But that's a glib and objectively inaccurate version of the story. In fact, Chuck had barely washed the prison stink out of his briefs before he was back to making rock and roll nearly as vital as his initial run from "Maybellene" to "Bye Bye Johnny". Sure, naming his comeback album St. Louis to Liverpool had more than a whiff of fad-jumping desperation, but when it contained such indisputable classics as "Promised Land", the horny yet witty "No Particular Place to Go", the "Memphis, Tennessee" sequel "Little Marie", and best of all, "You Never Can Tell" (insert Pulp Fiction reference here), only a grump would suggest that Chuck had left his mojo in Leavenworth. The sound is classic Berry boogie, but elements such as the twisting swing of "You Never Can Tell" and aggressive electric bass on "Liverpool Drive" brought it up to date.
St. Louis to Liverpool is now being reissued on 140g vinyl by Elemental Music. The sound varies a bit from track to track due to the somewhat haphazard assembly of the original 1964 record, which filled out recent recordings with a flop single from 1960, an instrumental outtake from 1957, and an alternate take of 1958's "Merry Christmas Baby". The cover is emblazoned with the label "STEREO", but the three old tracks are in mono. There's quite a bit of distortion at the edges of "Little Marie", and "Brenda Lee" is a fake stereo mess. But tracks such as "You Two", a true classic in waiting, show just how good this album sounds when the material was recorded at the state of 1964 art. Berry's guitar has so much depth it sounds like he's doing double-duty on six-string and bass.
As is Elemental's way, the vinyl is beautifully cut. It is flat, noise-free, and perfectly centered.
