Have Guitar Will Travel / In The Spotlight + 7 Bonus Tracks

Have Guitar, Will Travel was Bo Diddley’s third album and contains such important classics as ”Cops and Robbers”, ”Run Diddley Daddy”, and ”Mona (I Need You Baby)”. More than one British Invasion band learned what they needed to know about American rock & roll from the songs on this record (The Rolling Stones cut ”Cops and Robbers” at their earliest recording session, and later released a killer version of ”Mona”). This record is every bit as raunchy as Diddle’s first two albums (the guitars may even be crunchier, and the singing shows more range). This is also the album that began the funny cover photos on Diddley’s records. There are more surprises on Diddley’s fourth album, In the Spotlight, which includes the languid, Caribbean-sounding ”Limber”, the hot and raunchy ”Road Runner”, the soft, romantic ”Love Me”, the doo wop-style ”Deed and Deed I Do”, the loping ”Walkin and Talkin”’, ”Craw-Dad” (a genuine diamond in the rough), ”Signifying Blues”, and solid instrumentals like ”Scuttle Bug” (which is actually ”Live My Life” with the vocals removed and Otis Spann overdubbed on piano). According to music critic Bruce Eder, these tracks ”make this record more than worthwhile.” Between hypnotic and rhythmic guitar lines, swaggering vocals, hot numbers and solid instrumentals all 28 of these songs serve up a young Bo Diddley at his raw and primal best, and confirm that right out of the box the guy didn’t sound like anyone else in rock & roll.