It takes some effort to organise what amounts to the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll party on record, but that is precisely what Mike Zito, paying tribute to genre scion Chuck Berry, has managed to achieve. Drawing together a jaw-dropping array of talent, Rock ‘n’ roll: A tribute to Chuck Berry features (among others) Charlie Berry III, Walter Trout, Joe Bonamassa, Robben Ford, Eric Gales and Richard Fortus, and that’s just the tip of a monstrous iceberg. A passion project – Zito lived in Chuck’s hometown for thirty-two years – the album positively hums with energy, as well it might for a man who has lived and breathed music all his life. With the core band featuring Mike, Matthew Johnson (drums and vocals), Terry Dry (Bass and vocals) and Lewis Stephens (keys), Rock ‘n’ roll is a chance to step back to the golden era of rock music and trace the lineage of some of the world’s greatest blues and rock artists today.
Kicking off proceedings, we get Charles Berry III adding his touch to a rampant St. Louis Blues, the rhythm section clearly having a ball as the guitarists tear through the solos with gleeful abandon. Next up Joanna Connor joins the band for a countrified rock and roll music, the band augmented by a brass section, giving the piece a big band feel. It’s arguably the album’s weakest cut, the track sounding strangely muted compared to the electrifying original, but the temperature soon shoots up a couple of notches, when Walter Trout emerges on a blistering Johnny B Goode, his stinging guitar sending the track spinning into orbit. A perfect example of the visceral power of rock ‘n’ roll at its best, Walter utterly steals the show on Johnny B Goode his electrifying presence galvanising the band and sending jolts of electricity out into the audience. In contrast, the ever-dependable Joe Bonamassa adds a touch of elegance to the late-night blues of Wee Wee Hours, the band drawing it out into a show-stopping epic that you can easily imagine filling the encore slot in any catalogue less stuffed with hits than Chuck Berry’s. Following such a climax is no easy task, so Mike and his band opt for the gentle country shuffle of Memphis (featuring Anders Osborne) as a means to let the listener unwind before upping the tempo once more with a storming I want to be your driver, with Ryan Perry delivering some crushing blues lead.
With the album flying past, Robben Ford joins the cast for a sparkling You never can tell, the song’s simple charm entirely undimmed by the passage of time. Next up, Eric Gales continues to delight as he joins Zito for a rambunctious Back in the USA, his utterly irrepressible presence stamped all over the track as the band match his energy every step of the way. The evergreen No particular place to go is given plenty of bite by Jeremiah Johnson, although it pales in comparison to an explosive too much monkey business, which sees Zito backed by Luther Dickinson and which stands as an album highlight with its tongue-tripping vocal and straight-faced r&b backdrop. Sensibly allowing another breather, Zito and his band provide a nimble backdrop for Sonny Landreth’s elegiac slide work on Havana Moon, a track that takes on the Cuban atmosphere of the titular city. It’s the perfect fit for Sonny’s languid slide and it’s impossible not to be carried along on its warm breeze.
With horns in tow, Tinsley Ellis joins Zito and his crew for a floor-filling Promised land, the crackling guitar work offering the promise of swinging hips and dancing feet. In contrast, thrash legend Alex Skolnick proves his versatility with a stunning take on down bound train, rendered here as a blues / shred hybrid that sounds like Joe Satriani covering Tempest-era Bob Dylan. It’s another album highlight, and it sees firm respect paid to the original, even as it carves out its own sound. Next up, Richard Fortus has an absolute ball getting his knees up on the country swing of Maybellene. One of those tracks that instinctively raises a smile, the focus here is on having a good time and the band cheerfully oblige. The track paves the way perfectly for a swinging school days, which sees Ally Venable add guitar lines as scorching as her vocal is cool. The interplay between Ally and Mike is nothing short of a delight and they really cut a rug on the track. The pace remains fast on Brown eyed handsome man (with Kirk Fletcher and Josh Smith), yet it’s the aptly-titled reelin’ and rockin’ that really ignites the album’s final fifth, with its atmosphere of untamed hedonism. Let it rock (with Jimmy Vivino) maintains the electrifying atmosphere, even if it essentially a re-run of Johnny B Goode. With the end in sight, Albert Castiglia adds his touch to the rockin’ blues of Thirty Days before Kid Anderson helps Mike and his band bring the curtains down with the classic My Ding A Ling. Slightly smoother than the rampant rock ‘n’ roll of the preceding tracks, my ding a ling is classic fifties pop, delivered with a wry smile and a twinkle in the eyes and it’s hard to imagine any other track closing out this epic collection of Chuck Berry classics.
Overall, you couldn’t ask for a better tribute to a much-loved artist. Nevertheless, as much as Chuck is the star of the show (and rightly so), it took an artist of Mike Zito’s stature to pull together so spectacular a line up, and the results, never less than great, are frequently dazzling. What’s truly incredible is how, on a record crammed with legitimate legends in their field, egos are ubiquitously checked at the door, with every single musician serving the music first and foremost. It’s this heartening, community-minded approach that pays tribute, as much as the songs themselves, to the enduring legacy of the great Chuck Berry and this is an essential record to anyone who lays claim to a passion for Rock ‘n’ roll from whatever decade. 9.5
