A pair of Bo Diddley retrospectives

Bo Diddley's 'I'm a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958' and 'Road Runner: The Chess Masters, 1959-1960'

By Robert Hilburn, Special to The Los Angeles Times

A pair of Bo Diddley retrospectives offers an especially revealing look at the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member’s studio experimentation. In "I'm a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958," we hear two unreleased versions of the Mississippi native's debut single, "Bo Diddley." Though they are both dynamic enough to have attracted some attention on R&B radio stations in 1955, they aren't as immediately compelling as the third version, which has become a rock 'n' roll classic.

The first iteration opens with a slow but steady drumbeat, which is soon joined by the sound of maracas and, finally, the roar of Diddley's shadowy, tremoloed guitar and gruff, aggressive vocal. The treatment is interesting but not urgent enough.

In the second attempt, we hear someone in the studio giving a "one, two, three, four" countdown, which is followed by the musicians coming in at once and stepping all over one another. Midway through the track, Diddley's vocal turns into a strange but gimmicky howl that breaks the mysterious aura of the song.

On the third version, Diddley's guitar and vocal hit hard from the start and the other musicians fall in line in a way that pulls together the feverish, chank-a-chank, a-chank, a-chank-chank rhythm that provided the song's infectious backbeat, among the most distinctive sounds in all of rock.

That mix of Latin, blues and African rhythms was employed in such later recording jewels as Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," Bruce Springsteen's "She's the One" and U2's "Desire." Producer T-Bone Burnett put elements of Diddley's reverberating guitar to excellent use when Robert Plant teamed with Alison Krauss on last year's "Raising Sand" album.

The third version of "Bo Diddley" went to No. 1 on the R&B chart, but pop disc jockeys didn't seem to know what to make of the unusual sound and pretty much ignored the single. Even after half a century, however, the record -- and that classic Bo Diddley sound -- is a wonder.

Bo Diddley

"I'm a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958"

Chess/Geffen/Hip-O Select

The back story: In his liner notes to this two-disc package, Chris Morris points out that if Bo Diddley (the stage name assumed by Ellas McDaniel) had never released another note of music after his first, twin-sided hit ("Bo Diddley" on one side and "I'm a Man" on the other), he would have thoroughly defined himself as an artist formed in his own image and no one else's.

Of course, Diddley's recording career continued long after that first single, and this collection brings together his session work on Chess Records' subsidiary label, Checker, from March 1955 to December 1958. That adds up to seven R&B hits as well as eight previously unreleased tracks and 12 alternative versions. Two of the hits did cross over to the pop field: "Crackin' Up," which reached No. 62 in 1959, and the humorous "Say Man," which climbed to No. 20 the same year.

Bo Diddley

"Road Runner: The Chess Masters, 1959-1960"

Chess/Geffen/Hip-O Select

The back story: Given Diddley's influence, it's easy to assume this second two-disc set, which contains more than a dozen previously unreleased selections, would be a treasure chest of lost material. Instead, it's a case study of how far an artist can wander from his brilliant core sound in search of a hit.

The opening track, for instance, is apparently an attempt to come up with something so novel that no one could resist it.

In the disastrous "Mama Mia," Diddley doesn't even play guitar as he devotes his full attention to a lavish, operatic style vocal on a song that is so lame it invokes the name of an old Elvis hit ("All Shook Up") in hopes of appealing to the teen market.

Elsewhere, Diddley goes through all sorts of unproductive side trips, including playing violin rather than guitar on the pop song "To Each His Own" and giving us rival slow and fast versions of an even earlier pop number, "Prisoner of Love."

Still, Diddley delivers some gems in the set, including the boastful "She's Alright," which he nails on the fourth try, and the zesty "Road Runner," which ranks with his best work.

Though these collections vary greatly in quality, they are both invaluable from a historical standpoint. A third volume, which will take us through Diddley's 1963 sessions, is planned for release next year.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-1960

Road Runner, the second volume of Hip-O Select's ongoing chronicle of Bo Diddley's complete Chess/Checker master recordings, covers roughly one calendar year whereas its predecessor, I'm a Man, spanned four — a good indication that 1959 was an eventful year for Bo. During this one year, he had his biggest pop hit in the jive-talking "Say Man" and had another sizable R&B hit with "Crackin' Up," but both these sides were cut in 1958 and released as a single in 1959. As they climbed the charts, Diddley was frenetically recording, spinning off his "Bo Diddley" into "Nursery Rhyme aka Puttentang" while mythologizing himself yet again in "The Story of Bo Diddley," attempting to steal back his signature beat from Johnny Otis' "Willie & the Hand Jive" with "Willie Fell in Love," slamming out a sequel to "Say Man," trying to catch the Caribbean winds that were blowing in, hauling out his violin, pushing his amp on instrumentals — basically doing anything that popped into his head. So many ideas were spilling out of his head that perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that by the time 1959 was coming to a close, Bo set up his own studio in his house, then delivered finished tapes to Chess — a practice completely unheard of that year!

