CBID - Some old but missing Berry releases popped up

CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID.

Today: CBID lists and shows Chuck Berry Vinyl and CD releases from all over the world. While our list is pretty complete, from time to time some rare releases pop up from which I hadn't heard before - such as these:

UK

BIO / CHUCK BERRY ‘75
Beat Goes On BGOCD-1459 ● 2021

It says Digitally Remastered but I don’t know as I haven’t heard it. Anyway, it’s the two original LPs which follows the series on BGO that started back in the mid ‘90s. See page 211 and pages 215-217. Plus page 1984.

INDIA

78rpm

Rock And Roll Music / Blue Feeling (instr)
London HL-M. 8531 ● 1957

IRELAND

78rpm

School Day / Deep Feeling (instr)
Columbia DB(I) 3951 ● Ireland, 1957

Black label, white print.
Photo thanks to Thierry Chanu.

ITALY

LP

CHUCK BERRY’s GOLDEN DECADE
Cadet (Durium) D.30-152 ● 1967

Maybellene / Johnny B. Goode / Nadine / Roll Over Beethoven / Thirty days / No Particular Place To Go /Memphis, Tennessee / School Day / Too Much Monkey Business / Bye Bye Johnny / Sweet Little Sixteen / Anthony Boy / Back In The USA

As you can see this is a single record. The front cover is the same as the first issue of the US Golden Decade album, gold record with no titles printed. Everything is in el.stereo, very bad sound. The label colour is the dark blue/white one.
It’s printed 1967 on the labels and on the proof pressing shown which means that what I heard way back that there were no Berry albums released in Italy in the ‘60s is wrong. Later 1970s pressings have a slightly different label listing the local copyright control association SIAE instead of the multi-national BIEM.

Which also means that the “Back Home” album on page 2003 is from 1970.

JAPAN

LP

CHUCK BERRY’s GREATEST HITS
Globe (Chess) JET-7198 ● 1964

No Particular Place To Go / You Never Can Tell / Maybellene / Nadine / Brenda Lee / You Two / Memphis, Tennessee / Sweet Little Sixteen / Roll Over Beethoven / Rock And Roll Music / Johnny B. Goode / Brown Eyed Handsome Man (1961 version)

Refering to page 374. The tracks are of course not the same as the US release Chess LP-1485, as you can easily see. I didn’t have this album back then and unfortunately I messed it up when writing. Anyway, it really says The Best of Chuck Berry on the back cover and on the label. As far as I can see this was the very first Berry LP issued in Japan. Including “No Particular Place To Go” and “You Never Can Tell” were wise, however, “You Two” and “Brenda Lee” were not, even though they were B-sides of the first two tracks. The front cover is the same as the US LP-1485 with the yellow sticker.
For some strange reason they included the 1961 version of “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” (from the On Stage album with the audience noise).
This particular album was also issued in Taiwan in two different disguises, see pages 475-476, and also this blog.

SOUTH AFRICA

LP

LIVE AT THE FILLMORE AUDITORIUM
Fontana STL-201 ● April 1968

The whole cover looks like it was copied from the issue in Netherlands (Fontana Int. 858 047 FPY) and not USA. Nothing is mentioned on the cover or label that this is from South Africa, but IT IS.
This is mentioned on page 2019 in Vol. 4 but I didn’t have the album at the time but here it is:

SOUTH KOREA

LP

CHUCK BERRY’S GREATEST HITS
Seill SL-137 (Tae Do Record Co.) ● mid 1960s

This looks very much like the ones from Taiwan. Thin paper jacket, however, it has an open folio sleeve with an art work for a George Jones album on the opposite side. Same tracks as the original US Chess LP.

There are still records out there that we have never seen or heard of. It’s a strange world.