Early landmarks gathered on one LP
Released in 1959, Berry Is on Top was Chuck Berry's third LP. Most of its selections had already appeared as singles before coming together here. “Maybellene”, “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Johnny B. Goode” make the album a view across several years of his early work. Twelve short performances form a programme built from many self-contained moments.
The recordings come from different sessions during the 1950s. The album gathers them within Berry's contemporary catalogue. That background is part of its interest: songs from separate years reveal a consistent engagement with storytelling vocals, guitar figures and rhythmic momentum. The continuity belongs to the writing and the approach as much as to any one recording date.
Guitar in front, piano in the conversation
Berry's guitar playing often dominates recollections of this music, but piano is an important part of it too. Johnnie Johnson and Lafayette Leake are among the participating pianists, while Willie Dixon plays bass on several familiar recordings. Leake appears on “Johnny B. Goode”; Johnson plays on “Maybellene”. The personnel therefore change within the album.
Follow the piano underneath the vocal and guitar. It contributes to the movement and complements the recognisable guitar entries. The short song forms also make the relationship between introduction, verse and instrumental passage easy to trace. A complete musical scene has to emerge within a few minutes, one of the enduring attractions of these early singles.
Familiar songs in their album setting
The first side moves from “Almost Grown” through “Carol” and “Maybellene” towards “Johnny B. Goode”. The second includes “Little Queenie”, “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Around and Around”. Their proximity demonstrates how much familiar material fits on a single LP. Less frequently mentioned pieces, including “Hey Pedro” and “Blues for Hawaiians”, also belong to the sequence.
The closing instrumental “Blues for Hawaiians” changes the emphasis once more. It deserves attention after the better-known songs have passed. Hearing the record through to that ending produces a broader picture than a memory built only from hits and guitar introductions. The twelve selections retain the original album's compact scale, taking roughly half an hour to complete.
This edition
ACHE 49038 is part of the Chess Records Acoustic Sounds Series. The 180-gram LP plays at 33⅓ RPM in mono. Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab handled the mastering, and the record is pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Packaging is a tip-on gatefold sleeve. The edition contains the original twelve selections, without the bonus material found on some other reissues.
More by Chuck Berry: St. Louis To Liverpool
Series: Chess Records – all 10 records: singles that became albums
Musicians
Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.
| Name | Instrument / role |
|---|---|
| Chuck Berry | Vocals, Guitar |
| Johnnie Johnson | Piano |
| Lafayette Leake | Piano |
| Willie Dixon | Double bass |
| George Smith | Bass |
| Fred Below | Drums |
| Ebbie Hardy | Drums |
| Jaspar Thomas | Drums |
| The Moonglows | Backing vocals |
| Bob Bushnell | Bass |
How Michael hears this edition
Listening impression · paraphrased from the video
What excites Michael most about this Chess edition is the power of the music and Chuck Berry’s distinctive guitar sound. For him, part of its appeal is that the recording does not feel overly polished. He praises the sound but explicitly does not frame the record as a conventional audiophile demonstration piece.
🎧 Review video: 8 Amazing New Reissues you want in your Collection
This video is hosted by YouTube (Google). It only loads once you switch on “Functional” in the cookie settings.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.