Mojo Men don't quit: The search for the loudest, raunchiest guitar-based rock & roll ever preserved
A while back I asked Nev, owner of Mojo Records here in Sydney, if he knew of a way long gone out of print Bo Diddley record called, "Bo Diddley's Beach Party". Nev said, "nope, you've got me on that one".
Wow.Nev is like the Axis...he knows everything. I was a bit surprised when he said he had never heard of it. In actuality, seems like a lot of people have never heard of this album...it has been out of print since the late 1960's. There was no question about it, we had to get our ears on that vinyl.
I found out about the album when I was checking out Bo's discography on allmusic.com. I was looking for some live Bo when I came across this review:"A blistering live album...and quite simply the finest live rock
& roll album of its era, cut live by Diddley and band at Myrtle
Beach, SC, on July 5 and 6, 1963. From the opening track to the final note, this is some of the loudest, raunchiest
guitar-based rock & roll ever preserved. It also bears an uncanny
resemblance to the sound that the Rolling Stones achieved on their own Got Live If You Want It, which only shows how much the Stones
learned from Diddley. Currently out of print but well worth the search"."Well worth the search"!?! How could I not go looking for this? This was Holy Grail, Missing Link, Davey Jones' Locker territory! I had to have this album and so did Nev. Once he read this review, he looked me dead in the eye and said, "we gonna get that mutha".
Damn straight, Nev. Damn, straight.
_____Nev jumped on eBay and found a copy in the UK. I made my bids and waited...four days. Finally the bidding ends and we have our vinyl. I pay about $34 USD for it and waited for it to arrive on my doorstep in Sydney....and I waited and I waited and I waited. No album. Now, I don't think the guy in the UK pulled a fast one. I think it was legitimately lost in the mail or sitting on the bottom of a pile of boxes in customs. Needless to say Nev and I were disappointed. A couple of days passed and I got fed up. Why would the Lords of Karma play a dirty trick like that on Nev and I?! All we wanted was some live Bo and the promise that the review made to us: "quite simply the finest live rock & roll album of its era". I went on ebay and found two more. I wasn't taking any more chances. These two cost me almost $100 USD combined. At this point, money was not an object. I needed to tell Nev that the album was back on the front burner. The following is an actual email exchange between Nev and myself (no edits have been made): Me to Nev:
Nev...this damn album can't f*ck with us. We'll show that thing who is boss. I'm going to go after it and go after it hard, and once I get it...I'm going to treat it like a virgin on prom night. Caress it, hold it and tell it everything is going to be all right. And then...Whamo! I'm going to tear that thing up!I have two copies I am bidding for on eBay...one from the States and one from Canada. I'm leading both. I am going to get one for me and one for the shop. We'll have to build a friggin' pedestal for it after we get it. See you Friday. Cheers.JuddNev to Me:
Damn straight, Nev. Damn straight.
_____Fast forward to this past weekend. I got one of the Bo albums on Thursday. I called up Nev and told him that the goods had arrived and I was going to wait until Friday at the shop to open it up. We had waited too long not to have the first listen in the shop. Nev, of course, was ready to rock...and so was I. There is nothing like anticipation rewarded. I came home each day after work looking for Bo to be at my door. I was so ready for that record to be there. I wanted to hear it, but more importantly I wanted to be able to ring Nev and tell him that we had it. Nev is a true Champion of the Blues and related music. That shop is more than just his business, it is him. It is not just a record shop, it is a reflection of Nev and how much he cares about providing an experience and a feel for his customers and friends. It has it's own culture and character...and characters who are loyal to the cause and give back in their own ways to keep that place going. I do my part each time I go in there (my record and CD collection grows weekly) and this Bo record was just another way to say thanks.
_____We put word out that Bo would be played at max volume on Friday night. Most all of the Friday regulars were there as well as few stragglers, strangers and invited guests. We primed up on Cooper's Sparkling Ale and some choice soul cuts from the Goldwax label and then we broke out the Bo. Nev did the honours and cut that sucker lose from the packaging it was mailed in and then we dropped the needle down deep in the grooves. This album was pure nitroglycerin from start to finish. The (live) Bo Diddley Beat shook and the shop and had us all stomping feet, slapping backs and cheering out loud. I looked over at Nev, who was smiling and nodding his head in approval. He looked back and said, "Yep. That's it baby. That shit is Mojo. Damn straight, Nev. Damn Straight.
_____Nev jumped on eBay and found a copy in the UK. I made my bids and waited...four days. Finally the bidding ends and we have our vinyl. I pay about $34 USD for it and waited for it to arrive on my doorstep in Sydney....and I waited and I waited and I waited. No album. Now, I don't think the guy in the UK pulled a fast one. I think it was legitimately lost in the mail or sitting on the bottom of a pile of boxes in customs. Needless to say Nev and I were disappointed. A couple of days passed and I got fed up. Why would the Lords of Karma play a dirty trick like that on Nev and I?! All we wanted was some live Bo and the promise that the review made to us: "quite simply the finest live rock & roll album of its era". I went on ebay and found two more. I wasn't taking any more chances. These two cost me almost $100 USD combined. At this point, money was not an object. I needed to tell Nev that the album was back on the front burner. The following is an actual email exchange between Nev and myself (no edits have been made): Me to Nev:
Nev...this damn album can't f*ck with us. We'll show that thing who is boss. I'm going to go after it and go after it hard, and once I get it...I'm going to treat it like a virgin on prom night. Caress it, hold it and tell it everything is going to be all right. And then...Whamo! I'm going to tear that thing up!I have two copies I am bidding for on eBay...one from the States and one from Canada. I'm leading both. I am going to get one for me and one for the shop. We'll have to build a friggin' pedestal for it after we get it. See you Friday. Cheers.JuddNev to Me:
Judd, you da man. Get that mo fo and teach it not to
f*ck with the mojo men and as for prom night virgins were gonna get
this f*cker. I'll look forward to friday.
p.s. the dylan vinyl has turned up.Cheers, Nev.
p.s. the dylan vinyl has turned up.Cheers, Nev.
Damn straight, Nev. Damn straight.
_____Fast forward to this past weekend. I got one of the Bo albums on Thursday. I called up Nev and told him that the goods had arrived and I was going to wait until Friday at the shop to open it up. We had waited too long not to have the first listen in the shop. Nev, of course, was ready to rock...and so was I. There is nothing like anticipation rewarded. I came home each day after work looking for Bo to be at my door. I was so ready for that record to be there. I wanted to hear it, but more importantly I wanted to be able to ring Nev and tell him that we had it. Nev is a true Champion of the Blues and related music. That shop is more than just his business, it is him. It is not just a record shop, it is a reflection of Nev and how much he cares about providing an experience and a feel for his customers and friends. It has it's own culture and character...and characters who are loyal to the cause and give back in their own ways to keep that place going. I do my part each time I go in there (my record and CD collection grows weekly) and this Bo record was just another way to say thanks.
_____We put word out that Bo would be played at max volume on Friday night. Most all of the Friday regulars were there as well as few stragglers, strangers and invited guests. We primed up on Cooper's Sparkling Ale and some choice soul cuts from the Goldwax label and then we broke out the Bo. Nev did the honours and cut that sucker lose from the packaging it was mailed in and then we dropped the needle down deep in the grooves. This album was pure nitroglycerin from start to finish. The (live) Bo Diddley Beat shook and the shop and had us all stomping feet, slapping backs and cheering out loud. I looked over at Nev, who was smiling and nodding his head in approval. He looked back and said, "Yep. That's it baby. That shit is Mojo. Damn straight, Nev. Damn Straight.
- Posted from Sydney, Australia
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