The Best of Mose Allison

The Best of Mose Allison is a compilation album by Mose Allison. It includes some of the jazz pianist and singer's best-known recordings for Atlantic Records. The album was originally released in 1970 as an LP record with 12 songs. The album was re-issued on a CD in 1988 with an additional eight songs and new sequencing.

The Best of Mose Allison
Compilation album by Mose Allison
Released	1970
Recorded	1962–1972
Genre	Jazz, blues
Length	53:39
Label	Atlantic
Mose Allison chronology
I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin' (1968) The Best of Mose Allison (1970) Hello There, Universe (1970)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Retrospective reviews
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

An AllMusic reviewer gave it four and a half out of five stars and called it "a pretty good capsule introduction to one of American music's most idiosyncratic individualists". However, he noted "For a more comprehensive – and well-packaged – overview of most of his career, turn to the double-CD box Allison Wonderland on Rhino/Atlantic."

Track listing

All songs Written by Mose Allison except as noted. Original LP

Side one

1. "Your Mind Is on Vacation" – 2:35
2. "Swingin' Machine" – 2:31
3. "Stop This World" – 3:24
4. "Seventh Son" (Willie Dixon) – 3:36
5. "New Parchman" – 3:04
6. "Rollin' Stone" (McKinley Morganfield) – 2:58

Side two

1. "I'm the Wild Man" (Stanley Willis, Don Barksdale) – 1:58
2. "If You're Goin' to the City" – 3:49
3. "I Don't Worry About a Thing" – 2:17
4. "Your Molecular Structure" – 2:05
5. "Everybody Cryin' Mercy" – 2:39
6. "I Love the Life I Live" (Willie Dixon) – 2:26

1988 CD re-issue

1. "I Don't Worry About a Thing" – 2:41
2. "Your Mind Is on Vacation" – 2:35
3. "It Didn't Turn Out That Way" – 2:41 (bonus track)
4. "If You're Goin' to the City" – 3:49
5. "Swingin' Machine" – 2:31
6. "I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (Duke Ellington, Don George) – 3:56 (bonus track)
7. "Stop This World" – 3:24
8. "I'm the Wild Man" (Stanley Willis, Don Barksdale) – 1:58
9. "New Parchman" – 3:04
10. "Rollin' Stone" (McKinley Morganfield) – 2:58
11. "Don't Forget to Smile" – 2:48 (bonus track)
12. "Seventh Son" (Willie Dixon) – 2:26
13. "I Love the Life I Live" (Willie Dixon) – 2:21
14. "What's With You" – 2:55 (bonus track)
15. "That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch" (Buddy Johnson) – 2:10 (bonus track)
16. "Your Molecular Structure" – 2:05
17. "Just Like Livin'" – 1:44 (bonus track)
18. "Everybody Cryin' Mercy" – 2:39
19. "Night Club" – 2:36 (bonus track)
20. "One of These Days" – 4:29 (bonus track)

Personnel

• Mose Allison  – piano, vocals, producer (tracks 16–18)
• Addison Farmer  – double bass (1–7)
• Osie Johnson  – drums (1–3)
• Jimmy Knepper  – trombone (4–7)
• Jimmy Reider – tenor sax (4–7)
• Frankie Dunlop  – drums (4–7)
• Ben Tucker – bass (8–11)
• Ron Lundberg – drums (8–11)
• Stan Gilbert – bass (12–13)
• Mel Lee – drums (12–13)
• Earl May – bass (14–15)
• Paul Motian – drums (14–15)
• Red Mitchell – bass (16–18)
• Bill Goodwin – drums (16–18)
• Chuck Rainey – bass guitar (19)
• Billy Cobham – drums (19)
• Al Porcino – trumpet (20)
• David Sanborn – alto sax (20)
• Joe Farrell – tenor sax (20)
• Jack Hannah – bass (20)
• Jerry Granelli – drums (20)
• Nesuhi Ertegün – producer (1–15)
• Arif Mardin – producer (14–15)
• Joel Dorn – producer (19)
• Ilhan Mimaroglu – producer (20)
• Tom Dowd – engineer (1–7)
• Phil Iehle – engineer (1–3, 8–11, 14–15)
• Joe Atkinson – engineer (4–7)
• Wally Heider – engineer (12–13)
• Dave Weichman – engineer (16–18)
• Lewis Hahn – engineer (19)
• Carmen Rubino – engineer (20)