On the surface, a samey album full of the same basic bum. bum. bum. bum-bum. beat, the same basic structure, but this is a strangely rich, cavernous album, hypnotic in its repetition and tones, full of wine-dark vocals and resonant, interlocking backing.
Diddley uses his simple toolbox to build some quietly wild inventions: Bo Diddley (completing the artist/album/track title trifecta) and Hey! Bo Diddley (and almost doing it again!) beat with energy, soaring on backing guitars and vocals. Meanwhile, the slower, lower tracks like Bring it to Jerome and Hush your Mouth drip with atmosphere and mystery and just the barest hint of menace. The production is simply unlike anything else going: it all sounds like an album from another dimension, retrofitted to avoid blowing 50's Earth minds *too* hard and arousing suspicion. The whole thing is just so damn *cool*, and not just in some retro-cool way, this is a timeless cool that has been cool in every year since it was ever made and will be for all those left.
I can't really get with I'm a Man, but I think that's my inability to get past hearing Bad to the Bone in it. Goddammit Thorogood.
Also, wow, this is a very different version of Diddy Wah Diddy than the one off the recent Ty Segall band album. That's a fun little comparison.
Brilliant stuff 4.5/5
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