All this is a roundabout way of saying that if I'm a Man provided the foundation of the Bo Diddley myth with its early hits and rock & roll standards, Road Runner showcases Bo the Innovator, the rock & roller who was as fascinated with the record as a recorded product instead of a capturing a live performance. There was still plenty of high-octane blues and rock & roll cut during 1959, but the overall impression left by this double-disc set is that of a musician who could use the studio as an instrument, whether he was slyly adding piano to "Story of Bo Diddley," pushing levels to the red on "Mumblin' Guitar," or figuring out how to give "Road Runner" that dirty low-riding groove. This experimentation — not so much fearless as giddy, testing the limits of what can be done — is why Road Runner remains gripping even though it has long stretches of repeated alternate takes (as many as four different versions of "She's Alright" follow in succession). Some of these are simple attempts to get the right vibe but more often they're radically different, as when "Prisoner of Love" is given an infectious uptempo treatment and a noir-ish slow take. In addition to the alternate takes, there are unreleased songs, most quite good, even when he's working out "Walking and Talking" (in two takes called "Walking" here), merely sketching out a mood as on "Jungle," or injecting phrases from "Love Is Strange" in "You Know I Love You So." Many of these songs showed up on Have Guitar, Will Travel, Bo Diddley in the Spotlight, and Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger, three of Diddley's strongest LPs, but presented here in session order the music has a far different effect than it does on those albums. There, the music is tight, percussive, addictive; here, it's wild, unpredictable, experimental, a musician testing his limits. And that's why this set of complete Chess masters is so valuable — by presenting Bo's complete recordings in session order it paints a picture of Bo the Innovator that is discernible in his LPs but leaps to the forefront here. Here's hoping the series goes all the way to the end.

Review by Amazon.com

Bo Diddley Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959 - 1960

Two CD set. The 52-track volume covers all of Bo Diddley's 1959 home and Chess studio recordings, plus half of his first 1960 session. This collection shows Mr. Diddley expanding his musical base far and wide, including adding a second guitarist, emphasizing melodies very different than his original blues base, and working on a number of intriguing guitar and rhythm-based instrumentals. This volume is a treasure trove of Diddley-ized rare gems. 23 previously unreleased songs or alternates plus many tracks seeing life on CD for the first time in the U.S. and sometimes anywhere. The double CD also includes insightful liner notes by Diddley biographer/discographer George R. White, plus complete track by track credits. Hip-O Records.


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Review by Muze Inc.

Bo Diddley Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959 - 1960 CD

The death of Bo Diddley in 2008 provided an occasion to reassess the man's sizable contribution to rock & roll, and the nicely compiled ROAD RUNNER: THE CHESS MASTERS 1959-1960, also released in '08, facilitates the purpose. ROAD RUNNER packs 52 tracks onto two discs, adding up to a case history of Diddley's distinctive, groove-driven, blues-and-soul-fueled genius. In addition to well-known Diddley tunes featuring his classic line-up of two guitars, bass drums, and vocals (with a variety of his trademark beats), ROAD RUNNER features 23 previously unreleased tracks (including many alternate takes), making it a must for collectors and completists. But THE CHESS MASTERS also works well as an introduction, summing up the essence of Bo Diddley as one of rock's founding fathers.


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Posted by Dave DiMartino in New This Week

Bo Diddley: Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-60 (Chess) When it comes to classic recordings, you can't go wrong with Mr. Bo Diddley, and this 52-track set captures the late legend fully in his prime. Filled with great tracks --including 23 that are previously unreleased -- the collection is an ultrarhythmic, self-mythologizing great big burning ball of fun! And those who say Diddley borrowed too much from Bow Wow Wow and Adam & The Ants are just flat-out wrong! He was quite good!

"Record Collector" magazine, London, England, Issue #354, October 2008:

Bo Diddley - Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-1960

A trademark riff and a whole lot more

The second volume in an ongoing series, half of these 52 tracks are being commercially released for the first time, culled from both the Chess vaults and Diddley’s own library of home studio recordings. It’s hardly the ideal starting point for anyone belatedly alerted to Bo following the rock’n’roll pioneer’s recent death, more akin as it is to a treasure trove for those already converted.

There are three versions apiece of Come On Baby and Let Me In, four of She’s Alright, but it’s the unheard tracks that offer the most variations on Diddley’s trademark “chugchug- a-chug” sound. Gonna Tell It Like It Is boasts a vocal howl reminiscent of Little Richard, while Darling Tell Me is about as close to street corner doo *** as a bespectacled man with a rectangular guitar has ever been.

The home recordings are the most revealing, not just for the diversity of musical styles on show, but for the primitive attempts at multi-tracking, with bum notes and wobbly tempo changes lovingly preserved. It’s nothing less than the basic building blocks of a fiercely creative and often overlooked talent.


Hip-O Select | B 001107602 (2-CD)

Reviewed by Terry Staunton