It was four years between the release of
Bo
's last album of all-new cuts,
500% More Man
, and this album, during which time he'd spent time recording with
Chess
' top bluesmen,
Muddy Waters
and
Howlin' Wolf
. The death of
Leonard Chess
in October of 1969 resulted in the sale of the label to the
GRT
corporation, and cost the company what little artistic guidance it had. The result was
The Black Gladiator
, an attempt to reshape
into a
funk
artist, in the manner of
Sly and the Family Stone
. As an experiment it's understandable, and
tries very hard (even making another song-length sexual boast on
"You, Bo Diddley,"
which also ends with a great guitar/organ duet between
Bobby Alexis
), but he finally fails to find a groove that works. Despite some good guitar here and there, this record falls into the same category as
Muddy
's
Electric Mud
After the Rain
albums, and
New Album
, all of which attempted to transform each into a
psychedelic
rocker.
"Power House"
is a pretty good cut, using a modified
-
"I'm a Man"
/
"Mannish Boy"
beat and lyrics. Much of the rest is for absolute completists only, however. ~ Bruce Eder