Dave Berry/One Dozen Berrys

by Dave Berry

Overview

This CD is a wonderful surprise from Beat Goes On. Not that Dave Berry didn't deserve the reissue of his first two albums, but neither Dave Berry nor its follow-up, One Dozen Berrys, was remotely the best album -- or even among the better albums -- to come out of the mid-'60s British beat boom. Berry's heart was in the right place when it came to R&B and rock & roll, and he had a voice, but as a stylist he was at a disadvantage to rivals such as Chris Farlowe and Zoot Money. Still, he had some good instincts (when he followed them) and a strangely compelling sound, courtesy of producer Mike Smith and an array of musicians who, in addition to Frank Miles from his own band the Cruisers, included Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan. The mix of country and pop sounds juxtaposed with serious R&B (including the killer "I Love You Babe" and the wrenchingly compelling "Baby, It's You") may be off-putting, but that diversity is more a sign of the times in which these two albums were made than any indication of weakness in the execution -- truth is, the diversity of sounds here calls up flashes of the Beatles, even if Berry doesn't make the switch in genres as smoothly as the Liverpool quartet did. Even the presence of ballads such as "The Girl from the Fair Isle" isn't a disadvantage -- Paul McCartney was putting the same kind of material onto the Beatles' albums by way of Meredith Willson songs -- and followed by the searing blues-rocker "Go On Home," it's not a bad showcase for Berry's range. Ultimately, "Go On Home" must be considered one of the cuts that makes this CD worth every cent, and the ballad is an unexpected bonus. Even the next number, a rhythm guitar-driven slow ballad called "Everybody Tries," is a perfect little beat-era soft rocker of the kind that the Roulettes or any number of serious bands did on their albums. The notes by John Firminger stay very close to the two albums at hand and their production. The sound is excellent, and considering what the original vinyl versions of either of these albums would cost today, the CD is a bargain. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	12/07/2004
Label:	Beat Goes On
UPC:	5017261206435

Tracks

1. The Crying Game
2. Not Fade Away
3. I Don't Want to Go On
4. Ella Speed
5. The Girl from the Fair Isle
6. Go On Home
7. Everybody Tries
8. God Bless the Child
9. Memphis, Tennessee
10. On the Other Side of Town
11. Go Home Girl
12. My Last Date
13. St. James Infirmary
14. Just a Little Bit
15. C.C. Rider
16. Don't Make Fun of Me
17. Hey Little Girl
18. Round and Round
19. Casting My Spell
20. The Girl from the Fair Isle
21. Fanny Mae
22. If You Wait for Love
23. Sweet and Lovely
24. I've Got My Tears to Remind Me
25. Baby, It's You
26. Run My Heart
27. I Love You Babe
28. Heartbeat

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dave Berry   Primary Artist
Earl Guest   Music Direction

Technical Credits

Rosco Gordon   Composer
Buster Brown   Composer
Harry Tobias   Composer
Don Cole   Composer
Joe Primrose   Composer
Sanford Clark   Composer
Otis Blackwell   Composer
Arthur Alexander   Composer
Gus Arnheim   Composer
Alvin Johnson   Composer
Bobby Montgomery   Composer
Richard Guest   Arranger
JNR   Composer
Mike Smith   Producer,Liner Notes
John Firminger   Liner Notes
Traditional   Composer
B.W. Stevenson   Composer
Bobby Goldsboro   Composer
Arthur Herzog, Jr.   Composer
Chuck Berry   Composer
Jackie DeShannon   Composer
Ma Rainey   Composer
Geoff Stephens   Composer
Jules LeMare   Composer
Norman Petty   Composer
Tim Hardin   Composer