placed where they fit chronologically (mostly).
Album | Original Number | Re-issue Number | Bonus Tracks |
---|
New Juke Box Hits | CHESS LP 1456 | UICY-94628 | I Got to Find My Baby (stereo remix) Bye Bye Johnny (stereo remix) Run Around (stereo remix) Jaguar And Thunderbird Down the Road Apiece (stereo remix) I'm Just a Lucky So And So Route 66 (stereo remix) Come On Come On (alt.) Adulteen Go Go Go (alt.) Go Go Go Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (inst.) Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (stereo remix) |
Twist | CHESS LP 1465 | UICY-94629 | Brown-Eyed Handsome Man Too Much Monkey Business Memphis, Tennessee Nadine (Is It You?) Promised Land No Particular Place to Go My Ding-A-Ling (1972 single) Now this compilation is strange as several bonus tracks were not even recorded when the original album was released. And what has Ding-A-Ling to do here??? |
On Stage | CHESS LP 1480 | UICY-94630 | all 11 tracks from the 1963 Detroit concert first published on You Never Can Tell - His Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966 (HIP-O-Select B0012485-02, 2009) Read more on this Japanese release ... |
St. Louis to Liverpool | CHESS LP 1488 | UICY-94631 | Nadine (Is It You?) The Little Girl From Central I'm In the Danger Zone FrauleinO Rangutang (unfaded instrumental) Big Ben (Blues) |
Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.
Thursday, October 7. 2010
CHESS LP 1480, Chuck Berry On Stage, is one of the strangest albums released during Chuck Berry's work with Chess Records.
Released while Berry was in jail, the Chess brothers had no new material available. Therefore they looked through their archive and found some lower quality tracks from older sessions. Even combined with some greatest hits, the album did not look as if it could be a commercial success. Thus, the Chess brothers went one step further.
By adding noise from an audience crowd and some shouting MC they made the album look like it would have been recorded live in concert. Next they changed the titles of some songs for further obfuscation. So Sweet Little Sixteen became Surfing USA, and Let It Rock became Rocking on the Railroad.
It didn't help and interest for this album was low. Seems like record buyers are not as stupid as companies want to believe.
When CDs became popular, nobody expected sales from re-releasing this album. Especially as the previously unreleased tracks became available without the fake applause over the years, one after the other which, however, took until 2009. If you were interested to listen to the original album with all the damage Chess introduced, you had to go to your Vinyl collection.
Finally, as part of the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan, CHESS LP 1480 is available on CD now!
The CD contains the original contents of the CHESS album including all the fake applause and shouts. It also includes How High the Moon which was not listed on the original cover, though on the disk. To fill up the re-issue CD, Universal added a true live concert from 1963, which makes the album title correct in some sense. The Detroit concert has been published before on You Never Can Tell - His Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966 (HIP-O-Select B0012485-02, 2009). Note that the "enhanced" versions having the fake applause were omitted from that complete set. Here they are, finally.
To get the Japanese re-issue, click here: UICY-94630
Wednesday, October 6. 2010
As promised, I try to report more about the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's a first summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues, more to follow.
As you can see, these are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets. In contrast to a strict chronological sequence, the compilers in Japan tried to put the alternate takes and versions close to the originally released ones. Recordings not used in the 1950s are placed where they fit chronologically (mostly).
