Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll!: Special Edition

Reviewed by: Erik Swift June 2006

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During his introduction, director Taylor Hackford calls the DVD of his 1987 film “Hail! Hail! Rock And Roll!” a birthday gift. There isn’t a better description of the package available as two-disc set or a deluxe four-disc monster from Image Entertainment. The film catches up with rock pioneer Chuck Berry and a concert commemorating his 60th birthday organized by Keith Richards. Looking pristine after being remastered in hi def, its hours of extras make viewers look at the subject in a new light and historical context.

The DVD smartly starts with its snappy trailer before getting to the menu. A happy, sweet film, “Hail! Hail! Rock And Roll!” is a portrait of a respected and revered artist, and it has only one problem: Berry, who bickers with Keith onstage and off. Despite the personality clashes while setting up the show in Berry’s hometown of St. Louis, the music will make you jump off the couch and shake, rattle and roll. Cameras are inches away from the performers, and relevant guests illustrate Berry’s importance.

With Richards on board, there is no more appropriate music director for a one-off show like this. The Rolling Stones were on life support six months after the release of their awful “Dirty Work,” (which should have been called “Sh*tty Work”), and Richards was itching to play. The invitation to assemble a band for his idol wasn’t taken lightly: Ingrid Berry on vocals, ace drummer Steve Jordan, Joey Spampinato on bass and original Berry pianist Johnnie Johnson (spectacular throughout), rounded out by familiar Stones faces Bobby Keys on sax and keyboardist Chuck Leavell. They turn the seductive “No Particular Place To Go” into a swaggering showstopper, and an absolutely smoking “Sweet Little Sixteen” would warm the globe. A-list guests add firepower: Robert Cray’s contribution to “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man” is astonishing, and he and Eric Clapton bolster Etta James as she belts out “Rock And Roll Music.” Julian Lennon does his father proud on “Johnny B. Goode” but Clapton leaves “Wee Wee Hours” too quickly. Richards manages to step out for a solo on “Little Queenie” while the crowd, a cross-section of generations, looks on.

“Hail! Hail! Rock And Roll!” tried its best to tell the Berry story in two hours. Interviews with his family, contemporaries and even a giddy Bruce Springsteen rounded out with the concert footage made for a decent Chuck Berry 101. Richards’ closing description of Berry as someone who provides “more headaches than Mick Jagger” paves the way for layers to Hackford’s film Berry may have preferred left in the vaults. It never mentioned about how he nearly caused a prison riot around a film crew or the frequent occasions he sabotaged his own production and pissed everyone off. The package adjusts the scope of the film twofold: the volume of additional material not only alters the perception of Berry, it collectively makes a bid for historical preservation on par with “The Beatles Anthology.”

Music speaks first on the second disc: a sweet 10-minute multi-angle jam session during rehearsal goes into overdrive after five minutes when Clapton solos, followed by Richards while the band rolls behind them and the cameramen gradually run out of film. Don’t miss Etta James’ crushing “Hoochie Coochie Girl” before watching “The Reluctant Movie Star.” Murphy’s Law is a standard rule of thumb on any movie set, but everything changes when the star and co-producer of the film is Murphy incarnate. The director’s daily shooting diaries are killer snapshots into on-set atmosphere that tend to be forgotten over time, and the tension Berry created before his arrivals rankles all.

The third disc’s highlight is the nostalgic “Burnt Scrapbook,” a bullshit session between Berry and The Band’s Robbie Robertson. These two chat across decades of memories; seeing Robertson play both interested host and fervent student to Berry’s wizened professor is great fun. The other segments don’t meet the bar; “Chuckisms” is worth only checking out to see how bright the guy is, while “Witness To History” – a rock and roll summit that brings together Little Richard and Bo Diddley with Berry – barely registers above the bitch-o-meter. These three never got their credit during rock’s formative years, but it’s disappointing to hear them constantly return to the topic. It’s more compelling to hear them talk about the racism they endured everywhere, from highway stop/searches by local police to record company honchos…which routes them back to compensation. Again.

Little Richard does manage to complement Chuck, saying, “His songs are not gimmicks, but they’re the truth.” Many more wait on the final disc, which lasts over three and a half hours (that has to be a new DVD record). “Witness To History II” corrals the cornerstones of rock and roll to primarily offer their recollections about Chuck but frequently spiral into their role in rock’s earliest days. A boisterous Sam Phillips praises Berry’s “vitality” and Jerry Lee Lewis says Berry’s “God-given talent” made his mother respect Berry’s work more than her son’s. Diddley tips his hat to the tunes and lyrics (“The music makes sense. It’s not nonsense”) and when asked to name his favorite Berry song, Roy Orbison quickly admits he likes all of them.

Sure, some statements lack profundity (Lewis: “Today’s music is not rock and roll;” Phil Everly: “Music is one of the great unifying things of the world.”) but priceless moments appear. Orbison was so passionate about writing songs he wrote in his car…outside in the cold Texas winter. Jerry Lee actually humbles himself with five shocking words, “I’m only a piano player.” Don’t start thinking The Killer’s going soft, because that statement is countered seconds later with the claim “I made rock and roll different.” That you did, you cousin-shagger. The creator of the Bo Diddley beat dissects it as a drum-guitar combo, and admits it originated from his desire to be a drummer. Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun sums up the key that coalesced regions and people into musical history: “The one thing they couldn’t segregate in those days was the radio.” Tons of anecdotes from these formative artists and businessmen about everything from old day jobs to career hurdles turn “Hail! Hail! Rock And Roll!” into a time capsule – Orbison, Phillips and Willie Dixon (the shortest interview) have left this earth, but their words live on. Don’t have time to wade through 3 ½ hours of rock chat? Me too. Divided by film reels, Jerry Lee’s cocky first ten minutes kicks ass (“I’m hurt-less!”). Overall, Phillips and Diddley are magnetic, but Phil and Don Everly provide unexpected insight (“I don’t think pop music makes the world go ‘round,” says Don. “It makes you more human while you’re here.”)

Image Entertainment’s DVD release of “Hail! Hail! Rock And Roll!” somehow has no room for the Springsteen interview! Considering most of Bruce’s 1986 and 1987 appearances were in Monmouth County clubs playing classic covers, including “Carol” and “Sweet Little Sixteen,” the absence of The Boss (and Robertson) onstage that October night is the only other thing missing. Heavy on the history, it’s a surprising example of the power of DVD presentation, that the best make a film better. Taylor Hackford’s original version was a sugary view of a man walking St. Louis streets or playing with his tractor at home who happened to be one of the most influential American artists of the last fifty years. The illuminating journey behind the scenes is just as fun.

Reviewer’s Opinion: BUY IT!! (Two Disc Edition)
Reviewer’s Opinion: BORROW IT!! (Four Disc Edition)