CHUCK BERRY - ROCKIN' AT THE HOPS 1959 CHESS MONO BLACK LABEL FIRST PRESSING

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61

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TITLE: Chuck Berry - Rockin' At The Hops

FORMAT: LP

PRESSING: Mono pressing with black Chess labels

CATALOG NUMBER/ LABEL : Chess LP 1448 

REVIEW: The two classic cuts that bookend this album should be enough to attract the uninitiated -- Berry at his best wrote danceable little "vest-pocket" screenplays dealing with teen life, of which "Bye Bye Johnny" and "Let It Rock" were two of his best; but because they've been so heavily anthologized, those two cuts don't have the pulling power here that they would have had 40-some years back. So get this record for everything else that's on it -- Rockin' at the Hops not only has no filler, but it's chock full of records that show off a bluesy side of Berry's output that was never fully appreciated at the time. His version of Big Maceo's "Worried Life Blues" shows how good a bluesman Berry might've been had he been more the Muddy Waters-type player and singer that Chess had been looking for; "Down the Road a Piece," a song written by Don Raye (of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" fame), is a lost Berry single that could've rated right up there with "Roll Over Beethoven," except that its roadhouse ambience and story line were more mature than a lot of kids might've embraced in 1959; and Walter Brown's "Confessin' the Blues" and "Driftin' Blues" fit into the same category, Berry the adult bluesman rather than the teen-oriented teaser. "Childhood Sweetheart" is a sequel to "Wee Wee Hours," Berry's very first blues side, lifting a fragment or two from Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" for its guitar break. "Too Pooped to Pop" and "Betty Jean," by contrast, are a pair of enjoyably upbeat rock & roll numbers, each featuring uncharacteristic elements, a sax solo on the former, and a male chorus on the latter; in between them is "Mad Lad," an instrumental that presents Berry drifting into what would later be defined as a surf guitar mode -- a quicker tempo would have done it (and does anyone want to bet that a young Carl Wilson didn't wear out a copy or two listening to this track?).-Allmusic.com

RARE ORIGINAL U.S. MONO FIRST PRESSING WITH BLACK/SILVER CHESS LABELS. VINYL IN SUPERIOR SHAPE.

MONO pressings of LPs are sometimes more than just STEREO LPs compressed into one channel. In many instances, different effects, different recording levels, alternate takes, or different arrangements/mixes were used, to produce a wholly unique sound. In an attempt to prop up the sagging sales on the MONO format, once STEREO LPs became the norm in the mid to late 1960s, record companies first dropped the price of the MONO versions, then began offering intentionally and surprisingly different MONO versions of some LPs. On some titles the difference can be striking, especially on an album the listener has heard many times before. Ultimately, the tactic failed and the MONO LP faded out of existence in the late 60s and early 70s. However, since they became quite scarce quite quickly, and also due to their sonic uniqueness, MONO LPs are highly collectible today.

CONDITION: (we visually grade albums according to Goldmine Standards, BUT questionable vinyl marks are also play-graded) 

                        VINYL: Very Good Plus (although it has the hiss that is common to original 50s Chess pressings)

                        JACKET: Very Good ( 2" split bottom right, price written on front, name on back - see photos for detail)

                        SLEEVE: plain paper

                        INSERT / EXTRAS : Original Mono Pressing

AS WITH ALL USED VINYL LPS, A THOROUGH CLEANING SHOULD BE PERFORMED BEFORE PLAYING, FOR OPTIMUM SOUND QUALITY.

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DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL (PRIORITY MAIL) COMBINED SHIPMENTS

ADDITIONAL LPS SHIP FOR $2 EACH TO U.S. ADDRESSES ($2 PER SINGLE OR GATEFOLD LP, 2LP SETS COUNT AS 2).

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