Album | Original Number | Re-issue Number | Bonus Tracks |
---|
After School Session | CHESS LP 1426 | UICY-94624 | You Can't Catch Me I've Changed Untitled instrumental (1956) Maybellene (live WINS) Roll Over Beethoven (live WINS) Rock and Roll Music (demo) Thirteen Question Method (early version) Sweet Little Sixteen (demo) Sweet Little Sixteen (take 3) Night Beat (take 3) Time Was (slow, take 4) Time Was (slow) Reelin' and Rockin' (take 1) Merry Christmas Baby |
One Dozen Berrys | CHESS LP 1432 | UICY-94625 | Rock and Roll Music (alt.) Sweet Little Sixteen (take 11) Sweet Little Sixteen (original master) Reelin' and Rockin' (take 7/8) Johnny B. Goode (take 2/3) Around and Around (overdub take 2) Around and Around (overdub (take 3) Ingo (overdub take 3) Beautiful Delilah (take 15/16) Beautiful Delilah (take 6) 21 Blues 21 21 (take 14) Vacation Time |
Berry is on Top | CHESS LP 1435 | UICY-94626 | Oh Yeah Time Was (fast) House of Blue Lights Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller (take 5) Long Fast Jam Long Slow Jam Run Rudolph Run Little Queenie (take 8 ) That's My Desire Do You Love Me (alt.) Do You Love Me |
Rockin' at the Hops | CHESS LP 1448 | UICY-94627 | Almost Grown (take 14) Almost Grown (take 28) Blue on Blue (Upchuck) Blue on Blue Betty Jean (take 14) Betty Jean (take 17) County Line Childhood Sweetheart (alt.) One O'Clock Jump I Just Want to Make Love to You (take 3) Broken Arrow (take 21) Let It Rock (alt. mix) Too Pooped to Pop (take 4A) Say You'll Be Mine (Equadors) Let Me Sleep Woman (Equadors) |
Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.
Tuesday, October 5. 2010
Great news for Chuck Berry collectors!
Over the last years, the U.S. branch of Universal Music provided us with three superb four-CD sets documenting Chuck Berry's complete recordings for CHESS Records from 1955 to 1975 including many previously unissued tracks: Now, the Japanese branch of Universal Music fulfills another long-standing collectors' wish: Perfect CD re-issues of Berry's original CHESS albums.
In a series called the "Chuck Berry 55 Papersleeve Edition", Universal Music Japan re-released 15 original CHESS albums and one MCA album. Of most interest is that this includes albums previously not available on CD such as Bio, Back Home, or San Francisco Dues. Each album is sold separately, but many collectors will want to get the whole set. Unfortunately the retail price of 2,800 Yen translate to approximately $35 each, plus packaging, postage, customs and taxes.
If you can afford buying some, you will be glad to get:
- a 100% exact replica of the original album sleeve scaled to CD size. This includes the exact printing of the original US edition, even on the spine. Bio and The London Sessions come in their original gatefold cover. And they even managed to duplicate the paper texture, e.g. of the London Sessions album.
- an audio CD of SHM-CD type. This CDs are made from a special enhanced transparency polycarbonate material (Super High Material) said to improve sound quality. It plays on every CD player, though.
- a many-page booklet containing a preface by Marshall Chess, recording data for all songs, complete lyrics, and a long description of the album by Kazuhiro Uda, that one unfortunately in Japanese language only.
Given this high-quality outfit, two things are a bit astonishing. First of all, the CD does not come in a hard box. You just get a plastic envelope which includes the papersleeve and the typical obi strip. This "tasuki" is common to Japanese CDs and includes information about the CD such as price or track listing, all in Japanese language. Secondly, because the obi strip is lost easily, you are left with the papersleeve, which contains absolutely no indication of its Japanese origin.
And without the obi strip and its Japanese-language track listing you might easily overlook another important aspect of these re-releases: Bonus Tracks!
While the original London Sessions album contains five studio tracks and three tracks from the Coventry concert, this re-issue has another eight tracks. This includes the five additional songs from Coventry as released on Have Mercy - His Complete Chess Recordings 1969-1974 (HIP-O-Select B0013790-02, 2010), the single edits of both Roll 'Em Pete and My Ding-A-Ling, and the live version of South of the Border from the 1972 BBC concert in London.
I will try to find out which additional bonus tracks are on the remaining CDs, but I guess they used all or most of the additional tracks from the American four-CD sets. Stay tuned.
Currently these CDs seem to not be stocked by the typical Internet shops. The only offers I found so far were on eBay:
Thanks to Morten, Andy, and the folks at Universal Music Japan for information about this release!
Sunday, October 3. 2010
The Association for Recorded Sound Collections ( arsc-audio.org) just announced the 2010 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Since 1991, "the awards are presented to authors and publishers of books, articles, liner notes, and monographs, to recognize outstanding published research in the field of recorded sound. In giving these awards, ARSC recognizes outstanding contributions, encourages high standards, and promotes awareness of superior works." (Quote from the press release)
One of the awards for excellence honors the best research in recorded Blues, Rhythm & Blues, or Soul Music. And the winner is:
Morten Reff for his outstanding Chuck Berry International Directory published by Music Mentor Books in 2009
Congratulations to Morten and to the team at Music Mentor Books! You deserved it well!
