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.
