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Mose Allison RIP

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:54 am
by pljms
A highly witty and original songwriter whose lyrics were full of wry humour and irony. As a singer and pianist he straddled blues and modern jazz. Here he is with one of his classic songs, 'Your Mind is on Vacation (While your Mouth is Working Overtime).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZ-scE9mDk

Re: Mose Allison RIP

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 3:02 pm
by Martin Johnson
Like so many of America's finest he was probably better appreciated in the UK.

As soon as I'd heard Mose Allison's Your Molecular Structure for the first time I was determined one day to use the title as part of a chat-up line. Years later I did eventually try it out and it went down like the proverbial lead balloon, not helped by the fact that she had no idea of the meaning of the word molecular:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DgaxpwzEqDI

Re: Mose Allison RIP

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 4:15 pm
by pljms
It seemed that in 2016 you only had to switch on the radio, open a newspaper or go online to be confronted with the news of the death of some music icon or another. Although at the age of 89 his passing could hardly be described as a shock, I was still saddened in November to hear that Mose Allison had handed in his dinner pail. A brilliant jazz pianist and an effortlessly witty and hip singer-songwriter, 'Parchman Farm' was the first track I ever heard by Mose and it still makes me smile today. I like it that in the first verse he claims, "I ain't never done no man no harm", only for it to be revealed at the song's end the reason why he's got a life sentence on the farm. From my experience the starkness of it often takes first time listeners aback.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RCpbWLjlrdU