Richie Unterberger Don't Know Shit

Bo Knows What He’s Doin’

On Sunday, January 14, 2007 Richie Unterberger of All Music Blind says of Bo Diddley’s album "Ain't It Good to Be Free"

“At this point, Diddley began displaying a social conscience in his lyrics, and these efforts, while well-meaning, are uniformly embarrassing”

Embarrassing to whom Richie Unterberger?

Au contraire, Mr. McDaniel is extremely proud of “Ain’t It Good to Be Free”

and not only do you not get it, Mr. Richie Unterberger, you CAN’T get it!

Richie Unterberger says: ““Ain’t It Good To Be Free” has no wit or sense of purpose”

In "I Don't Want Your Welfare" Bo said: “If you wanna give me something, give me a job”

Richie Unterberger says: "I Don't Want Your Welfare" might have been compelling in third-person anecdotal form rather than first-person invective.

Skyntyte says: What? First of all, Ellas is putting himself in BOTH positions at the same time which allows the listener the same opportunity; to be an instigator and follower simultaneously. Bo is the voice of the people proclaiming to the powers that be “I don’t want a hand out and I am ready, willing and able to do my share and be a positive influence in society.”

Richie unterberger says:

“Oddly enough, (Bo’s) only Top 20 pop hit was an atypical, absurd back-and-forth rap between him and Jerome Green, "Say Man," that came about almost by accident as the pair were fooling around in the studio.”

Skyntyte says:

Righto Wrongo reindeer breath!

“Say Man” was neither an accident nor a product of fooling around in the studio.

It was Bo’s way of:

1. Showing the Chess brothers the unique quality of he and Mr. Green’s adlib-abilities as performing artists.

2. Showing the Chess Brothers how He and Jerome could take what they did on the street, to the stage in the form of a musical and

3. Bo is paying tribute to black radio personalities Pigmeat Markham and Mom’s Mabley and

4. Bo wanted to bring the black experience of “ playin’ the dozens” to mainstream America so that through humor, mainstream Americans might feel a sense of familiarity with their Black-American counterparts. In other words, we are all just people. Bo knows what he’s doing!

Bo did produce a catalog of classics that rival Chuck Berry's in quality. "Bo Diddley,"

"Diddley Daddy," "Pretty Thing," "Diddy Wah Diddy," "Who Do You Love?," "Mona," "Road Runner," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" are standards but some of his most delicious work is self-produced. “This Should Not Be” and “Breakin’ Thru The B.S.” are fantastic examples of Bo’s ability as a musician/singer.

Songs From Ain’t It Good To Be Free:

1. Ain't It Good To Be Free

2. Bo Diddley Put The Rock In Rock'N'Roll

3. Gotta Be Change

4. I Don't Want Your Welfare

5. Mona, Where's Your Sister

6. Stabilize Yourself

7. I Don't Know Where I've Been

8. I Ain't Gonna Force It On You

9. Evil Woman

10. Let The Fox Talk

Funk: On The One Or Not ?

Funk is not a genre it is a musical “essence” that has been embedded in man's DNA for thousands of years. When cavemen fought a saber-toothed tiger, they learned they could conquer the beast through "the art of improvisation." Someone would often die in the ensuing chaos so one had to improvise in order to stay alive. That improvisation laid the foundation for neural pathways in the brain, which are still present in man today. These are the neural pathways that one might use to embellish an employment history while preparing a resume or to deceive a spouse while having an extramarital affair and these neural pathways work well for someone in a life-threatening situation; when a split-second decision can result in living or dying.

When James Brown popularized his brand of funk, because he was a dancer/performer, he strove to make it easier for the audience to connect with the band, but watch his feet jitter and slide and you will realize that the “one” was for those who needed to keep time while Mr. Brown kept time with his internal timepiece.

The same can be said for funk. The “one” makes it easy for the rhythmically challenged to take part in the rhythm. Case in point: Take dance lessons and graduate with distinction and then go to the World Ballroom Dancing Championship and compare your rumba to a rumba performed by the pros. The first thing you will realize is that you cannot count the steps that they use to perform a rumba or any other well-known dances you might have been taught in dance class.

Sly Stone was and is a true Funk master in the sense that his style of voice and organ performance embodies a looseness that allows him to slide around any set rhythmic pattern or structure. This results in the listener being pulled in various directions depending on which pattern he or she places their focus.

Michael Jackson = Funk Master
Justin Timberlake = Mousketeer

Cordell ‘Boogie’ Mosson once said “ Funk isn’t on the “one”, funk is everywhere the “one” isn’t.”