Rock & Roll Music-Any Old Way You Choose It

Just received this incredible package today. I must preface this review by saying I have been a true believer in the music of Chuck Berry since I was given the 2xLP "The Great 28" by my 2older brothers for my 11th birthday in 1983. I have been wanting to purchase this box set since it came out in 2014, however I already owned a large amount of the songsl. But , I decided "what the hell". I really wanted to see the 2 books and to have all of his stuff in one place is pretty cool. The packaging is really too notch and cool. Bear Family does incredible job on all there reissue stuff. I'm the type of person who really doesn't need a ton of alternate versions of songs , but I do appreciate the various live recordings thru the years. I'm certainly not breaking any new ground by saying this, but it's hard to argue the fact that Mr Berry was probably the single most influential rock n roll song writer in the history of the genre . Every one of any note has recorded versions of his songs over the years. Obviously the Rolling Stones, Beatles and most British Invasion bands included numerous covers of his songs on their early LP's. Even his peers from the 1950's did his songs (Jerry Lee Lewis&Elvis Presley to name 2) not to mention such country music icons as Buck Owens and Waylon Jennings. The book of pictures is really cool. Tons of rare photos of the man playing live in the 50's in St Louis (w/ his long time piano player Johhnie Johnson) and other shots. The other book is awesome and contains a nice complete discography and nice pictures of LP and 7" sleeves released around the world . If you a true blue Chuck Berry fan you want to own this box set!!

Okay, the music is brilliant!!! That's a given.I've have dreamt about owning this set, but I didn't pull the trigger until Chuck passed. I'm glad I have it and I look forward to navigating through all 16 discs.Here's the problem. I paid $283 dollars for this set. It is as heavy as a cinder block.UNFORTUNATELY, "Fulfillment Express US", which I believe is a subcontractor that handles some Amazon Prime Purchases, was responsible for the shipping and handling of my $283 Chuck Berry cinder block. They seem to have spent about 10 cents on their efforts. The Chuck Block was placed inside a shipping box that was WAY TOO BIG. That would have been fine if they had crammed a boatload of shipping material in the box but they did not do that. The pair of butcher block sheets of paper that they placed in the over-sized box did NOTHING to buffer the $283 dollar item from the shocks of shippingEvery single one of the 16 discs was knocked off its mooring and were just flopping around in the box. Basically I was delivered a giant, heavy maraca with 16 cds as the noisemakers.Dear "Fulfillment Express US": THERE IS ZERO EXCUSE FOR YOUR CRAPPY PERFORMANCE. Did I mention that I paid $283 for this item?Discs 1 & 2 sound good so far. Hopefully the other 14 will have maintained their integrity following this disastrous shipping event.UNBELIEVABLE!!!

I got this over the weekend and it is truly a massive box set. Easily the biggest/ heaviest one I own in terms of physical size. With buying it through one of the secondary sellers and signing up for the amazon card I was able to get it for $150, which is a steal for the amount of material included and the quality of it. From what I've listened to so far it sounds great. The books are excellent with lots of pictures and information. One thing I wish they would have done in the discography section was label the songs in terms of which albums they went on/ singles, etc...a little more track information. You can piece it together but it would have been a nice touch. Overall a definite A+.

This is going to have to be a work-in-progress, as there are 16 discs to work through, but based on the first four, this is a monumental set, one self-evident as worth owning, with lots and lots of fun to be had amid the listening and the discoveries. There are a couple of instrumentals, no less -- which were only originally unearthed in 2007 -- that close out the second disc that I couldn't get enough of. The familiar stuff is just that, but the mastering is impeccable from this listener's standpoint. And then there are the two hardcover books accompanying the CDs, only one of which have I had time to open, and it's going to keep me busy for weeks. More-to-follow.

One thing changed most box set from Bear Family were LP size 12x12. With the Chuck Berry they cut it down to 11 1/4 X 10 1/4. other than that all is great the cd's and two books. I don't think any thing was left out. A must have for Berry Fans. I got the three vol.Hippo Select of Berry years Back but you know no body does it like Bear Family.

This is a wonderful box set and the sound is fantastic.The books are well made with lots of information on Chuck Berry from his start to the late 1970's.Bear Family Records really went all out to find all they could get to put into this 16 cds set.I like listening to the live cds and there are so many great pictures that make this an amazing box set.

Phenomenal set in every way. The box is heavy cardboard, well constructed with beautiful art renderings of Chuck. The books are high quality and give you all the content you would want. The volume of media here is staggering. 16 discs of high quality rock and roll, packaged perfectly. This is a must own for every rock and roll fanatic.

Chuck Berry has been one of all all time favorites for a very long time, and I already had alot of Chuck's music already. There's quite a few tunes on this collection that I didn't have, and I haven't listened to everything yet, but I like what I've heard so far.

The first thing to say about this set is that the amount of material is quite overwhelming! 16 CDs packed with hundreds of tracks (396 individual tracks to be precise).I was expecting most of the tracks to be out takes and inferior versions of the popular songs we all know and love. As it turns out, this is an absolute treasure trove of both original and cover songs that I had never come across before! In addition to the original famous recordings, there are dozens of other tracks from the same era that would have definitely sold well as singles. There are also many jazz and blues standards that Chuck covers in his own inimitable style. Whether you prefer classic Rock n Roll, or have tastes leaning towards blues, jazz, country, folk or South American dance rhythms - you will definitely find something you love in this set.My favourite parts of this box-set were the many instrumental numbers that basically turned into extended Blues/Rock n Roll jam sessions. You also get to see that Chuck also has some skills as a soloist, despite him being predominantly a rhythym player on most of his well-known tracks.Along with the instrumentals, it was great to hear re-recordings of his famous earlier songs, some of which are actually better than the originals - particularly in the quality of recording, which had obviously moved on a lot since the 1950s. To cap it all off, there are many full live performances from Chuck's heyday. This was a period when Chuck still took a pride in his live performances, and this is reflected in both his own performances, and the quality of the band he was backed by.This is certainly not a cheap box-set - currently priced at £275 from Amazon. For me it was well worth the money, as this is by far the most complete set of Chuck Berry Recordings that exists. Now that Chuck has passed away, his estate is likely to milk every penny it can, by releasing small compilations, and perhaps even repackaged early albums. I doubt we will ever see another set like this, and I expect the price to continue rising, as I see from other reviews it was only £150 at one point!Highly Recommended for anyone who loves great music!!

Excellent listening. Very varied music.

Great music. Great price

What can I say ...... finally the 1st 20 yrs. or so of Chuck in one package , 16 CD's , all the Chess , Mercury & Atco recordings in the usual superior Bear Family Box , including 2 hard cover books ! Now , when will we see Vol. 2 ?? Anyone just discovering the 50's & 60's music , this is an excellent place to start , a bit pricey , but considering the product , it averages out at about $20 per album ! Whatever music genre you prefer , you can't go wrong with the Bear Family products .

Non c’è niente che non mi è piaciuto ! Sulla descrizione di chi l’aveva già comprato sono andato sul sicuro , ed è come me l’aspettavo! Un gran bellissimo cofanetto con tutte le sue canzoni che ha fatto ! Due Libri uno parla della sua musica e l’altro libro foto ed immagini. Per il resto ci sono ben 16 CD di cui 5 sono live. Era da tanto che l’ho desideravo e non me lo sono fatto sfuggire , per di più l’ho preso a un buonissimo prezzo ! Grazie Amazon 🥇👍👈