1 	My Brain 	2:59
2 	I Know You Didn't Mean It 	3:29
3 	Everybody Thinks You're An Angel 	2:58
4 	Let It Come Down 	2:31
5 	Modest Proposal 	2:29
6 	Crush 	2:55
7 	Some Right, Some Wrong 	2:49
8 	The Way Of The World 	2:50
9 	Ask Me Nice 	3:20
10 	Once In A While 	3:32
11 	I'm Alright 	3:12
12 	This New Situation 	2:08

Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Mandola – Greg Leisz
Double Bass [Upright Bass] – David Piltch
Drums, Percussion – Jay Bellerose
Electric Guitar – Anthony Wilson
Piano, Vocals – Mose Allison
Tenor Saxophone – Walter Smith The 3rd
Vocals – Amy Allison (tracks: 12)

Mose Allison basically retired from studio recording after 1998’s dynamite Gimcracks and Gewgaws. Retired, that is, until producer Joe Henry met him in 2008 and dogged him until he graciously caved in. He coaxed Allison into his basement studio and cut the seven originals and five covers that became The Way of the World with a host of players from his own stable in five days. At 82, Allison is as smart, cagey, and inventive as ever. All but one of these cuts feature his weathered but still wiry dry baritone voice that exudes a trademark jazz singer cum beat poet’s phrasing. For anyone who’s seen him in the last decade -- or heard his jaw-dropping Live in London recordings -- his keyboard skills are sharp as an Argentine stiletto: give a listen to the lone instrumental, “Crush.” Allison's elastic harmonic sense is as beautifully unruly as Monk's, yet his improvisational ideas are carried by a nimble-fingered force worthy of Bud Powell. The opener, “My Brain,” is a smoking rewrite of Willie Dixon's “My Babe.” Allison reflects on the ever-changing intellectual capabilities of his gray matter while punching up the piano's middle register. The blues have been at the heart of Allison’s piano attack (Back Country Suite, 1957), though he’s always wedded them to swing, rag, and bop. Henry underscores that with subtle touches: the strummed Gypsy swing mandola on the ironic betrayal anthem “I Know You Didn’t Mean It” that engages with a knotty bluesed-out piano break and a warm tenor solo -- à la Ben Webster -- and “Everybody Thinks You’re an Angel,” a waltz with a Weissenborn guitar, follows a similar principle to delightfully different ends. On “Modest Proposal” Allison humorously asserts the compassionate idea that perhaps God is so weary he deserves a vacation. It’s a strutting piano-and-vocal number, where Allison's saloon-singer irony might scandalize a preacher but makes the congregation laugh. The elegant parlor ballad “Once in a While” and the shuffling, not brokenhearted blues of “I’m Alright” also stand out. The latter’s addition of electric guitar, mandola, and saxophone might seem like frills for an Allison session, but sound perfectly balanced and natural. On the final track, Buddy Johnson's WWII-era pop tune “This New Situation,” Allison duets with daughter Amy; the two swing beautifully together. The Way of the World is not a comeback album; Henry had a nagging suspicion that Allison might have something new to say and Allison obliged. In the process they created a gem of an album that proves the pianist and songwriter still has many tricks up his elegantly tailored, eternally hip sleeve. ---Thom Jurek, AllMusic Review

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01. Seventh Son (Willie Dixon) 2:35 
02. Eyesight To The Blind (Sonny Boy Williamson) 1:40 
03. Do Nothing To You Hear From Me (Duke Ellington/Bob Russ) 3:08 
04. Lost Mind (Percy Mayfield) 3:29 
05. I Got A Right To Cry (Joe Liggins) 2:45 
06. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand (Ray Charles) 3:11 
07. Parchman Farm (Mose Allison) 3:11 
08. If You Live (Mose Allison) 2:22 
09. Don't Get Around Much Any More (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell) 2:45 
10. One Room Country Shack (Mercy Dee Walton) 2:58 
11. I Hadn't Anyone Till You (Ray Noble) 2:30 
12. Young Man (Mose Allison) 1:23 
13. That's All Right (Jimmy Rogers) 2:23

Mose Allison (Piano and Vocals) 
Addison Farmer (Double Bass) - 1-9,11,13 
Taylor La Fargue (Double Bass) - 10,12 
Frank Isola (Drums) - 10,12 
Ronnie Free (Drums) - 1-3,5,8,13 
Nick Stabulas (Drums) - 4,6,7,9,11

Recorded between 1957-1959

This is the first time an all-vocal Mose Allison album has been issued. It contains examples of the several types of material with wich he comprises his repertoire: the blues; the 'blues ballad'; and the ballad standard...

Throughout the album, Allison's piano supports him in properly bluesy, complementary fashion, and interjects solo interludes that are models of brevity and wit. Several different bassist and drummers complete the various trios. - from Ira Gitler's liner note

The 2006 Rudy Van Gelder remaster of MOSE ALLISON SINGS reminds listeners that Allison was churning out great songs and performances as far back as 1957 (and that he's been doing the same ever since). The artist's distinctive mixture of blues, jazz, dynamic piano playing, and witty songwriting plays loud and clear on this early offering.

There are fewer Allison originals than one might prefer here; instead he takes on classic blues (Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son") and jazz (Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"). But the originals that are here (like "Young Man's Blues," which was covered by the Who) are worth the price of admission. The reissue adds four tracks and a revised running order, and highlights Van Gelder's flawless production. ---Rovi

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