BSPH: Bo Diddley - Bad Trip

"Bad Trip" is a song by the great bluesman Bo Diddley. It was released in 1972 on an album "Where it All Began". It is one of the best songs in Diddley's repertoir that was unfortunately overshadowed by his own earlier triumphs. "Bad Trip" was written by Diddley's co-conspirators backing singer Cornelia Redmond and his wife Kay McDaniel.

The song comes from a weird period of Diddley's career. In the 1970's he attempted to reinvent himself, embraced modern tendencies and tried new genres - such as psychedelic rock, hard rock and funk. "Bad Trip" is and odd mix of psychedelic full-on shredding, solid blues structure and heavy funk groove. It is unrelenting, intimidating piece of music full of righterous frustration.

The arrangement is transcending. It is sonic representation of bad trip. It starts off all right but quickly devolves into pandemonium. The band is so tight it reminds a wrecking ball let loose - it propels forward crushing everything in its way. Drums are beating everything to the dust while bass is circling like a hungry predator. Organ is cackling and drooling in the background as a hungry scavenger. Guitar parts of "Bad Trip" is something to behold. There is elegant combination of blues licks, psychedelic blows and funky chicken chipping.

"Bad Trip" starts off from a neat guitar melody that grows into Yardbirds-like feverish rave up over solid guitar-bass lines. It quickly moves into full-on psych-out - guitar solo is hysterical. After that Bo comes in and tells an impressionistic cautionary tale of a real bad trip that this song is about. He explains what it really is - lack of certainty, lack of security, lack of money, lack of trust. After that the song roughens up the ears with a sharp-edged instrumental break. Drums are pounding like jackhammer heart while guitar is jumping up and tries to touch and crack the ceiling and then falling down into the groove before jumping up again. Bass waltzing over and over clearly trying to evoke nausea. Over time it all drowns in a general flow and Bo comes back to sum things up. The song literally goes nowhere in the fade out.

"Bad Trip" is a very strange song. There is nothing downright subverting in it and yet it feels so different even from the other songs from the same album. It contains a different kind of nerve - something closer to Gil Scott-Heron and metaphor-heavy blues of old. It is direct in its message and unceasingly instense in its delivery. Truly great song.