Rockit (album)

Rockit is the nineteenth studio album by Chuck Berry, released in 1979 by Atco Records. It was his only release for the label, following Berry's departure in 1975 from Chess Records^[1] and his last studio album for 38 years, until Chuck in 2017.^[2]

Rockit
Studio album by Chuck Berry
Released	1979
Studio	Berry Park Studios, Wentzville, Missouri
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	35:37
Label	Atco
Producer	Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry chronology
Chuck Berry Live in Concert (1978) Rockit (1979) The Great Twenty-Eight (1982)

Title and packaging

The album cover depicted Berry's guitar in the image of the Millennium Falcon starship, from the 1977 film Star Wars.^[3] According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the artwork bizarrely (and somewhat appealingly)" capitalized on "the post-Star Wars wave as it features Chuck's signature Gibson orbiting the Earth (which also nicely plays into the pun of the title, a pun so slight that it's possible to not realize it's a pun without the artwork)".^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

The New York Times wrote that "Berry finally steps out from behind his smiling entertainer's mask and talks about some of the problems he's encountered as a black performer."^[6] Reviewing Rockit in 1979 for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album a B-plus grade and was surprised by its quality:

"The inventor of rock and roll hasn't made an album this listenable in fifteen years--no great new songs, but he's never written better throwaways (or covered 'Ozymandias,' either). Both Berry and Johnny Johnson--the piano half of his sound for a quarter of a century--have tricked up their styles without vitiating or cheapening them, and the result is a groove for all decades. Minor for sure, but what a surprise.^[4]

Along with 1964's St. Louis to Liverpool, Christgau considered Rockit one of two full-length albums recorded by Berry in his lifetime that were "worthy of the name", a "groove" record "sharpened by two back-end songs skewering the racist society he'd striven so audaciously to integrate and enlighten".^[7] Observer journalist Ron Hart named it among Berry's five best albums.^[3]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Erlewine wrote that, despite conceding to contemporary music trends with a somewhat "bright and tight" production, Berry offered "three or four terrific songs and a bunch of enjoyable straight-ahead rockers that aren't quite as memorable but sure sound good as they play".^[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Chuck Berry

1. "Move It" – 2:27
2. "Oh What a Thrill" – 3:06
3. "I Need You Baby" – 3:09
4. "If I Were" – 3:02
5. "House Lights" – 4:28
6. "I Never Thought" – 3:50
7. "Havana Moon" – 5:05
8. "Wuden't Me" – 2:41
9. "California" – 2:16
10. "Pass Away" – 5:33

Personnel

Musicians

• Chuck Berry – guitar, vocals
• Kenny Buttrey – drums
• Johnnie Johnson – piano
• Jim Marsala – bass
• Bob Wray – bass

Technical

• Tony Gottlieb – production assistance
• Doug Morris – executive producer
• Kyle Lehning – engineer, mixing
• Bob Defrin – art direction
• Don Brautigam – cover illustration

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (n.d.). "Rock It - Chuck Berry". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
2. Kreps, Daniel (18 October 2016). "Chuck Berry Celebrates 90th Birthday With First Album in 38 Years". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
3. Hart, Ron (October 18, 2016). "Chuck Berry Turns 90: The Father of Rock 'n Roll's Top 5 Best Albums". Observer. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
5. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 54, 56.
6. Palmer, Robert (21 Sep 1979). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C12.
7. Christgau, Robert (June 9, 2017). "Thoughts on a Fucked Up Genius: Robert Christgau Reviews Chuck Berry". Vice. Retrieved June 10, 2017.

External links

• Rock It at Discogs (list of releases)