Mose Allison - Allison Wonderland: Anthology CD 1 of 2 (1994) [J

Mose Allison - Allison Wonderland: Anthology CD 1 of 2
Date: June 21, 1994
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Quality: 320 kbps

Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com
Tippo, Mississippi's Mose Allison is a natural treasure, a "jazz sage" (as one of his best '60s albums on Atlantic aptly crowned him) whose laconic drawl, worldly perceptions, and drolly hip piano jazz have spawned their own imitators. Had he never opened his mouth, Allison's piquant mix of tart blues and pre-rock pop impressionism could have fueled a solid career as a pianist working through post-bop and cool jazz stratagems. But his deep feeling for classic blues and R&B, a poker-faced vocal mien gifted with razor-sharp timing, and an often mordant world-view translated to a long string of classic jazz vocal performances that mix humor, rue, and introspection to unique effect. This terrific 2 CD anthology culls definitive studio performances and smart live performances that canvass his "cotton sack" vignettes (including his own sophisticated variants on Delta blues and shrewd investigations of Percy Mayfield and Willie Dixon), shaggy dog stories, and secular sermons. ~ Sam Sutherland

Mose Allison is the ultimate hipster: his laconic yet never lazy delivery as smooth as a sunny summer afternoon breeze, his songs wry and sardonic set pieces filled with just the right amount of irony and wit, the music surrounding them uncluttered and casual. This double CD set of his "best" material gives casual buyers a superb overview of the man's fifty years in the biz. It starts with early cuts for Riverside in the fifties and winds on down through his Atlantic years (thanks to keenly biting songs like "Your Mind Is On Vacation" and "Your Molecular Structure") and ends up in the late eighties and mid nineties for Blue Note. Especially cool is hearing a grand cut like "Ever Since The World Ended", a post-Apocalypse blues that's genuinely funny and heart-warming at the same time (it's taken from the album of the same name on Blue Note, a totally recommended yet sadly deleted disc should the reader come across it). Here's the amazing thing: whether you listen to a classic like "Parchman's Farm" or his most recent material, Mose Allison sounds like he hasn't aged. Or maybe it's just that then and now, he was/is always just that much more ahead of us. We are not worthy! But we'll gladly enjoy this great anthology! ~ Ralph Quirino
This is prima facie evidence that Mose Allison is an underappreciated jazz giant. Without question the hippest, wittiest, coolest, swingingest songwriter, pianist, and singer ever to rise from the Mississippi Delta, Mose is a delight in every respect, a writer's writer and performer's performer who has been deeply influential in both style and substance for over three generations, from the fifties through the new century. His songs have been praised and covered by a panoply of greats: The Rolling Stones, John Mayall, J. J. Cale, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Clash, Leon Russell, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, and many more. If you don't know him, you owe it to yourself to discover him, and this album is the perfect place to start. If you already know him, you need this album, as it has all of his greatest songs. It's a gas! ~ T. Davis "Tom Davis"

Mose Allison - Allison Wonderland: Anthology Disc: 1
01 Back Country Suite: Blues (aka Young Man's Blues)
02 Lost Mind
03 Parchman Farm
04 If You Live
05 Seventh Son
06 Eyesight to the Blind
07 Baby Please Don't Go
08 Fool's Paradise
09 V-8 Ford Blues
10 Ask Me Nice
11 Hey, Good Lookin'
12 Back on the Corner
13 Your Mind Is on Vacation
14 Meet Me at No Special Place
15 I Don't Worry About a Thing
16 I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues
17 Swingin' Machine
18 Stop This World
19 I'm Not Talking
20 I'm the Wild Man
21 Your Red Wagon
22 Fool Killer
23 Wild Man on the Loose
24 You Can Count on Me to Do My Part
25 Smashed [Live]
26 I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love [Live]
27 That's All Right [Live]
28 Fool's Paradise [Live]

Mose Allison - Allison Wonderland: Anthology Disc: 2
01 If You're Goin' to the City
02 Everybody's Cryin' Mercy
03 Feel So Good
04 Your Molecular Structure
05 Monsters of the Id
06 Hello There, Universe
07 I Don't Want Much
08 How Much Truth
09 Western Man
10 I'm Just a Lucky So and So
11 Tennessee Waltz
12 Ever Since the World Ended
13 Top Forty
14 Josephine
15 Gettin' There
16 Ever Since I Stole the Blues
17 You Call It Joggin'
18 Big Brother
19 Gettin' Paid Waltz