A captivating interview given by Chuck Berry to the punk fanzine Jet Lag in 1980 learn like a bridge between cultures. In these days of the brand new wave, it reveals his opinions on recordings by such necessary artists in their very own proper as The Conflict and Wire – and that whereas he wasn’t certain about the Intercourse Pistols and Pleasure Division, he had loads of time for Speaking Heads and the Ramones.
The rock’n’roll pioneer was performed numerous latest releases by the journal and, as a spokesman for teenagers of a earlier technology, requested his opinion on some key latest releases. Berry made comparisons between a few of these younger weapons and earlier, time-honored work by himself and others.
Listening to the Pistols’ punk staple “God Save The Queen,” for instance, he requested: “What’s this guy [Johnny Rotten/John Lydon] so angry about anyway? Guitar work and progression is like mine. Good backbeat. Can’t understand most of the vocals. If you’re going to be mad at least let the people know what you’re mad about.”
Contemplating Wire’s “I Am the Fly” and the Pleasure Division album Unknown Pleasures, Chuck dominated: “So this is the so-called new stuff. It’s nothing I ain’t heard before. It sounds like an old blues jam that BB [King] and Muddy [Waters] would carry on backstage at the old amphitheatre in Chicago. The instruments may be different, but the experiment’s the same.”
‘I only knew three chords too’
Of the Conflict’s “Complete Control,” Berry referred again to the Pistols by saying: “Sounds like the first one. The rhythm and chording work well together. Did this guy have a sore throat when he sang the vocals?”
Hearken to uDiscover Music’s Chuck Berry Finest Of playlist.
His best enthusiasm was reserved for the Ramones’ “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” (“A good little jump number. These guys remind me of myself when I first started, I only knew three chords too”) and Speaking Heads. Of their “Psycho Killer,” he stated: “A funky little number, that’s for sure. I like the bass [by Tina Weymouth] a lot. Good mixture and a real good flow. The singer [David Byrne] sounds like he has a bad case of stage fright.”
Purchase or stream Chuck Berry’s The Nice Twenty-Eight compilation.
