The Best of Mose Allison

This was the first collection of Mose Allison's '60s and '70s Atlantic recordings ever released, and it remains as comprehensive as any single-disc anthology of this rich period in Mose's career could hope to be. During this time Allison really shifted into singer/songwriter mode, as opposed to being strictly a piano stylist and/or interpretive vocalist. In the process, he created some of his finest work. The laconic, bluesy singing style he'd already established serves him well in delivering his own sharply satirical observations, whether he's looking askance at the state of the world ("Everybody Cryin' Mercy"), wreaking revenge on an obstreperous blowhard ("Your Mind Is on Vacation"), or getting scientific in his appreciation of an objet du désir ("Your Molecular Structure"). But there are some swinging examples of his way with outside material too, including some blues burners from Muddy Waters' repertoire ("Rollin' Stone," "I Love the Life I Live," "Seventh Son").