Mose Allison - The Sage Of Tippo (1998)

As someone once said, Mose Allison songs are like haiku – each very much like another, and yet each with their own qualities. So you can pretty much get any Mose album, and get a fair sampling. There are a few outliers: his 50s albums only had one or two vocals per album, but this collection is past that. Swinging Machine has horns, and that is included here. Western Man and Middle-Class White Boy favored electric piano, but neither of those are here. Down-home jazzy piano, wry lyrics, easy-going vocals, and an attentive rhythm section – that's basically any Mose album from 1960 onward, and four of them are here.

This compilation came out some time ago when not much Mose was on CD; nowadays there's plenty, though not necessarily all four of these together – I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin' may be especially memorable, and may have been his commercial high point [late 60s]. But it's all good. If you have enjoyed Mose elsewhere, here's more; if you haven't, this is as good a start as any.


Tracks:


Disc 1

Swingin' Machine (Atlantic SD 1398)
01 Swingin' Machine 02:30
02 Do It 04:35
03 Stop This World 03:25
04 Promenade 05:12
05 If You're Goin' To The City 03:50
06 Saritha 04:59
07 I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues 03:57
08 So Rare 05:04

The Word From Mose (Atlantic SD 1424)
09 Foolkiller 02:26
10 One Of These Days 03:03
11 Look Here 02:14
12 Days Like This 02:53
13 Your Red Wagon 02:16
14 Wild Man 01:56
15 Rollin' Stone 03:01
16 New Parchman 03:05
17 Don't Forget To Smile 02:48
18 I'm Not Talking 02:32
19 Lost Mind 04:11


Disc 2

Wild Man On The Loose (Atlantic SD 1456)
01 Wild Man On The Loose 02:07
02 No Trouble Livin' 02:18
03 Night Watch 04:32
04 What's With You 02:56
05 Power House 05:01
06 You Can Count On Me To Do My Part 02:13
07 Never More 04:28
08 That's The Stuff You Gotta Watch 02:13
09 War Horse 07:03

I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin' (Atlantic SD 1511)
10 Jus Like Livin' 01:48
11 City Home 03:42
12 If You're Goin' To The City 02:51
13 Now You See It 02:31
14 You Are My Sunshine 02:10
15 Your Molecular Structure 02:12
16 Look What You Made Me Do 02:36
17 If You Really Love Me 02:18
18 Everybody Cryin' Mercy 02:44
19 Feel So Good 02:53
20 Let It Come Down 02:01
21 Back On The Corner 02:08

Personnel:

Piano, Vocals Mose Allison
Trombone Jimmy Knepper
Saxophone Jim Reider
Bass Addison Farmer
Drums Frankie Dunlop
Bass Ben Tucker
Drums Ron Lundberg
Bass Earl May
Drums Paul Motian
Bass Red Mitchell
Drums Bill Goodwin