Mose Allison Sings

Mose Allison is my favorite jazz singer, along with Armstrong and King Cole. All three started as instrumentalists (both Mose and Cole were piano players), but luckily for us, were forced into the singing role by the market demands. None of the three have a "real singing voice", but their minimalistic (especially so in Mose's case) approach is much more effective than five-octave vocal histrionics. Mose's singing is rooted in country blues: he was born in the Delta, and that southern drawl which many associate with black bluesmen is his birthright. Unlike Cole, Mose have never abandoned his piano playing; it is more modern-sounding than his singing, with bop influences, and the combination works wonders.

In addition to his keyboard and vocal talents, Mose is also a great songwriter, very witty and sardonic. His songs are somewhat like Motorhead's - they are all the same, bearing his signature, but different enough to make you want more. I think I have 10 albums of his, and that's not nearly enough. I am in good company, too: his records were extremely popular with the british hipsters in the 50s and 60s, and his songs were covered by The Yardbirds (I'm Not Talking), The Who (Young Man Blues), Blue Cheer (Parchman Farm), The Clash (Look Here), Van Morrison (a whole album of Mose covers) and everybody in between.

This record came out as Mose Allison's Greatest Hits On Prestige, but it's an earlier record repackaged with three instrumental bonus tracks; the original album, Mose Allison Sings, was a compilation drawn from six previous Prestige albums: Creek Bank, Local Color, Back Country Suite, Autumn Song, Young Man Mose and Ramblin’ with Mose Allison, all released in the late 1950s. * Not all the tunes here are originals, Mose covers Willie Dixon's Seventh Son, Sonny Boy's Eyesight to the Blind and Ellington's Don't Get Around Much Anymore. Just to show off my credentials, I gotta boast that I have it on vinyl!
More reviews: 1, 2


Mose Allison Sings
REUP: depositfiles
105 mb, 320kbps
1. The Seventh Son
2. Eyesight To The Blind
3. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
4. Lost Mind
5. I've Got A Right To Cry
6. Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand
7. Parchman Farm
8. If You Live
9. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
10. One Room Country Shack
11. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
12. Young Man's Blues
13. That's Alright
14. Blueberry Hill [bonus]
15. Trouble In Mind [bonus]
16. Creek Bank [bonus]

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