From the Vaults of Atlantic Records (series)

I Don't Worry About A Thing / Mose Alive!

by Mose Allison

Description by OLDIES.com:

Some people consider Mose Allison a blues artist. Others put him firmly in the world of jazz. In reality, he's both. His versatile piano playing lets him travel freely between both worlds, as you'll hear in the two wonderfully performed complete albums contained on this compact disc. "Alive!" was recorded live at the "Lighthouse" in Hermosa Beach, California.

Product Description:

2 LPs on 1 CD: I DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING (1962)/MOSE ALIVE (1965). I DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING is also available separately.

Personnel includes: Mose Allison (vocals, piano); Addison Farmer (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).

Why does this great 1962 release remain in print while other classic Mose Allison albums languish in CD limbo? Probably because it contains the original version of Allison's most well known song, "Your Mind is on Vacation," a sarcastic blues he wrote to combat inattentive audience members. Fortunately for the listener, the rest of the album is even better.

Things kick off in classic Mose style. The title song and "It Didn't Turn Out that Way" find Allison practicing his trademark brand of bemused existentialism over angular jazz/blues vamps to fine effect. Some instrumental romps, including "Idyll" and "The Well," give Allison the chance to show off his Monk-on-speed piano chops. The album ends with two more vocal numbers, "Meet Me at No Special Place" and the appropriate "The Song is Ended," which are perfect encapsulations of Allison's Zen-with-an-attitude philosophy. The beauty of this album is the choice it offers between Allison's fine piano excursions and some of his most cutting lyrics. I DON'T WORRY is paired here with the fine live album MOSE ALIVE, adding further to the Allison experience.