Mose Allison - Lessons in Living (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

Allison's live follow-up to Middle Class White Boy, recorded July 21, 1982 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland. I'll let him explain:

Indeed he doesn't "need to say a word about the personnel," this is a helluva group:

Allison - piano, vocals

Jack Bruce - bass

Billy Cobham - drums

Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone

Eric Gale - guitar

Mostly just a trio concert, both Donaldson and Gale are brought out later in the set to play blues solos on a couple of tunes. The performance is high-energy and it sounds like everybody had a great time in front of an appreciative audience. Of the two Allison albums released on the Elektra/Musician imprint, this one gets the nod.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "crack band, superb production"
• Downbeat (★★★½): "Mose Allison at his best"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay Chart: #16

Tracks: 9 tracks, 37½ minutes. If you like Allison's understated bluesy style, there's plenty here to enjoy.

1. Lost Mind (Percy Mayfield cover, originally on Allison's 1958 album, Local Color)
2. Wild Man On The Loose (originally the title track on Allison's 1965 album)
3. Your Mind Is On Vacation (originally the title track on Allison's 1976 album)
4. You Are My Sunshine (standard credited to Jimmie Dixon & Charles Mitchell, originally on Allison's 1968 album, I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin')
5. Seventh Son (Willy Dixon cover, originally on Allison's 1958 album, Creek Bank)
6. Everybody Is Cryin' Mercy (originally on Allison's 1968 album, I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin')
7. Middle Class White Boy (originally the title track on Allison's 1982 album)
8. I Don't Worry About A Thing (originally the title track on Allison's 1962 album)
9. Night Club (originally on Allison's 1971 album, Western Man)

According to setlist.fm, that's pretty close to the whole show that night.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Middle Class White Boy (1982)

Mose Allison - Middle Class White Boy (1982)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Once he started up the label, Elektra/Musician head Bruce Lundvall signed Mose Allison and quickly released this album, the singer's first in five years; his 19th overall.  

Portrayed in Downbeat magazine as a "streetwise singer from the South," Allison was a singer/songwriter/pianist who, like your humble blogger, was originally from Mississippi. I've heard his music described as "hard to classify but easy to like." I am in full agreement with that statement and will readily admit I'm not as familiar with Allison's œuvre as I should be, especially considering I've enjoyed everything I've heard from him.

The music may be "hard to classify," but that's not gonna stop me from trying. My best vague description is a bluesy, Southern hipster cross between Dr. John, Randy Newman, and Bob Dorough with wry, sardonic lyrics that make you both laugh and think. And if you're in the right mood, it's absolutely perfect. My main beef with this album is the setting Allison chooses to use on the electric piano, which sounds like an early eighties attempt at sampling a banjo. It wouldn't be too bad if we only heard it once, but it appears on a majority of tracks. For what it's worth, the album was recorded in two days (February 2 & 3, 1982) and is half cover tunes, so the three star ratings (below) are spot on.

Allison - piano, electric piano

Joe Farrell - tenor sax, flute

Phil Upchurch - guitar

Putter Smith - bass

John Dentz - drums

Ron Powell - percussion

Brief liner notes written by Allison himself. I wish they would have included a lyrics sheet.

Ratings:

• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on Radio & Records Jazz Chart: #11

Tracks: Of the 11 tracks here, my top picks are the title track, a clever 4/4 take on The Tennessee Waltz, Kiddin' On The Square, and the lead track How Does It Feel? (To Be Good Looking) [response from your humble blogger: "It feels great! I've been coasting through life on good genes for decades!"]. Upchurch offers up a great solo on the Muddy Waters classic, Rollin' Stone while Upchurch's best take is on the Ellington tune, I'm Just A Lucky So-And-So. My least favorite track is a "redo" of Allison's 1970 tune, Hello There Universe. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None