Mose Allison - Takes To The Hills
Mose Allison, piano & vocals
Addison Farmer, bass
Jerry Segal, drums
Henry Grimes, bass
Paul Motian, drums
Aaron Bell, bass
Osie Johnson, drums
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : Pure Pleasure
Original Label : EPIC
Recorded in 1961
Produced by Teo Macero
Remastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London
Originally released in 1962
Reissued in April 2015
Tracks:
Side A :
2. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
3. Baby, Please Don't Go
4. Hey, Good Lookin'
5. I Love the Life I Live
6. I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me)
Side B :
2. Life Is Suicide
3. 'Deed I Do
4. Ask Me Nice
5. You're A Sweetheart
6. Mad With You
Reviews:
« Record store owners always had a hard time with Mose Allison – some filed him in blues and others in Jazz. Allison’s unique delivery and writing style kept him from fitting neatly to any category. He started his career as a recording artist for Prestige Records in the 1950’s. He mixed bebop and boogie-woogie and piano style with the vocal delivery style of beatnik coffee house and stand-up comedy. Born in 1927 at a Mississippi crossroads, not far from where Billy Joe McAllister was thrown from the Tallahatchie Bridge for whistling at a white woman, Allison came on his blues by emulation of the blues giants percolating through the delta during his childhood.
This 1961 LP was his third and final release on the Epic label while under contract with Columbia. Backed by a top flight jazz ensemble including Paul Motian, Addison Farmer, and Henry Grimes, Mose explores a broad selection of songs, but the star of the set is his rendition of Willie Love’s ‘V-8 Ford Blues, although his take on Big Joe Williams ‘ ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ is also a stand out.
This LP does not frequently turn up used that often and is a fine introduction to Allison’s style. The original had fine Epic sound and the reissue is well mastered by Ray Staff. » hifi+ June 2015 by Dennis Davis
Ratings :
AllMusic : 3 / 5 , Discogs : 4.11 / 5 , hifi+ : RECORDING 9/10 MUSIC 8.5/10 , Hi-fi News : Sound 91/100