Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/18/2006
There have been many, many
Chuck Berry compilations released by
Chess over the years, but as of the spring of 2006, there was no comprehensive single-disc set in print; there was the double-disc 2005 set
Gold, which itself was a retitled reissue of 2000's
Anthology, but the classic comp
The Great Twenty-Eight was long out of print, and nothing had replaced it until the 2006 release of
The Definitive Collection. This generous 30-track selection offers nearly everything that was on
The Great Twenty-Eight and in nearly the same sequence --
"Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and
"Roll Over Beethoven" are swapped, for instance, but it's not really a noticeable change.
"Bye Bye Johnny" is the only song missing from
The Great Twenty-Eight, which is not a huge omission, especially since it's been replaced with two great singles,
"You Never Can Tell" and
"Promised Land." "My Ding-A-Ling" is also here and, while it is a worse song than
"Bye Bye Johnny," it was
Chuck's only number one single, so its inclusion makes sense -- and it hardly sinks a collection that is by far the best, most comprehensive single-disc
Chuck Berry set yet assembled. Sure, there are some great
Berry songs that are absent, but all the major songs are here; plus, if you need more than 30 songs, turn to either
Gold or
The Chess Box. If you want a single-disc best-of collection of all of
Chuck's finest, this is the one to get.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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