At his best Chuck Berry was a hip short-story teller, with insightful, affecting and entertaining pictures to show, set to a strong jumping boogie beat. But he never had much of a way with albums, and the problem with being chief chronicler and day-to-day historian of the ways of an era is that it fades away and people grow older. Times and audiences change—but Berry hasn't much….

The only infectious cut that you want to play again is "Rain Eyes."… It has all the evocative power and charm of the Berry songs of old and it jumps steady too.

Bio is OK—but if you never hear it you won't have missed much—certainly not anything important in Chuck Berry's musical history. And if that's a harsh judgment, well, damnit, it's supposed to be. I don't know how much longer Berry can get away with putting out...