Chuck Berry complete - the Bear Family way

[Updated, now with prices and images!]
Bear Family, the famous German record company, informs me - and you - about their newest Chuck Berry product:


Rock And Roll Music - Any Old Way You Choose It - The COMPLETE Studio Recordings ... Plus!

To be issued in a few weeks, this new Berry box contains sixteen CDs plus almost four hundred printed pages.
As we know it from Bear Family, this is to be the definitive Berry collection. There is no better and there never will be.
Here's a first view according to Bear Family's Detlev Hoegen. Be sure I'm going to report details as soon as I have them.

• all the CHESS recordings we know from the three Hip-O-Select boxes - plus those they forgot to include
• all the Mercury recordings we know from the already rare 1980s CDs plus unreleased tracks
• the ATCO studio album and more
• live recordings from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s
• an updated discography by Fred Rothwell
• a biography and other writings from Bruce Pegg, Mike Snow, and Roger Fairhurst
• hundreds of pages with photos by Harry Davis, Chuck's uncle, taken during Berry's early career
• previously unseen photos by Jean-Marie Perrier
• an introduction written by Paul McCartney
• plus plus plus

Thanks to designer Mychael Gerstenberger of Malbuch/Berlin, I can show you early photos of the contents. As with all images on this site, click for a better view.



Bear Family claims that this is everything by Berry you ever wanted to have - and for most collectors they are definitely right. There is some additional studio material and tons of live recordings, but only a completionist like myself will want to have that.

The price for the box will be 299 Euros (appr. $400), thus it's save to say that you better start saving money immediately.
Those who want even more might try to get one of only 88 limited Deluxe Editions of this box. To celebrate Berry's 88th birthday on October 18th, Bear Family packs the contents of the box (16 CDs, 2 hardcover books) into an original-size Gibson ES series guitar case. Price will be 499 Euros (appr. $660).