First
class versatility
Dave
Berry `Memphis... In The Meantime' Blues Matters Records -
BMRCD20037
Although
pop was the basis for his hitmaking Sixties career, Dave
Berry has always been a fervent R'n'B
enthusiast.
And
this new album - his first since "Hostage to the Beat" in
1987 - allows him to indulge his passion in magnificent
fashion. The first has him striding straight into a slick,
assured groove - and all 11 songs are delivered with the
panache of a committed aficionado with the talent to match
his devotion.
Longevity
speaks for itself and the quality of the distinctive Dave
Berry voice tells its own story, even when he's away from
his more familiar domain - reprising his stage theatrics on
the pop nostalgia circuit.
Here
he is joined in his endeavours by a first-class team of
musicians whose readily apparent versatility allows them to
bring unflagging creative support to a studio set
encompassing a variety of moods.
The
repertoire - which includes two compositions apiece from
J.J. Cale, John Hiatt and Arthur'Big Boy' Crudup - covers
rollicking power blues and more laid-back materialal.
Berry's cohorts are the Junkyard Angels, and his genuine
affection for the genre is evident throughout an album
which is enhanced by a thoroughly contemporary
feel.
One
real highlight is a rendition of Tony Joe White's "Taking
The Midnight Train which has a poignant stately beauty -
and is punctuated by a guitar solo heartbreaking in its
intensity. The final track is a version of "My Baby Left
Me", harking back to one of the minor Berry hits in 1964
which preceded his dramatic chart emergence with "The
Crying Game".
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Extraordinary
Wounded,Vunerable Delivery
Dave
Berry / One Dozen Berrys - BGO RECORDS
BGOCD643
It's
now 40 years since Dave Berry's ' eponymous debut album was
released and it resounds with the distinctive vocal style
It's now 40 years since Dave Berry's ' eponymous debut
album was released and it resounds with the distinctive
vocal style still sustaining him today as a cornerstone of
the Sixties performing scene
Of
course this is most obviously the case with 'The Crying
Game', the extraordinary recording which introduced the
wounded, vulnerable delivery that became a Berry trade
mark. Ethereal and chillingly haunting, the song was a
high-quality addition to the 1964 singles charts, and
proves a devastatingly powerful opener to a CD comprising
two original Dave Berry LPs.
That first album also included a rendition of ' Memphis
Tennessee' - the number written by his namesake Chuck,
which had brought him a first minor hit the previous year.
But you can visualise Dave's moody stage charisma seeping
from the grooves as he confidently dips his brush into an
extensive palette and daubs the canvas with a colourful mix
of contemporary material.
There are examples of the same kind of r'n'b as his Decca
label-mates the Rolling Stones were tackling at the same
time but elements of folk, country and skiffle-blues are
among other diversities.
A crucial role is played by session guitarists Big Jim
Sullivan and Jimmy Page, each of them shining with an
inventive display of technical wizardry. 'One Dozen Berrys'
was released in 1966 after he had become a well established
figure in the pop currency of international record sales,
live shows and TV appearances and the LP duly reinforced
his evident popularity. 'I've Got My Tears To Remind Me' a
song written by Jackie DeShannon and Jimmy Page showcases
Dave at his melodramatic best. With other tracks having
been drawn from a variety of sources, including Chuck Berry
again, Bobby Goldsboro and Burt Bacharach-Hal David (
Berry's hit 'Baby It's You), another wide sweep in content
and approach is assured from the outset.
by Russell Newmark ( The Beat Magazine )
Newly-released on
the Universal label, it is available through
The Beat magazine's
BeatShop, or
HERE priced at £14-00
and also in stock in most record stores
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVE
BERRY
Dave Berry/One Dozen Berries
The
Beat Goes On BGOCD 643 (69:56)
A
diverting first album and its lesser
follow-up
His co-headlining
of
an ongoing nostalgia package tour makes this retrospective
expedient for the charismatic Berry, whose surreal stage
act is still executed with the spooky deliberation of a
dream in slow motion. Moreover, the wounded baritone is as
potent as it was in 1964 when he metamorphosed from worthy
R&B exponent to heartbreak balladeer, notably with The
Crying Game, his first Top 10 penetration - and the opening
track of a maiden LP that demonstrated that the chasm
between, say, Rosco Gordon's Just A Little Bit and the
fairydusted folk of Girl From The Fair Isle was not
unbreachable. In between, the boy from Sheffield made no
overstated pig's ear either of The Drifters' I Don't Want
To Go On Without You and even God Bless The Child,
signature tune of vocal dare-devil Billie Holliday.
After his restless farewell from the charts two years
later, Decca issued another Berry alburm on its Ace Of
Clubs subsidiary. The formula was similar to the first, but
more slapdash - as instanced by inclusion
of
items that pre-dated The Crying Game and a
reappearance
of
Girl From The Fair Isle. Nevertheless, One
Dozen
Berries remains entertaining, even if it isn't up to the
fighting weight of its predecessor.
Alan Clayson
Record Collector 2005
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mojo
Magazine January 2005
Dave
Berry *** (Three Stars)
Dave Berry/One Dozen Berrys
Two
on One from one of the great underateds. Berry’s
unique on-stage approach was later ripped off by Alvin
Stardust but, during the 60’s he utilised a line in
fine material – The Crying Game, Memphis Tennessee
etc.
FD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mojo
Magazine February 2005
Roots
of the Sex Pistols
(Main Feature Article)
15 Tracks that inspired a revolution
Track 6
DAVE BERRY
Don’t Give Me No Lip Child
(currently unavailable in the UK)
A
Stomping slice of 1964 Brit – Beat, this curled lip
classic was B-side to Berry’s Cryin’Game single
which hit the UK top 5, Thirteen years later Sid Vicious
delivered his snotty take on this song.
Impossibly
hard to find, this version was supplied by Sugarbush
Records who can be reached at
www.sugarbush.u-net.com
Meanwhile
Dave Berry’s website can be located at
www.cryinggame.co.uk
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