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 cliches 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. ~ Steve Leggett
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