Nearly three months after his death, Chuck Berry’s final album—his first in 38 years, has been released posthumously. “Chuck” is Berry’s final love letter, a 10-track collection that showcases a host of top players, including Berry’s daughter Ingrid on harmonica, his son, Charles Berry Jr., and his grandson Charles Berry III, on guitar.
The high-energy lead off single, “Big Boys,” features Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, and Nathaniel Rateliff on background vocals. There’s a reworked “Johnny B. Goode” titled “Lady B. Goode” that’s a fitting look back.
Both of these cuts are classic Chuck Berry: witty, swift, observant, true, clever, sly—however, he was close to 90-years old when many of these songs were recorded. His voice isn’t as powerful as it once was, and his articulation less crystal clear than before, but it’s inspiring that he kept at it, his life’s mission, to create characters and tell a story, in a song.