The Sage of Tippo

This is likely a much more exciting album for those who already are excited by Mose Allison. Being more on the jazz end, I see this album as Mose centerstage with jazz as a support. Nice, but not varied or, again, especially exciting.,

As someone once said, Mose Allison songs are like haiku -- each very much like another, and yet each with their own qualities. So you can pretty much get any Mose album, and get a fair sampling. There are a few outliers: his 50s albums only had one or two vocals per album, but this collection is past that. Swinging Machine has horns, and that is included here. Western Man and Middle-Class White Boy favored electric piano, but neither of those are here. Down-home jazzy piano, wry lyrics, easy-going vocals, and an attentive rhythm section -- that's basically any Mose album from 1960 onward, and four of them are here.This compilation came out some time ago when not much Mose was on CD; nowadays there's plenty, though not necessarily all four of these together -- I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin' may be especially memorable, and may have been his commercial high point [late 60s]. But it's all good. If you have enjoyed Mose elsewhere, here's more; if you haven't, this is as good a start as any.