Customer Reviews

Tell Me Something: The Songs Of Mose Allison

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album finally arrived today after my long and eager wait. I think I've played it at least six times already! "Songs of Mose Allison" oozes charm and it will put a smile on your face and a skip in your step. I have been a fan of Van Morrison's music for some time and now thanks to him I've realized the amazing talent of Mose's songwriting. Who knows, maybe some day soon my collection of Mose Allison's albums might rival my collection of Van's...

I do not know what got into "Penguin Egg" or what he was really expecting out of this recording, but let me counter his negativity regarding Van Morrison.

First off, this is one of the most astonishing recordings I have ever heard and I do live recording myself. The musicianship is of the highest calibre and the singing, to me at least, is top-notch, not what is inferred by "Penguin Egg" at all. Van is in GOOD FORM! BELIEVE IT!

The recording seems to have been done mostly live to recording media, and to me personally, sounds an awful lot like it might have been mostly analog in origin, not digital.

If that is not the case, considering the vintage of the recording, it is a milestone in digital recordings during that era.

Kick back and enjoy this one! I listen mostly via headphones, and all I can say is that this one is AWESOME sounding, not doubt about it at all. And the dynamics? The recording was supremely produced and and really quite dynamic, as well. The heck with that funky MP3!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Richard Links

Links Sound

Berkeley, CA

This is great music, plain and simple. Played by musicians who know and appreciate one of the best song writers of the century.

If these CD doesn't put a smile on your face, and make you sing-a-long, nothing will.

Long Live Mose Allison!

I've been listening to this hot wax ever since it came out. Thanks to Links for the tips as to the true audio quality of the disc. Time to get it on the player, slip on the cans and groove.

As for Mr. Penguin Egg, I can understand his frustration with Van the Man. I didn't notice anything on this recording, but a few years ago I stopped automatically purchasing every new Van CD whenever I first saw it. It seemed he was in a rut and there was something missing in his performance.

I read a week ago that Van, like many of us, has the "Irish disease." That affliction saps one of creativity and true passion, though down about the bottom of the bottle you can feel creative and passionate as hell. Apparently he's gotten well, as the title of the new disc, "Keep It Simple," attests. I eagerly await its release.

I ran across "Tell Me Something" this morning because I'm on one of my periodic Mose Allison kicks. Here I am a 60-year-old man, and I decided that if I could live my life over I'd like to live it as Mose Allison.

Mose just absolutely does it for me. I caught his act in a posh supper club in Carefree, AZ a very long time ago, and the pure subversive nature of his art - in that setting - really got me off. It may sound like it to some, but "cocktail piano music" it AIN'T.

I was all hot to buy some discs this morning, but I really do have to go back to my collection and see which Mose songs I already have before I shell out the bucks.

Regardless, I'd appreciate any suggestions as to particular gems I might consider. Thanks.

Mose Allison, legendary 50's and 60's hipster jazz singer/songwriter truly comes to life in this collaboration with Van "The Man" Morrison and Ben Sidran. Consisting of some of Allison's finest and well known compostions like title song, "Tell Me Something", "If You Live" and "One Of These Days" along with lesser known gems like "News Nightclub" and "Back On The Cornor", Tell Me Something is a wonderful introduction to Mose. For those who are well acquainted with the wit and wisdom of this extraordinary talent, pick up on this disc as a refeshing new look at him. Both Van and Ben blend their varied yet similar jazz and blues sensabilities to the mix, creating a unique work in the discography of all three artists. Dig this sensational album. It will make you laugh out loud or chuckle inside and maybe give you pause to think about life through the quirky mind of a beat generation legend.

When I first played this it struck me how much Van Morrison sounded like Robert Johnson. Unbeliveablly great record. Get and you'll hear some great music.

I usually bought everything by Van Morrison, so I did with this one. And what a great surprise !!! I discovered one of the best composers of the 20th Century !
I had the chance to talk with Mr Allison last November in the Jazz Showcase in Chicago and I told him I knew him by chance, because this album. He replies: "Yeah! I know ... this is a good album!". I asked him to play Benediction (one of my big temptations here!) but he told me he didn't have anybody to sing the harmonics ...
So, I stayed for the second set, we were just 12 of us, and he was performing songs from this album and he was looking at me. What else can I say ... ? A great pleasure and a luxury.
I got a picture by him with his signature, and believe me, the bass player told me he never does that, but that night in Chicago ... I touched the moon !
Try to get some by himself, like Allison in Wonderland, or the two discs he recorded in London last year.

A lovely collection, lovingly produced. Some songs come off better than others, but mostly this is well worth a listen.

Great cd, shows the tremendous versatillity of Mose, and Van Morrison. Great songs, if you like this c.d., you obviosly have great taste and would love Van Morrison w/ John Lee Hooker as well as pure Mose.

In a perfect world, this would be a great mini CD and a masterly tribute to Mose Allison. Georgie Fame and Ben Sidran excel both as singers and keyboard players - excellent phrasing and keyboard technique - who do full justice to Mose Allison's wonderful songs. Fame I am familiar with, but Sidran is new to me. His playing on this album is what the jazz piano should be, dazzling but un-fussy. Fame and Sidran complement each other perfectly. It would be interesting to see them do more albums together. Mose Allison must have been tickled pink at this paring.

Sadly, this is not a perfect world and this is not a mini CD. Van Morrison sings on half the songs and he is uniformly dreadful. He sounds like he is singing through a mouthful of mushy peas. The gentle humour and subtle craft of Allison's song writing is butchered by his self-important, pompous and soulless delivery. It is sad to think that in the 60s and 70s, he was one of rock music's best singers. Recordings such as Listen to the Lion or Madame George or his haunting version of Richard Cory are a testimony to this. These days are long gone. He has let himself go physically and artistically and he should call it a day and retire. Listening to him is now an annoying embarrassment.

Don't let Morrison put you off buying this recording. You can set your CD player to skip the Morrison tracks and just listen to Georgie Fame and Ben Sidran who are worth the price of this CD alone. It might also be an idea to type Ben Sidran's name into the Amazon Quicksearch and find out what else he has done.