New 180gr Vinyl LPs from various countries

[Editor's note: You may have wondered why we had not covered all the new Vinyl albums released during recent years. Read Morten's review below and you'll see why. They aren't any more worth collecting than the hundreds of 'new' CD releases.]

Vinyl is back in business and since 2009 there’s been several Berry albums pressed on 180gr high quality vinyl. But as you will notice from some of my comments, it all depends on the source. The session discography printed on the various album covers are not to be trusted though. Better stick to our Chuck Berry Database which always contains the most recent knowledge about Berry recordings.

AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
Doxy DOY-608 ● Italy, 2009
Same as US LP-1426 from 1957, both tracks and cover. Sound quality is not the best.

AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
Doxy DOX-302 ● Italy, 2009
Same as above, however, this time it includes a bonus CD of the same album, so as the they tell us: You can have the analog and the digital for the price of one.

ST. LOUIS TO LIVERPOOL
Speakers Corner Records [Chess] LP-1488 ● USA, 2010
No bonus tracks. Identical album cover both front and back as the original 1964 US album. However, the sound quality on the stereo tracks are pretty goode but the mono ones are destroyed by el.stereo, would you believe.
Come to think about it, why was the mono tracks included in the first place since there were several stereo versions/songs in the files, like “The Little Girl From Central”, “Big Ben”, “Fraulein”, “Lonely All The Timre” (Crazy Arms), “I’m In The Danger Zone”. The Chess folks did a lot of stupid things when compiling Berry LPs back then.

ONE DOZEN BERRYS
Wax Time 771785 ● Spain, 2012
14 tracks incl. bonus: Brown Eyed Handsome Man / You Can’t Catch Me
New liner-notes and session discography. Besides two small pics, it’s rather imprudent to include a print of the front page of a souvenir programme from a 1959 Australian tour, and use two bonus tracks from 1956. BUT, except for “It Don’t Take But A Few Minutes” the sound quality is pretty goode.

ROCKIN’ AT THE HOPS
Wax Time 771890 ● Spain, 2013
16 tracks, incl. bonus: Our Little Rendezvous / Jaguar And The Thunderbird / County Line / Back In The USA
Stupid really to include two bonus tracks that are almost the same in structure and text, “Jaguar And The Thunderbird” and “County Line“. That’s the way it goes when people who are not familiar with the music are compiling an album. Same front cover as the original US album, but the back cover has extra liner notes, session discography and images from various sources, US posters, UK songbook(!) and a couple of single picture sleeves from Holland (would you believe). The sound quality is pretty goode though.

THE CHESS YEARS
Not Now Music NOT2LP-178 ● UK, 2013
LP 1: Johnny B. Goode / Maybellene / Little Queenie / School Day / Carol / Worried Life Blues+ / No Money Down / Too Much Monkey Business / Roll Over Beethoven / Brown Eyed Handsome Man / Come On / Childhood Sweetheart / Thirty Days / Guitar Boogie (instr) / Jaguar And The Thunderbird / You Can’t Catch Me
LP 2: Memphis, Tennessee / Sweet Little Sixteen / Let It Rock / Almost Grown / Go Go Go / Down The Road A Piece+ / Rip It Up+ / Reelin’ And Rockin’ / Back In The USA / Rock And Roll Music / Sweet Little Rock And Roller / I’m Talking About You / Around And Around / Vacation Time / Too Pooped To Pop+ / Bye Bye Johnny
32 tracks from the greatest period of his Chess years (except for “Rip It Up” that is). Fold-out cover with a few pictures of Berry plus recording years. “Sweet Little Sixteen” is the original speed version. The sound quality is ok.
There is also a 3-CD set out titled “The Best Of The Chess Years” with 73 tracks (CBID page 1986), which is even a better buy unless you are a vinyl freak?

SAN FRANCISCO DUES
Geffen [Universal] GET-54058-LP ● USA, 2013
Same as original Chess LP CH-50008 from 1971, except that “Lonely Schooldays” is the slow version not the rockin’ one. And also the sound on this LP is not any better than the original album. As a matter of fact the ’71 album has a little more debt to it.

AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
Geffen [Universal] Friday Music FRM-1426 ● USA, 2013
15 tracks incl. bonus: You Can’t Catch Me / Thirty Days / Maybellene
Same as original US Chess LP-1426 from 1957, except for the three bonus tracks. Fold-out cover with a standard black&white picture of Berry. The three bonus tracks really fit the concept for this album. AND the sound quality here is quite goode. So if you really need an LP on 180gr. vinyl of this classic album, this is the one to buy.

BERRY IS ON TOP
Geffen [Universal] Friday Music FRM-1435 ● USA, 2013
Same as original US Chess LP-1435 from 1959. No bonus tracks. Fold-out cover with two pictures of Berry that we have all seen before. Goode sound quality except for “Carol” and “Roll Over Beethoven”.
And using fold-out covers should actually mean to make the most out of it and to full advantage for the buyers.

NEW JUKE BOX HITS
Wax Time 771921 ● Spain, 2014
14 tracks incl. bonus: Come On / Go Go Go
I have a feeling this album was mastered from the Universal box set “You Never Can Tell”. Anyway, besides new liner notes (plus the original) and session discography there are a few images from the US and UK, posters and labels. Inside is also a card which makes it possible to download the album as a free mp3.
Originally this LP should have been out as a stereo album in the States back in 1961, since most of the songs have later turned up in stereo on other releases.

AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
VipVop VIPVOP-006 ● UK, 2014
Red vinyl. Same tracks as US LP-1426 from 1957. Same front cover but different back cover with liner notes by one Max Décharné. Session discography and image of the original US “After School Session” EP and three US silver-top Chess singles. Also includes a bonus CD of the same album. The sound quality has not been improved onto 180gr vinyl.

ONE DOZEN BERRYS
VipVop VIPVOP-007 ● UK, 2014
Red vinyl. Same tracks as US LP-1432 from 1958. However, both front and back cover are completely different. Liner notes again by Max Décharné, images of the original LP labels and Chess 1671 single labels. Not an exact session disco but only who’s playing on the tracks. Also includes a bonus CD of the same album.
It would have been interesting to know what sources have been used to re-master these albums on the VipVop label. Tracks like “Oh Baby Doll”, “Reelin’ And Rockin’” and “Rock And Roll Music” sounds like they have been taken from old rechanneled stereo versions. Although mono there’s too much echo.

CHUCK BERRY…IS ON TOP
VipVop VIPVOP-008 ● UK, 2014
Red vinyl. Same tracks as US LP-1435 from 1959, but different front and back cover. Liner notes again by Max Décharné, info of who plays on the album plus images of four US Chess labels and two UK London. Also includes a bonus CD of the same album. However, the sound is a variation from bad to good. “Anthony Boy” and “Carol” are the worst ones. The liner notes says that it was re-mastered by Patrick Bird (as have all the VipVop LPs) at PSB Music (London) Ltd. Re-mastered from what?

ROCKIN’ AT THE HOPS
VipVop VIPVOP-009 ● UK, 2014
Red vinyl. Same tracks as US LP-1448 from 1960, but completely different front and back cover. Liner notes once again by Max Décharné, and info of who’s playing on the album. Also includes a bonus CD of the same album.
Strange though is the sound quality as some of the tracks like “Worried Life Blues” and “Driftin’ Blues” are pretty goode with some debt in them, but several of the others have a thinner sound. In case you are copying from a bad source it doesn’t help if you use 180gr vinyl. If you don’t have the original master tapes the final results might not be the best.

CHUCK BERRY SINGS THE BLUES
Not Now Music NOTLP-208 ● UK, 2015
Driftin’ Blues+ / No Money Down / How You’ve Changed / Low Feeling (instr) / Deep Feeling (instr) / Sweet Sixteen+ / Blues For Hawaiians (instr) / Worried Life Blues+ / Run Around / In-Go (instr) / Confessin’ The Blues+ / Down Bound Train / Blue Feeling (instr) / I Got To Find My Baby+ / Wee Wee Hours / Together (We’ll Always Be)
Don’t know what to say exactly? It’s a great front cover with a picture I have never seen before, but that must be it, or? Who the hell selected these tracks? “Low Feeling”, give me a break! “Blues For Hawaiians” when you have “Crying Steel”? “Down Bound Train” and “Together…” on a blues compilation when you have i.e. “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and “I Still Got The Blues”. What a waste. And the sound quality is varying. Again it all depends on the source.

AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
Vinyl Lovers 6785413 ● EU, 2015
16 tracks incl. 4 bonus: Maybellene / Rock And Roll Music / Sweet Little Sixteen / Thirty Days
Except for the bonus tracks, same as original US Chess LP-1426 from 1957 but different cover. “Rock And Roll Music” and “Sweet Little Sixteen” shouldn’t be here. The compilers don’t know a bloody thing. Great front cover though. And the sound quality here is actually quite goode.
Printing EU here is something I don’t like but I have been unable to find the exact country of origin. It seems that Vinyl Lovers has a sister label called Lilith based in Russia.

ONE DOZEN BERRYS
Vinyl Lovers 6785448 ● EU, 2016
14 tracks incl. 2 bonus: Brown Eyed Handsome Man / You Can’t Catch Me
Except for the bonus tracks, same as original US Chess LP-1432 from 1958 but different cover. The two bonus tracks from 1956 are stupid. Sound quality is again quite goode. Contents is the same as the Spanish album from 2012 on Wax Time 771785 (see above).

ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC
Delta Entertainment N 79 022 ● Germany, 2016
Johnny B. Goode / Brown Eyed Handsome Man / Around And Around / Ingo (instr) / Sweet Little Sixteen / Rock And Roll Music / Roll Over Beethoven / Maybellene / Too Much Monkey Business / Wee Wee Hours / Let It Rock / Carol
The most interesting thing about this release is the front cover. Taken from the best photo shoot ever of Berry. The one with the burgundy tuxedo and the original 350T Gibson.
These photos were never used on any original US release, unfortunately. Why is an interesting question. Strange to leave out “School Day” in favour of “Ingo”. And the sound is the same as on most of the other 180gr. vinyl albums above, nothing to brag about.

Now after so many 180 gr. vinyl LPs of the old Chess albums and tracks poppin’ up over and over again with and without bonus tracks I am beginning to be fed up. Except for new (sometimes) clever front covers, the sound is not always the best, bonus tracks often doesn’t fit the concept of the respective albums (the word here is year!), the liner notes are sometimes a little too much and the session discographies are full of mistakes!
Do we need any more of these albums? Maybe enough is enough.