Chuck Berry - The Definitive Collection

There have been many, many Chuck Berry compilations released by Chess over the years, but as of the spring of 2006, there was no comprehensive single-disc set in print; there was the double-disc 2005 set Gold, which itself was a retitled reissue of 2000's Anthology, but the classic comp The Great Twenty-Eight was long out of print, and nothing had replaced it until the 2006 release of The Definitive Collection. This generous 30-track selection offers nearly everything that was on The Great Twenty-Eight and in nearly the same sequence -- "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and "Roll Over Beethoven" are swapped, for instance, but it's not really a noticeable change. "Bye Bye Johnny" is the only song missing from The Great Twenty-Eight, which is not a huge omission, especially since it's been replaced with two great singles, "You Never Can Tell" and "Promised Land." "My Ding-A-Ling" is also here and, while it is a worse song than "Bye Bye Johnny," it was Chuck's only number one single, so its inclusion makes sense -- and it hardly sinks a collection that is by far the best, most comprehensive single-disc Chuck Berry set yet assembled. Sure, there are some great Berry songs that are absent, but all the major songs are here; plus, if you need more than 30 songs, turn to either Gold or The Chess Box. If you want a single-disc best-of collection of all of Chuck's finest, this is the one to get. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adam Starr Product Manager Andy McKaie Compilation Producer Beth Stempel Production Coordination Bud Scoppa Liner Notes Chuck Berry Vocals, Guitar, Producer, Multi Instruments Dave Kafinetti Piano Donna Ranieri Photo Research Ebby Hardy Drums Erick Labson Digital Remastering Esmond Edwards Producer, Photography Fred Below Drums G. Smith Bass Harry Goodwin Photography Hubert Sumlin Guitar Jasper Thomas Drums Jenny Shapiro Licensing Jerome Green Maracas Jimmy Rogers Guitar Johnnie Johnson Piano Lafayette Leake Piano Leonard Chess Producer Martha Berry Vocals (Background) Michael Putland Photography Mike Fink Design Nic Potter Bass (Electric) Odie Payne Drums Otis Spann Piano Owen McIntyre Guitar Paul Williams Piano Phil Chess Producer Reggie Boyd Bass Robbie McIntosh Drums Ryan Null Photo Research Willie Dixon Bass