Statement from Hip-O Select Records

Chuck Berry's legendary breakthrough 1950's Chess recordings has gotten their first thorough presentation anywhere via a 4-CD, 103-song box set on Chess/Hip-O Select Records. These are the groundbreaking recordings by the first poet laureate of rock'n'roll that set the tone lyrically and musically for all that came after. To paraphrase John Lennon, if they didn't call it rock'n'roll, they'd call it Chuck Berry music, and this remarkable new set shows why. Digitally remastered from the original Chess masters, the collection features not only such oft-covered classics as "Maybellene", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Rock And Roll Music", "Memphis", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "Johnny B. Goode", "Carol", and "Little Queenie", but it also shows the evolution of the artist and his songs, while presenting a surfeit of rarities, including 16 previously unreleased tracks.

With the exception of two live recordings, all of these tracks were recorded at Chess Studios from May 21, 1955, through a massive late July 1959 session, which culminated in the only time Berry played session lead guitar for an artist other than himself: two tracks by a studio group called the Ecuadors. Other rarities on the set, aside from the unreleased tracks, include a pair of live versions of "Maybellene" and "Roll Over Beethoven" Chuck recorded for Alan Freed's 1956 New York "Camel Rock'n'Roll Dance Party" album, several original masters overdubbed for the fake "On Stage" Chess album, and a number of recordings making their U.S. CD debut.

The unreleased recordings include take 3 of "Sweet Little Sixteen", which is one of five versions of the song that tells the story of its recording - from it's demonstration record to two rejected (and intriguingly different) session takes to the original master to the sped-up master finally released by Chess. There are also unreleased alternate takes at different tempos than those released, some with different lyrics, and one (for "Broken Arrow") which features Chuck Berry instructing his backup singers in their parts. And, finally, there is a pair of previously unreleased 11 minutes-plus in-studio jams featuring Chuck with pianist Johnnie Johnson, bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Jasper Thomas – a blues called "Long Slow Jam" and a rocker called, suitably, "Long Fast Jam" from 1958.

All of this remarkable music is elaborated on by tidbits of studio dialog, complete session by session credits, a '50s Chuck Berry singles discography, period photos, and comprehensive liner notes by Chuck Berry's discographer/biographer Fred Rothwell, author of Long Distance Information: Chuck Berry’s Recorded Legacy, who also compiled the set with Universal's reissue producer Andy McKaie.

Disc 1
 1. Maybellene
 2. Wee Wee Hours
 3. Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)
 4. Together (We Will Always Be)
 5. You Can't Catch Me
 6. Rolli Polli (instrumental)
 7. Down Bound Train
 8. Berry Pickin' (instrumental)
 9. No Money Down
10. I've Changed
11. Drifting Heart
12. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
13. Roll Over Beethoven
14. Too Much Monkey Business
15. Maybellene (live)
16. Roll Over Beethoven (live)
17. Havana Moon
18. Rock And Roll Music (demo)
19. Untitled Instrumental
20. Deep Feeling (instrumental)
21. School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)
22. Low Feeling (instrumental)
23. La Jaunda (Espanol)
24. Blue Feeling (instrumental)
25. How You've Changed
26. Oh Baby Doll

Disc 2
 1. Rock And Roll Music (alternate)
 2. Rock And Roll Music
 3. 13 Question Method (early version)
 4. How High The Moon (instrumental)
 5. Sweet Little Sixteen (demo)
 6. Sweet Little Sixteen (take 3)
 7. Sweet Little Sixteen (take 11)
 8. Sweet Little Sixteen (original master)
 9. Sweet Little Sixteen (sped up originally released version)
10. Rock At The Philharmonic (instrumental)
11. Guitar Boogie (instrumental)
12. Night Beat (take 3) (instrumental)
13. Night Beat (instrumental)
14. Time Was (slow version, take 4)
15. Time Was (slow version)
16. Reelin' And Rockin' (take 1)
17. Reelin' And Rockin' (takes 7/8)
18. Reelin' And Rockin'
19. Chuckwalk (instrumental)
20. Johnny B. Goode (alt. take 2/3)
21. Johnny B. Goode
22. Around And Around (overdub take 2)
23. Around And Around (overdub take 3)
24. Around And Around
25. Ingo (overdub take 3) (instrumental)
26. Ingo (instrumental)

Disc 3
 1. It Don't Take But A Few Minutes
 2. Blues For Hawaiians (instrumental)
 3. Beautiful Delilah (alternate takes 15/16)
 4. Beautiful Delilah (take 6)
 5. 21 Blues
 6. 21
 7. 21 (take 14)
 8. Vacation Time
 9. Oh Yeah
10. Hey Pedro
11. Time Was (fast version)
12. House Of Blue Lights
13. Carol
14. Jo Jo Gunne
15. Memphis Tennessee
16. Anthony Boy
17. Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller (alternate take 5)
18. Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller (take 11A)
19. Long Fast Jam (instrumental)
20. Long Slow Jam (instrumental)
21. Merry Christmas Baby
22. Merry Christmas Baby (alternate)
23. Run Rudolph Run

Disc 4
 1. Little Queenie (take 8)
 2. Little Queenie
 3. That's My Desire
 4. Do You Love Me (alternate)
 5. Do You Love Me
 6. Almost Grown (take 14)
 7. Almost Grown (take 28)
 8. Almost Grown
 9. Back In The U.S.A.
10. Blue On Blue (alternate a/k/a Upchuck) (instrumental)
11. Blue On Blue (instrumental)
12. Betty Jean (alternate take 14)
13. Betty Jean (alternate take 17)
14. Betty Jean
15. County Line
16. Childhood Sweetheart (alternate)
17. Childhood Sweetheart
18. One O'Clock Jump (instrumental)
19. I Just Want To Make Love To You (take 3)
20. I Just Want To Make Love To You
21. Broken Arrow (take 21)
22. Broken Arrow
23. Let It Rock (alternate mix)
24. Let It Rock
25. Too Pooped To Pop (take 4A)
26. Too Pooped To Pop
27. Ecuadors - Say You'll Be Mine
28. Ecuadors - Let Me Sleep Woman

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