Chuck Berry

The London Chuck Berry Sessions - 1972

This half studio/half live record spawned the surprise #1 hit "My Ding-A-Ling" and marked the pinnacle of Chuck Berry's commercial peak, but is often overlooked in favor of his golden-era late 50s LPs. What a shame. On the five studio tracks here, Berry is ingeniously backed by the Faces' Ian McLagen and Kenny Jones (on piano and drums respectively) for a set that simultaneously sounds as if it could stop on a dime or fall apart at the end of every bar. For a record that was aimed to be Berry's answer to the early 70s Rock n' Roll revival scene, there couldn't have been a more fitting pair to back him up. For me, the three live tracks are neither here nor there, though it's pretty entertaining to hear Berry's command over his audience.

The London Chuck Berry Session...