AMG Review of Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger [Bonus Tracks]

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

The most flamboyantly packaged and distinctively themed of Bo Diddley's original albums, this record has always had unusual appeal, freely mixing truly wild R&B originals and distinctive covers (Bo even cops a legitimate arranging credit on "Sixteen Tons"). In this remastered edition, his and Peggy Jones' guitars have a resonant, bell-like clarity on top of their patented crunchiness, and the voices are up-front and in your face (check out the remastered "Do What I Say" for the combined virtues). Additionally, the record has been expanded over the original CD release with eight minutes of outtakes from the same January-February 1960 sessions -- the soulful "Prisoner of Love," showing off Bo's singing on a subtle, sultry level that he wasn't often given a chance to display; the doo wop-influenced "Googlia Moo," which shows how effective Bo's sound works in a slow, loping beat; and "Better Watch Yourself," a Chicago-style blues piece that shows Bo striding across Muddy Waters' territory, not far from (and not much less interesting than) "I'm a Man."