Have Guitar Will Travel by Bo Diddley
Style: Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues
Release: 1960
Length: 33 min.
Round: Rock and Roll
I've mentioned this in a previous review: I look for heart in a rock and roll album because rock and roll gets a little repetitive for me. There's a LOT of heart in this album. For my first Bo Diddley album, I'm impressed. However, I also understand that heart isn't the only thing that makes an album. This might be rock and roll, but it's still an album. Like most albums, this has a flaw: Bo Diddley spends more time showing off the heart he puts into his music that he sometimes forgets about structure, as if he's having to much fun.
"She's Alright" is the first track. The song has a lot of heart, but Bo Diddley doesn't attempt to keep a consistent structure, and instead it feels like the "song" is a bunch of rambling around. "Cops and Robbers" maintains a similar rambling style of vocal compositions, but it still maintains a rhythm, so it's a better track. "Run Diddley Daddy," or just "Diddley Daddly" trades a little bit of the heart for rhythm, focusing more on making a song rather than displaying a lot of the eccentricity and hyperactivity that Bo Diddley put in his first two songs on the album. "Mumblin' Guitar" was the best example of a combination of Bo Diddley's persona and songwriting skill, even though the song is an instrumental. The track shows a fantastic display of Bo Diddley's skill at the guitar, mumblin' and ramblin' along. "Mona (I Need You Baby)" took a much more serene, tribal feel despite Bo keeping his obnoxious charm in the vocals. "listen to my heart go bumpity-bummmp!" This became the best example on the album. Perfect! "Say Man Back Again" continued the whole idea of replacing hyperactive talking with a vocal composition or actual singing. That went on through the whole song, and it didn't even feel like music. Still, the instruments were so great. "Nursery Rhyme" was a little better. Instead of Bo being hyperactive, he was slow and steady while the instruments took it away. "I Love You" felt like another average rock and roll song. Catchy, talking about love. "Spanish Guitar" is the most rhythm-high track on the album. Another instrumental, it shows off a lot more of Bo Diddley's skill than any other track. "Dancing Girl" is next up. It has potential to be great, but it's too short to reach it. "Come On Baby" makes a fine enough outro. The song is lead by a piano rhythm, and Bo Diddley sings more softly than ever.
For the final consensus, I'll say that there is rarely anyone who seems to have more fun with music than Bo Diddley. It's obvious from his actions that he loves what he does. However, should one let that get in the way of structure? As far as the album went, it wasn't that big of a deal. It would be close to perfect, if not perfect, if the structures were a bit more organized. However, I still recommend this album for rock and roll fans. This is definitely essential for Bo Diddley's persona alone.
92. Gonna keep it on. It might be at the top, but I have to relisten to some of the albums on the list that I've already heard.