(Oldies 60s / Early R&B / Rock'n'roll) Richard Berry (3 CD) - 2004, MP3 (tracks), 192 kbps

1. Louie, Louie
2. No Kissin' and A Huggin'
3. You're the Girl
4. Rock, Rock, Rock (This Dance Is Crazy)
5. I'll Never Ever Love Again
6. Sweet Sugar You
7. Somewhere There's a Rainbow
8. You Look So Good
9. Take the Key and Open Up My Heart
10. Heaven on Wheels
11. You Are My Sunshine
12. Mess Around
13. Besame Mucho
14. Do I, Do I, Do I
15. Have Love, Will Travel
16. No Room
17. In a Real Big Way
18. Well Done [#]
19. I Want You to Be My Girl
20. It's All Right
21. Weep No More [#]
22. Everybody's Got a Lover But Me
23. Tell Me Why [#]
24. Dreams of an Angel [#]
25. Give It Up
26. I'm Your Fool
27. What Good Is a Heart
28. Empty Chair
29. I'm Learning
30. Walk Right In

01 Yama Yama Pretty Mama (2:14)
02 What You Do To Me (Alt) (2:30)
03 Angel Of My Life (2:16)
04 Big John (2:39)
05 At Last (The Dreamers with Richard Berry) (2:55)
06 Daddy Daddy (The Dreamers with Richard Berry) (Alt) (2:33)
07 Look Out Miss James (Alt) (2:06)
08 Don't Cha Go (Richard Berry With The Cadets) (2:14)
09 The Big Break
10 One Little Prayer
11 I'm Still In Love With You
12 Rockin' Man
13 Crazy Lover
14 The Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry) (Etta James & The Peaches)
15 Please Tell Me
16 Good Love (Alt)
17 Each Step (Rickey & Jennell)
18 Oh! Oh! Get Out Of The Car
19 Wait For Me (The Dreamers With Richard Berry)
20 Hey Henry (Etta James with Richard Berry) (Take 6)
21 Pretty Brown Eyes
22 Jelly Roll (The Dreamers With Richard Berry)
23 Mad About You (Alt Take 5)
24 I Am Bewildered
25 This Time Is Real (Rickey & Jennell)
26 Predoehlicious (Instr)
27 God Gave Me You (Richard Berry with The Cadets)
28 Next Time

1. Rockin' Man
2. Big Break
3. Real Good Lovin' Man [#]

- The Flairs
4. Big John
5. Look Out Miss James [#]
6. I'm Still in Love With You
7. Crazy Lover
8. Next Time
9. One Little Prayer
10. Daddy Daddy- Richard Berry, The Dreamers
11. I Am Bewildered
12. Get out of the Car
13. Please Tell Me
14. Jelly-Roll - Richard Berry, Richard Berry, The Dreamers
15. Baby Darling (aka Baby, Baby)- Richard Berry, The Dreamers
16. Pretty Brown Eyes
17. I Want You to Be Mine (What You Do to Me)
18. Mad About You
19. Angel of My Life
20. Yama, Yama, Pretty Mama

Although Richard Berry had long been recognized as an important secondary pioneer of '50s rock & roll/R&B in general, and as the originator of "Louie Louie" in particular, his best and most influential material was out of print for decades. This 30-track compilation totally rectifies the situation, with both sides of all eight of his 1956-1960 Flip singles, as well as an almost equal number of early-'60s recordings for various labels, some previously unissued. The Flip sides in particular represent his most important work, if for no other reason than they include his original (and not often reissued) 1957 single version of "Louie Louie," the regional rock & roll hit that eventually became one of the most covered songs of all time. Otherwise, the Flip stuff shows him to be something of an R&B-rock jack of all trades, including doo wop ballads, uptempo Los Angeles R&B in the midst of transition to rock & roll, and novelty-tinged numbers that sound a little like some of the Coasters' early work. The quality on the Flip tracks is variable, and frankly not strong enough to qualify him as a major rock & roll artist, ranging from the ordinary and generic to the outstanding. In the outstanding category are "Louie Louie," the call-and-response vocal number "Sweet Sugar You" (where the Coasters connection sounds the strongest), a fun rock & roll version of "Besame Mucho" (also covered by the Coasters, lest we forget), and "Have Love Will Travel," his best song other than "Louie Louie." The early-'60s cuts were produced by another L.A. jack of all trades, Gary Paxton, and while some of them are good, they seem to have a bit of a slapdash try-anything-and-see-what-sticks mentality. Some of them are very much in Berry's '50s style; others are clearly trying to mimic the R&B-pop crossover of Brook Benton; and "Everybody's Got a Lover But Me" is a dead-on imitation of early, Latin-tempoed Impressions hits like "Gypsy Woman" that's enjoyable but quite derivative. It's an inconsistent compilation, then, but it's a worthwhile plug in the gap of Berry's discography, his complicated saga clarified by the outstanding, thorough liner notes.