Released in 1982, Middle Class White Boy was Mose Allison's first recording in six years, and his debut for the fledgling and relatively short-lived Elektra Musician label run by Bruce Lundvall.
Allison is featured here in a sextet setting.
His fellow front-line players are saxophonist Joe Farrell and guitarist Phil Upchurch.
The set is a well-blended collection of originals and covers including Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone," and Duke Ellington's "Just a Lucky So and So." As is his trademark, Allison effortlessly blends jazz, backwoods blues, and Southern hipster jive in a heady brew of fantastic musicianship.
His work on electric and acoustic piano here is as startling as ever and his songwriting is canny, wildly swinging, funny, and biting.
The opener, "How Does It Feel to Be Good Looking," is a case in point, with a fantastic electric piano solo.
The title track is a choogling shuffle that walks the line between blues and bop.
"Back Down South" is a cooking bebop blues that pits Upchurch and Allison against one another in some startling contrapuntal interplay that's firmly in the groove.
Through these 11 tracks, Allison shines and the band cooks.
It's as welcome a comeback as one could hope for.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How Does It Feel? (To Be Good Looking)Mose Allison | Mose Allison | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Rollin' StoneMuddy Waters | Mose Allison | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | I Don't Want MuchMose Allison | Mose Allison | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Middle Class White BoyMose Allison | Mose Allison | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | When My Dreamboat Comes HomeDavid Franklin, Cliff Friend | Mose Allison | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | I'm Nobody Today | Mose Allison | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | I'm Just a Lucky So-And-SoMack David, Duke Ellington | Mose Allison | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Back Down SouthMose Allison | Mose Allison | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | The Tennessee WaltzPee Wee King, Redd Stewart | Mose Allison | Play | 02:45 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Hello There, UniverseMose Allison | Mose Allison | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Kiddin' on the SquareMose Allison | Mose Allison | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 39 mins | 91 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mose Allison | Composer, Liner Notes, Piano, Piano (Electric), Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | Mack David | Composer |
| 3 | John Dentz | Drums |
| 4 | Esmond Edwards | Producer |
| 5 | Duke Ellington | Composer |
| 6 | Joe Farrell | Flute, Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor) |
| 7 | David Franklin | Composer |
| 8 | Cliff Friend | Composer |
| 9 | Joe Gastwirt | Mastering |
| 10 | Pee Wee King | Composer |
| 11 | James Mooney | Engineer, Mixing |
| 12 | Ron Powell | Congas, Percussion |
| 13 | Patrick Smith | Bass |
| 14 | Putter Smith | Bass |
| 15 | Redd Stewart | Composer |
| 16 | Norm Ung | Art Direction, Design |
| 17 | Phil Upchurch | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 18 | Fred Valentine | Photography |
| 19 | Muddy Waters | Composer |
![Lessons In Living [Live At Montreux] - Mose Allison](https://photos.eruce.com/thumbs/0b5/5d4/8a0/57e/88d/ab7/71d79986d3ebc74957749bc232153c09_250x250.jpg)
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |