Mose Allison – Wild Man On The Loose
Mose Allison – No Trouble Livin’
Mose Allison – War Horse
There are few artists I can think of who can match the quiet coolness of Mose Allison. A major part of his coolness is in his voice. Born in Mississippi, Allison’s voice has a lot of the South in it. The words roll out with this smoothness that never sounds forced, never sounds like any thing other than just the man himself. It’s easy to see why this unaffected style has been such a big influence (though much more in the UK with Georgie Fame, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello), and it also fits the personality of his songwriting perfectly. Allison writes a lot of observational songs, often with wry witticisms that you just don’t find in a lot of “jazz” singers. His classic “Your Mind Is On Vacation” is probably his best example, but on this album “No Trouble Livin'” has always been a personal fave, with that chorus, “I Don’t Have No Trouble Livin, It’s Just the Dyin’ that bothers me”.
Another representative of that trademark sly style of Mose Allison is the title track of this record. “Wild Man On The Loose” remains my single favorite track from Mose, with it’s portrait of a man out for nothing but trouble. Even though all told the story is done in just a shade over 2 minutes, the “Wild Man” is so finely characterized that I could see him easily serving as the basis of a fantastically violent and debauched film.
Look out! Stand Back!
Wild man on the loose,
Been in the country for 30 days,
Saved up his money, got some hell to raise,
Soaking up that juice,
Wild man on the loose,
Look out! Stand back!
Panther on the prowl,
Get yourself some coffee and a glass of water,
Lock up your wife and hide your daughter,
There’s one man tonight to howl,
Panther on the prowl,
Look out! stand back!
Tiger in the street,
Gonna find a woman, beg, steal and borrow,
gonna wake up feelin’ bad tomorrow,
a fight will make the night complete,
Wild man in the street,
Look out! Stand back!
What kept this album in my mind over the years (I must have owned every Mose Allison album up to 1970 back when I had a load of records, even did a two-hour tribute to him back in the day on WRAS) was not just his singing and great style, but his playing as a piano player. This album has some of his best piano work on instrumental tracks like “Night Watch,” “Power House” and “War Horse.” As well known for being a King of Cool with his vocals, Mose was and is a highly under-rated piano player and someone who should truly take his place with all the greats in the post-bop era.
Interestingly enough (and a fact I was only aware of after I’d chosen to post this record), Mose just celebrated his 84th Birthday on 11-11-11. Even into his 80s, the man still performs, even recorded a new album last year and sounds just as cool as did when he stepped fully on the scene in 1957.
Cheers,
Michael