Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Bo Diddley
I'm A Man
1982 · Black Lion Records BLM 52004 · Stereo · Netherlands (pressed in Holland; printed sleeve in England) · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Black Lion Records |
|---|
| Catalogue number | BLM 52004 |
|---|
| Year | 1982 |
|---|
| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
|---|
| Country | Netherlands (pressed in Holland; printed sleeve in England) |
|---|
| Format | LP |
|---|
| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
|---|
| Genre | Rock & Roll / Rhythm & Blues |
|---|
| Producer | Bernard Fox for M.F. Productions, Inc. |
|---|
| Musicians | Bo Diddley (guitar, vocals) |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: 08-22280-1A-1 NL A
Side B: 08-22280-1B-1 NL A
Condition
- Cover
- NN/NM
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1977 - original 2xLP "I'm A Man" (MF 202/2, live at Joyous Lake) - band not documented in evidence
1982 - single-LP edit, Black Lion BLM 52004, cream Black Lion label, made in Holland - band not documented in evidence <- this copy
1983 - follow-up live volume "Road Runner", Black Lion BLM 52014 - band not documented in evidence
This Pressing
1982 European single-LP edit (stereo) of Bo Diddley's 1977 Joyous Lake live set - Black Lion cream label, made in Holland.
The Album
Ellas McDaniel, born in McComb, Mississippi in 1928 and raised on Chicago's South Side as Bo Diddley, built his sound around a self-taught guitar style and the syncopated "Bo Diddley beat" he developed busking and playing local clubs before signing with Chess/Checker in 1955. His self-titled debut single and "I'm A Man" became foundational rock and roll and R&B sides, and his showmanship - the wide-brimmed hat, rectangular guitar and rhythmic swagger - shaped a generation of rock guitarists. This release documents Diddley two decades later, captured live at the Joyous Lake nightclub in Woodstock, New York over two nights in October 1977, revisiting his signature Chess-era material in front of an audience. The performance shows an artist still commanding his core repertoire with the same rhythmic drive and showmanship that defined his 1950s recordings. Diddley's influence on the Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly, and the wider British Invasion and American garage-rock scenes cements his standing as one of rock and roll's essential architects, and live documents of this kind preserve that legacy for audiences who came to him after the Chess hits.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Bo Diddley
2. I'm A Man
3. You All Green
4. Mr. Kruschev
Side 2
1. Somebody Beat Me
2. Tonight Is Ours
3. I'm Sorry
4. Little Girl
The Label
The labels are cream/gold with a single black-lion crest at twelve o'clock, ring text reading the recorded-work-reserved legend, a boxed "1"/"2" side indicator and a boxed STEMRA mark at the right, with the catalogue number BLM 52004 (VR 22280) beneath it - a flat label with no deep groove. This is the Black Lion Records house design used for the label's early-1980s European (Dutch-pressed) live-jazz-and-blues catalogue, distinct from any US Chess/Checker-era Bo Diddley label design. The (P) 1982 Phonoco International credit and the flat, non-grooved pressing place this squarely as the single-LP European edit of the 1977 Joyous Lake live recording, not an original 1950s Chess/Checker issue.
Fidelity
The set was mastered at Masterdisk from the live tapes; it is a straightforward club-date live recording rather than a studio session, so fidelity reflects the source more than the cutting. Collectors regard this single-LP edit chiefly as a way to hear Diddley's live 1977 club performance rather than as an audiophile object, and it has no audiophile reissue lineage to rank against. Within its own family it stands below the fuller original two-LP document, which carries more of the performance.
Notes
This is the 1982 single-LP edition of a live recording made at the Joyous Lake nightclub, Woodstock, New York on October 21-22, 1977, condensed from the original two-LP set. The cream Black Lion label with the single lion crest, boxed side and STEMRA marks, and the "Made in Holland" rim text place it as a Dutch-manufactured European pressing rather than the original US-recorded document's first release. The back cover carries a (P) 1982 Phonoco International credit and full liner notes crediting the recording, mastering and production. No deep groove or plant stamp is stated on the label; the pressing plant is not identified beyond the country of manufacture.
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