Chuck Berry, already 29 when he scored his first hit with 1955's "Maybellene," drew on his own experiences at school and behind the wheel to fashion many of the classics that made him one of rock & roll's earliest grea... more »t songwriters. Linking country boogie to jump-blues licks from the likes of Louis Jordan, Berry was both in touch with the past and totally new, as proto-protests ("School Day") and odes to the freshly flourishing teen lifestyle ("Sweet Little Sixteen," "Oh Baby Doll") make clear. While His Best (and its companion volume) provide a more expensive alternative to the now out-of-print Great Twenty-Eight, there's no getting around the fact that Berry's music is as essential as it comes. --Rickey Wright« less
Chuck Berry, already 29 when he scored his first hit with 1955's "Maybellene," drew on his own experiences at school and behind the wheel to fashion many of the classics that made him one of rock & roll's earliest great songwriters. Linking country boogie to jump-blues licks from the likes of Louis Jordan, Berry was both in touch with the past and totally new, as proto-protests ("School Day") and odes to the freshly flourishing teen lifestyle ("Sweet Little Sixteen," "Oh Baby Doll") make clear. While His Best (and its companion volume) provide a more expensive alternative to the now out-of-print Great Twenty-Eight, there's no getting around the fact that Berry's music is as essential as it comes. --Rickey Wright
Brenton M. from LAS CRUCES, NM Reviewed on 11/14/2010...
Anything by Chuck Berry is great...
CD Reviews
Half of Chuck's greatest hits
Candace Scott | Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA | 02/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you buy this disc in tandem with "Greatest Hits II" then you will have almost all of Chuck Berry's greatest hists. The sound quality is very good, there are no live versions (which mar other Berry "greatest hits" packages), and there is nothing but great music here.It's a shame that Chuck Berry is not universally recognized as one of the greatest rock lyricists and most innovative figures. This CD will convince even skeptics of his brilliance. Without Chuck Berry, there would be no Beatles, Rolling Stones or Kinks, or at least in the forms they eventually took.This CD contains all of Berry's original early recordings, pristine and beautifully remastered. Who can deny that his way with words was umatched: "He never, ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like a-ringing a bell..." It's a tragedy that most people have grown up listening to inferior musicians do paltry cover versions of the songs Berry wrote and performed better than anyone else. This set is an absolutely essential component of any collection, of any genre. Chuck Berry was a pioneer with words and music and his influence is sorely underestimated today. Had Chuck Berry been born white, he would be regarded as a rock God instead of being neglected and virtually forgotten in many circles. These 28 magnificent songs just about cover his catalogue of hits. This is a great sampling, but incomplete, so if you want to experience Berry's real genius, branch off into his lesser known songs. But for the money, this one rocks!"
Not a curioso
Sam Browning | 01/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is great not just from a historical standpoint. It doesn't sound dated and it's good to rock out or boogie down to anytime. Even though the lyrics seem trivial they sound so right for the music and make you think that nobody could have said it better. No More Monkey Business is my favorite, since he ends lots of his lyrical lines with this really cool gutteral "ha!" Really fun and brilliant."
A MUST FROM ONE OF THE FATHER's OF ROCk-N-ROLL
mistermaxxx@yahoo.com | usa | 04/17/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"CHuck Berry with His Signature Style of Guitar Playing&Duck Walk is One Of The FOunding Ground-Breaking Musicians of Rock-N-Roll.His Music Here Represents His GreatNess&Importance to the World of Music.Maybellene,Johnny B.Goode,Roll Over Beethoven etc.. are timeless Classics."
The birth of rock'n'roll
jekyllnhyde | NJ | 10/09/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Nothing against Elvis, but if you really want to know where rock'n'roll began, this is the place. No other rock guitarist has been as influential. The man has never gotten the credit he deserves."
Some of the best music that money can buy
Laszlo Matyas | 01/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Chuck Berry is, without a doubt, one of the greatest musicians in the history of popular music; everything from his songwriting (which was an image-heavy, gleefully poetic celebration of growing up and being alive, full of subtle humor and snickering innuendo) to his musicianship (full of exciting rhythms, death-defying chord progressions, and guitar solos that have earned a rightful place in our collective unconscious) defines and exemplifies rock 'n' roll. His music is full of heart and soul and blues and country and even jazz, and it all simmers so irresistibly. Anyone who claims to like rock owes it to themselves to get as much Chuck in their collection as they can.
This disc features 20 golden tracks from the first segment of his career- you get such deathless classics as "Johnny B. Goode" and "You Can't Catch Me," as well as less well known gems like "Havana Moon" and "Anthony Boy." Now, this isn't the best Chuck comp out there- for a bit more cash you can get the almost definitive Chess Box or the epochal Great 28 collection, but it's certainly a start. Just don't sop exploring this great man's music after you've digested this stuff. Happy listening!"