The London Chuck Berry Sessions
| The London Chuck Berry Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album / Live album by Chuck Berry | ||||
| Released | October 1972[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Studio | Pye Studios in London, England and the Lanchester Arts Festival, Coventry, England[2] | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 44:08[3] | |||
| Label | Chess | |||
| Producer | Esmond Edwards[2] | |||
| Chuck Berry chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau | C−[4] |
The London Chuck Berry Sessions is an album of studio recordings and live recordings by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in October 1972.[1] Side one of the album consists of studio recordings, engineered by Geoff Calver; side two features three live performances recorded by the Pye Mobile Unit, engineered by Alan Perkins, on February 3, 1972, at the Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry, England. At the end of the live section, the recording includes the sounds of festival management trying in vain to get the audience to leave so that the next performers, Pink Floyd, can take the stage; the crowd begins chanting "We want Chuck!"
"My Ding-a-Ling", from the live side of the album, was edited to approximately 4 minutes for release as a single. It was Berry's first and only single to reach number 1 in both the US and the UK.
Background
In May 1970, Howlin' Wolf traveled to Olympic Sound Studios in London, England, to record songs for The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions.[5] The album was released in August 1971[6] and peaked at number 28 on Billboard magazine's R&B Albums chart and number 79 on the Billboard 200.[7] Because of Wolf's success, Muddy Waters recorded his own London Sessions album in December 1971, and Berry did the same in 1972.
Critical reception
William Ruhlmann of Allmusic called the album Chuck Berry's "commercial, if not artistic, peak".[3] Robert Christgau thinks the album is of bad quality, that his voice is croaky and the studio material only fillers.[4]
Commercial performance
The album was not even out for a month, when on October 27, 1972, The London Chuck Berry Sessions was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America with sales of 1,000,000 units. It is Berry's only album to be certified by the RIAA.[8]
Track listing
All songs written by Chuck Berry except as noted Side one (studio recordings)
- "Let's Boogie" (3:10)
- "Mean Old World" (Little Walter) (5:45)
- "I Will Not Let You Go" (2:49)
- "London Berry Blues" (5:55)
- "I Love You" (3:26)
Side two (live recordings)
- "Reelin' and Rockin'" (7:07)
- "My Ding-a-Ling" (Dave Bartholomew) (11:33)
- "Johnny B. Goode" (4:23)
The release on cassette exchanged "I Love You" and "Johnny B. Goode" to create sides of near-equal length.
This version of "Johnny B. Goode" replaces the first verse of the original with the first verse of "Bye Bye Johnny".
Personnel
According to sleeve notes[2]
- Chuck Berry – vocals, guitar
- Derek Griffiths – guitar on side one
- Kenney Jones – drums on side one
- Dave Kaffinetti – piano on side two
- Robbie McIntosh – drums on side two
- Owen McIntyre – guitar on side two
- Ian McLagan – piano on side one
- Nic Potter – bass on side two
- Esmond Edwards – producer
- David Krieger – art director
- Tim Lewis – cover art
Charts
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[9] | 8 |
| US Billboard R&B Albums[9] | 8 |
References
- 1 2 Rudolph, Dietmar. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Back at Chess Era (1969-1975)". Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- 1 2 3 The London Chuck Berry Sessions (Vinyl sleeve). Chuck Berry. United States: Chess Records. 1972. Inner sleeve notes. LP-60020.
- 1 2 3 Ruhlmann, William. "The London Chuck Berry Sessions: Overview". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Chuck Berry: Consumer Guide Reviews" (Php). Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ↑ The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Deluxe Edition) (CD liner). Howlin' Wolf. United States: MCA Records. 2002. 088 112 985-2.
- ↑ Schumacher, Michael (1995). "Chapter 6: Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad? (1969–70)". Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. New York: Hyperion. pp. 137–141. ISBN 0-7868-6074-X.
- ↑ "Howlin' Wolf: Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
- ↑ RIAA Certification Search Type "Chuck Berry" under Artist for search results.
- 1 2 "Chuck Berry - Billboard Albums". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
