20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Chuck Berry

by Chuck Berry

Overview

Like any record company worth its salt, MCA knows a good gimmick when it sees it, and when the millennium came around...well, the 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection series wasn't too far behind. Supposedly, the millennium is a momentous occasion, but it's hard to feel that way when it's used as another excuse to turn out a slew of budget-line comps. But apart from the presumptuous title, 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection turns out to be a very good budget-line series. True, it's impossible for any of these brief collections to be definitive, but they're nevertheless solid samplers that don't feature a bad song in the bunch. For example, take Chuck Berry's 20th Century volume -- it's an irresistible 11-song summary of his Chess years. There may be several noteworthy songs missing, but many of his best-known songs are here, including "Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," "School Days," "Rock & Roll Music," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Johnny B. Goode," "Carol," "You Never Can Tell," "No Particular Place to Go," and -- unfortunately -- the wretched "My Ding-A-Ling." Serious fans will want something more extensive, but this is an excellent introduction for neophytes and a great sampler for casual fans, considering its length and price. That doesn't erase the ridiculousness of the series title, but the silliness is excusable when the music and the collections are good. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/23/1999
Label:	Mca / Universal
UPC:	0008811194420
Rank:	86448

Tracks

1. Maybellene
2. Roll Over Beethoven
3. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
4. School Days
5. Rock & Roll Music
6. Sweet Little Sixteen
7. Johnny B. Goode
8. Carol
9. You Never Can Tell
10. My Ding-A-Ling
11. No Particular Place to Go

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Chuck Berry   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Andy McKaie   Compilation Producer,Producer
Erick Labson   Remixing
Russell Fratto   Composer
Joseph F. Laredo   Liner Notes
Will D. Cobb   Composer
Stanley Clarke   Composer
Dick Waterman   Photography
Mike Fink   Design
Michael Ochs   Photography
Frank Driggs   Photography
Chuck Berry   Composer
Alan Freed   Composer