Friday, October 1. 2010
Yesterday I got two emails about a certain Chuck Berry 45rpm single which would not be in my discography and therefore would be ultra-rare.
Doug pointed me to an eBay auction which sells this telling "only two known to exist". See here: eBay item 200525623767
And concurrently reader Peter asks "I have a single I can't find any mention of in the discographies I've looked at." Go figure ...
One comment first: I do have a huge collection of Berry records and I count myself as one of the experts on Chuck Berry recordings, but the one and only expert on Chuck Berry RECORDS is Morten Reff. So if you ever need to know something about a strange record you find, go and look at Morten's "Chuck Berry International Directory" available in a book shop near you.
The record in question is a 45rpm single having the blue CHESS label of the original 1950's records. It's A side is 'Rock and Roll Music', but in contrast to the original CHESS 1671 which has 'Blue Feeling' on side B, this record contains 'House of Blue Lights'. That songs was unissued in the 1950's and first surfaced on "Chuck Berry's Golden Decade Vol. 3" in 1973. So is this a rare misprint with only two known to exist? And having a complete original CHESS label printed? No way!
Thus you open Morten's "Chuck Berry International Directory, Volume 2" and there it is, right on the first page. This variant of CHESS 1671 is part of a series of bootleg records which came out in the early 1970s, certainly after 1973. It looks like a real CHESS release, but it isn't. It's from some doubtful source we don't know about.
The record IS rare. We don't know how many were pressed, but definitely more than two. Count for yourself: Peter has one, I do, Morten does, and the eBay seller does as well. So that's at least four
If you are collecting Berry records and if you don't have this one, you might consider buying it. The initial price asked seems to be a bit high, but that's up to you.
Those who are interested in this bootleg 45rpm single should also notice the only other interesting single from this bootleg series. CHESS 1700 'Carol' containing 'County Line' on the flip side instead of 'Hey Pedro'. This record is for sale on eBay for months and did not find a buyer yet. Look here: eBay item 290216887081
Wednesday, August 4. 2010
Those of you who follow these articles and the accompanying web site regularly will notice some recent changes.
As you know, this web site not only describes all of Chuck Berry's recordings and where they first appeared. I also show images of all these original records, CDs, and books.
Every image is contained twice: Within the text there is a smaller version working like a thumbnail image, when you click it you get a higher resolution image full of details. I spent a lot of work photographing the covers, enhancing them, repairing damages and so on.
Unfortunately I find this work misused all over the Internet. The copyright notes at the bottom of each page tell explicitly that the rights to all original covers belong to the corresponding record company, publisher, and their artists. It also says that the copyright to the enhanced digital photographs of these covers as shown on these pages belong to the author of this web site and the company owning it.
The copyright note says that you may use these images within other web sites if (1) you link to the original image (and not copy it) and (2) YOU TELL WHERE YOU GOT IT FROM. However, I find more and more websites using my work without telling the origins and at least linking back to the original pages. Interestingly these web sites pretending to show my work as their original contents (and thus stealing my work) are not only those who also offer to download the corresponding music (and thus stealing Chuck Berry's work). I also find many blog entries such as mine which talk about a record or another and simply take the image from my site. Which would be OK if they follow the rules listed above.
I know that Google and the like make it perfectly easy to find any text or image and to pretend that it would be yours. However, every web author knows that digital contents (such as photos and texts) is copyrighted just like any book or song. If you use foreign contents, you must have the original author's permission and depending on the use must pay them. I offer free re-use of the Chuck Berry-related texts and images on this site at no charge, but you must ask and you must tell the origin.
As most people do not ask and do not tell the origins, I decided to place the origin into the image itself. Thus in addition to the hidden copyright notes in all of the images here, every photo now has a watermark which tells where it comes from. I know that this makes the images useless for reprints. So if you want to use some of the photos from this site in a publication, such as Fred and Morten did with their books, let me know and I will provide you with an unmodified digital image. All others need to live with the watermarked images, sorry.
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