Now seems like a good time to revisit the recent Chess Records 75th Anniversary Series audiophile reissue of Chuck Berry’s 1959 one-LP masterpiece, Chuck Berry Is on Top. With one of Mr. Berry’s most famous musical progeny, the Rolling Stones, back on the charts with their very strong Foreign Tongues LP, newer fans discovering the glories of good old rock ’n’ roll would be wise to take a very enjoyable history lesson with Berry’s iconic third studio album.
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For those unfamiliar with the Stones’ deep repertoire, they covered numerous Chuck Berry songs over the years, and much of their musical style, especially early on, was influenced by his writing and overall sound. Their versions of “Carol,” “Little Queenie,” “Around and Around,” and “You Can’t Catch Me” made that debt rather difficult to miss.
Effectively a greatest-hits collection in all but name, most of the tracks on Chuck Berry Is on Top were originally issued as 45 rpm singles during the late 1950s. Many became Top 40 hits, including “Almost Grown” (No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the R&B chart), “Carol” (No. 18 Hot 100, No. 12 R&B), “Maybellene” (No. 5 Hot 100, No. 1 R&B), “Sweet Little Rock and Roller,” “Johnny B. Goode” (No. 8 Hot 100, No. 2 R&B), “Little Queenie” (No. 80 Hot 100), “Jo Jo Gunne,” “Roll Over Beethoven” (No. 29 Hot 100, No. 2 R&B), and “Around and Around.”
In terms of sound quality, this new reissue of Chuck Berry Is on Top is exemplary. The project was supervised by Chad Kassem of Analogue Productions, a division of Acoustic Sounds. Disc mastering and lacquer cutting were handled by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, located within Quality Record Pressings (QRP), where the albums were manufactured.
Much like an Acoustic Sounds or Blue Note Tone Poet Series reissue, Chuck Berry Is on Top is packaged in a deluxe, expanded, laminated gatefold cover, rather than the single-pocket, flat-matte design of the original. Each disc is housed in an audiophile-grade, plastic-lined inner sleeve. The iconic black Chess Records label design has also been reproduced. Some original pressings used a blue label, but it is still a very cool detail.
For those dead set on finding an original 1959 copy of Chuck Berry Is on Top, tempered expectations may be in order, as copies in good condition remain quite rare. At the time of writing, only eight are listed on the vinyl marketplace Discogs, none graded higher than VG, with asking prices ranging from $35 to $185. It took me forever to find an original copy in playable condition out in the wild, so unless you are willing to pay collector prices, be prepared for a very long search.
That said, the prospect of buying a pristine new 180-gram pressing of Chuck Berry Is on Top, made from the original monaural master tapes and supervised by one of the most highly regarded vinyl production teams in the world, for $38.98 at Amazon seems like the logical choice for most fans.
Were the cover on my original copy not quite so nice, I might purge it entirely, knowing that this new Chess Records 75th Anniversary Series audiophile reissue will be my go-to listening copy for the foreseeable future. It sounds excellent and remains very much in keeping with the character of my original, minus the clicks and pops, of course. Perhaps it will become your go-to copy as well.
Our Ratings
★★★★★★★★★★ Music
★★★★★★★★★★ Sound Quality
★★★★★★★★★★ Pressing Quality
Where to buy:
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
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