I've been going through all my Bo Diddley CDs and I've compiled a list of the most complete and best sounding versions, based on the tracklisting for the Hip-O 'Complete Chess Masters' sets (which are almost complete. But not quite)Fortunately the first set, 'I'm A Man - 1955-1958' has universally great sound from the true master tapes (no NR or funny EQ) but is a little compressed compared to the older masterings but it's not brickwalled by any means.All of the songs are in mono but have been transferred with a stereo tape head, which means that the various drop-outs on the old tapes sometimes turn up in either channel. Click to expand.Nice!I discovered that one the other day, I'd only ever heard copies without the count-in and found that the box I'd bought a year ago at a record fair (to replace my shabby outer box) had the count in!If found a couple of real rarities last night on a CD I've been trying to find for years: 'Oh Yeah!'
Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry Is on Top (1959; Chess/MCA, 1987). 1986). The Chess Box (Chess/MCA, 1988). Missing Berries: Rarities, Vol.y2 Blues (Chess, 2003) with Bo Diddley. Two Great Guitars: Bo Diddley. Chuck Berry on Chess except where noted, Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Dance Party, Vol. New Juke Box Hits (1961), More Chuck Berry (1961), Chuck Berry On Stage. (MCA/Chess, 1987), Rock 'n' Roll Rarities (1987), More Rock 'n' Roll Rarities (1987). Chuck Berry & Bo Diddley, Two Great Guitars (Checker, 1964).
On the Charly label from 1991 (CD RED 31). Most of the songs match the versions that appeared on the 1993 Charly 'Chess Years' 12 CD box except for:Mumblin Guitar - has the full cold ending of the song, complete with an off-kilter drum fill!I Love You So - continues on for an extra 40 seconds past the LP version, with extra lyrics 'so long, so long, don't you cry' and some great screaming and hollering at the end.Neither of these have been mentioned in any discographies I've seen. I found a couple of real rarities last night on a CD I've been trying to find for years: 'Oh Yeah!' On the Charly label from 1991 (CD RED 31). Most of the songs match the versions that appeared on the 1993 Charly 'Chess Years' 12 CD box except for:Mumblin Guitar - has the full cold ending of the song, complete with an off-kilter drum fill!I Love You So - continues on for an extra 40 seconds past the LP version, with extra lyrics 'so long, so long, don't you cry' and some great screaming and hollering at the end.Neither of these have been mentioned in any discographies I've seen.
Click to expand.It's nice to read about a CD that I already have in my collection, with alternate cover, and in both digipak and jewell case form.The back of the jewell case version lists only 18 songs, but the booklet lists 20, including Ooh Baby.Just received this:to supplement/replace the CD pictured below, and because I like the cover (at about $5 new, how can you go wrong?).Plus, I also recently order this, as Ace CDs usually sound pretty good, and I'd been considering buying it for years.
Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B Mp3 320 kbps 2 CD 417 MbBack in the late '80s, when the CD boom was on and people were busy feeding their new machines like the discs would disappear, MCA Records lavished some attention on the Bo Diddley catalog, putting out a few reissues of his earliest albums, a couple of hits compilations, and one flawed if well-intended box set - and that was it. Across the nearly two decades since, labels have seemingly assumed that Bo Diddley doesn't sell, apparently unwilling to test the hypothesis that if they would stop merely reissuing the same 14 songs and dug a little deeper, he might sell. That's exactly what the European division of MCA has finally done with this 54-song collection, which manages to overlap the Diddley Chess Box volume and still deliver a brace of previously unanthologized songs by the rock & roll legend. The Chess Box still has more rarities and outtakes, but this set does finally throw the biggest no-brainer of Bo Diddley's entire catalog into the mix - 'Here 'Tis,' which was never a hit for him but, thanks to its being covered by the Yardbirds on Five Live Yardbirds, is probably known by about a million Eric Clapton fans. That, plus pieces like 'Willie and Lillie,' the 'I'm a Man' follow-up 'I'm Bad' and other usually ignored '50s-era tracks, and recordings as late as 1970's 'Elephant Man,' helps to make this one of the most comprehensive looks at his career, as well as lots of fun - and for just plain fun, it's hard to beat the rapping 1963-vintage 'Bo Diddley's a Lumber Jack' or the girl group-accompanied 'We're Gonna Get Married' from three years later. There's also a good biographical essay in the accompanying booklet by producer/compiler Peter Doggett, who has done a generally excellent job here - even the sound is state of the art by 2006 standards, something that one can't say at all about the Chess Box or other 1980s/1990s releases from this library.
The only complaint one might reasonably have is the scattershot nature of the programming - the tracks aren't remotely in chronological order and freely jump across 15 years of musical styles and history from one to another. But it's still the most ambitious legitimate release on Bo Diddley in at least 15 years, and a prime addition to his library, even if it had to come out of Europe in order to get produced.CD 1, 1. Mumblin' Guitar (2:50), 2. Bo Diddley (2:47), 3.
I'm A Man (2:59), 4. Diddy Wah Diddy (2:32), 5. Pretty Thing (2:50), 6. Bring It To Jerome (2:29), 7. Diddley Daddy (2:28), 8.
Who Do You Love (2:29), 9. I'm Bad (3:16), 10. Cops And Robbers (3:27), 11. Walkin' And Talkin' (2:43), 12. Say Man (3:12), 13.
Shut Up Woman (3:46), 14. Hush Your Mouth (2:50), 15. You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover (3:14), 16. The Story Of Bo Diddley (2:53), 17. Crackin' Up (2:06), 18. Craw-Dad (2:29), 19.
She's Fine, She's Mine (2:42), 20. Better Watch Yourself (2:56), 21. Bo's A Lumber Jack (2:41), 22.
We're Gonna Get Married (2:31), 23. Don't Let It Go (Hold On To What You Got) (2:46), 24.
The Greatest Lover In The World (2:43), 25. Hey Good Looking (2:52), 26.
500% More Man (2:55), 27. I've Had It Hard (3:23)CD 2, 1. Bo Diddley (2:13), 2. Mona (2:22), 3. Here 'Tis (2:26), 4.
Down Home Special (3:13), 5. I'm Looking For A Woman (2:34), 6. Before You Accuse Me (3:06), 7.
Road Runner (2:49), 8. Bo Diddley Is Loose (3:04), 9. Cadillac (2:46), 10.
Intego launches reflexivity the first security and activity monitoring services. Oh Yea (3:09), 11. Who May Your Lover Be (2:56), 12.
You All Green (3:08), 13. Pills (2:50), 14. Gun Slinger (1:54), 15. I Can Tell (4:34), 16.
Run Diddley Daddy (2:42), 17. Hong Kong, Mississippi (2:58), 18. Dearest Darling (3:17), 19.
Willie And Lillie (2:17), 20. I Know (I'm Alright) (2:48), 21. You Don't Love Me (2:53), 22. Ride On Josephone (3:02), 23. Say Boss Man (2:33), 24.
Kruschev (3:01), 25. Ooh Baby (2:51), 26.
Elephant Man (4:31), 27. Bo's Bounce (1:39).