Over the course of the last 17 years of his life,
Chuck Berry
played a regular gig at Blueberry Hill, a bar located on the Delmar Loop of St. Louis. He appeared roughly once a month, usually sitting in on a Wednesday, giving a grand total of 209 shows in all. The 2021 album
Live from Blueberry Hill
collects ten performances recorded between July of 2005 and January 2006 by a group led by bassist
Jimmy Marsala
and featuring pianist
Robert Lohr
, drummer
Keith Robinson
,
Chuck
's son
Charles Berry, Jr.
on guitar, and daughter
Ingrid
on harmonica. Apart from "Bio" and
T-Bone Walker
's "Mean Old World," the set list relies on the expected hits, ranging from "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Johnny B Goode."
Berry
's voice can sound a little ragged but he's vigorous and in good spirits, his cheer helping to refute the myth that he only played for a paycheck during the last decades of his career. Here in his hometown, surrounded by family and friends,
sounds as if he still gets a kick out of his songs and his guitar -- that spirit is endearing, and sometimes infectious. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine